Today’s question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? If God is love, how can such a thing even be possible?

Question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? Please explain how I deserve to burn in hell, from a human perspective and how can I possibly follow a religion that doesn’t make sense?

Answer: The problems related to “The Human Condition” are probably due as much to “circumstance” as to the personal “guilt” of we who are alive on earth, today. That said, the problem of sin is and always has been, deadly serious!

Due to the Fall of Man (in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden) the default state of all humanity is to be born estranged from God, totally lacking the divine grace that is necessary to enter Heaven, perpetually enslaved to Satan, sin and death, having a natural attraction to sin, as well as an all too human propensity to commit sin.

The only known antidote to perpetual slavery and eternal damnation, is faith in Jesus Christ, the divine man who has demonstrated (as one of us and on our behalf) his total mastery over Satan, sin and death.

The fact that Jesus voluntarily took on flesh, became man, willingly sacrificed himself and then, rose again from the dead, in order to destroy Satan’s power over us (the power of death and hell) while asking nothing in return, except for our faithful allegiance, should be more than sufficient proof of God’s abiding love and tender mercies.

Christians typically swear faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ by being Baptized into his Holy Catholic (Universal) Church.

The Holy Sacrament of Baptism, followed by a regular program of personal prayer and study, along with a lifetime of full, faithful participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the Holy Catholic Church, is the time-tested, “Jesus Approved” method of first, being justified by the grace of God and then, proceeding to live a holy life that will serve to glorify God, while preparing us to (hopefully) spend an eternity with him, in Heaven.

Asked and answered today on Yahoo!Answers. Edited for clarity and content.

Read the study Sister Jane cited: On the Psychogenesis of Homosexuality

Abstract (Summary)

The best-established facts in relation to homosexuality point to developmental-psychological, not genetic or physiological, causation. The efforts of the last few decades to find evidence to support a biological theory have made it more doubtful than ever that such evidence will be found. In contrast, many studies have shown that the most significant factor which correlates with homosexuality is “gender nonconformity” or same-sex peer isolation. Another factor closely associated with homosexuality is an imbalance in parentchild interaction, notably forms of over-influence of the opposite-sex parent in combination with a deficient relationship with the same-sex parent. The third well-established correlation is with inherent, rather than discrimination-produced, “neuroticism” or emotional instability/immaturity.

Structured around this pivotal evidence from statistical as well as clinical research, homosexuality is explained here as a character neurosis. Characteristics of this neurotic character syndrome include personality immaturity, self-victimization, and self-centeredness. This syndrome affects not only the emotional but also the moral and spiritual dimensions of the psyche and if indulged leads to generalized personality deterioration. Therapeutically, a holistic approach, simultaneously addressing the emotional, moral, and spiritual components of the psyche, offers the best opportunity for overcoming homosexuality. De-egocentrization and personality maturity, including the development of mature manhood/ womanhood, are the goals of therapy.

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Report: “Pope Francis effect” may not exist after all.

In a survey released Thursday about Americans’ views of the pope nearly a year into the papacy, the Pew Research Center found no change in the share of American adults who call themselves Catholic, or in self-reported rates of Mass attendance, when compared to pre-Francis numbers. Pew also reported no increase in the percentage of Catholics volunteering at their churches or going to confession.

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According to a new study, the more intelligent a person is, the more likely he/she would be turn away from religion.

Study: “Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme —the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people…”

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Editor’s note: All of which goes to prove the eminent practicality of Catholicism, which is based on Jesus Christ – an actual historical person – plus faith and reason – including the entirely logical premise that anyone who claims to be God and subsequently raises himself from the dead in order to prove it – most likely IS precisely who he claims to be!

Study: Divorce is much worse on children than originally thought.

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Prolonged contraceptive use could increase chances of miscarriage: study

“As miscarriage becomes increasingly common, it is unsurprising that research is pointing to contraceptive use as one possible culprit for the problem of miscarriage today,” Arland K. Nichols, director of education and evangelization at Human Life International, told LifeSiteNews.com.

“In the fine print, producers of oral contraceptives admit that scientific evidence shows that oral contraceptives cause early abortions,” he said, “and so it appears that we have here yet another way in which oral contraceptives end nascent human life.”

One of the most famous faces of the anti-birth control movement may have been a victim of such a miscarriage. The Duggars, of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, say they were inspired to stop using artificial contraception after becoming pregnant while using the birth control pill, then suffering an early miscarriage.

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Best advice: Don’t start viewing pornography.

Jason King, chair of the theology department at Saint Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, wrote about the accessibility and damage of pornography in his latest piece at Catholic Moral Theology. King summed up the situation well when he wrote that people used to have to exert an effort to view pornography. Now you have to exert an effort to NOT view it.

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