Blog Dis
Let's all go to Hell
2024-04-11
In between Heaven and Hell there is Purgatory, apparently, that middle ground where wicked souls do penance for committed sins. According to Catholic doctrines, those in Purgatory can spend hundreds of years atoning for sins which first begins with the intention of confession. Then after you've received some form of forgiveness, you may get to ride the wave into Heaven... or perhaps not. Perhaps, instead, your one-way ticket will take you to Hell. And speaking of which, what exactly is the kind of sin that paves your road to Hell?
Ah yes, sins and their diabolical outcomes. There are small and large sins, the biggest and worst is murder and the smallest is an omission of the sin itself, that is hiding the fact that you've sinned by way of lying to your loved one or taking great pains to cover up the truth. We've all sinned. We're all part of a group that cannot reach the end of our lives and look St. Peter in the face at the Gates of Heaven and declare, "Not once! Not once have I sinned! I'm the one and only Puritan."
Everyone has sinned in some shape or form, according to religious doctrine. For me, even the usage of the word sin offends me. I'd prefer that the word be substituted for wrongdoing, a transgression, or a violation. But for the sake of this post, sin it shall be.
As a pre-teen, I mastered the art of shop-lifting and it meant nothing to me to fill my pockets with make-up that later I bestowed upon friends as gifts. They were impressed with my dexterous fingers and I was wholly impressed with them for being impressed with me. When I finally developed a sense of self and defined and accepted my inner image, I realized that shop-lifting merchandise from store counters was just plunk-stupid and not worth the risk. However, the wrongdoing remains with me and will until the time comes when I shall atone for my failings... (that is according to religious doctrine).
Some believe that Catholics are naturally predisposed to harboring guilt for a multitude of things, such as degenerate sex, which tops the list. I agree, but only in part, that this statement rings true. Catholicism is predicated on the atonement of sins and being mindful of our treatment towards others. I don't particularly care for organized religion, as I've made it known to my closest friends but I cannot deny the power of awareness and taking responsibility for our actions, if these actions are in fact wrong. After all, how many friendships and marriages have been derailed as the result of a silly sin, such as coveting the lithe lady with lily-white skin or that bronzed boy with a waist smaller than your own? Would you be prepared to lie, cheat or steal just to spend one night with said individuals? If you're going to carry the guilt that comes with the pleasure, then it would naturally and logically follow you should first enjoy the pleasure with total abandon. Sin and Pleasure are therefore one and the same and never, shall you remain innocent until you have tasted both.
It's a travesty to think anyone alive and with a reasonable working brain would live their entire life not committing at least one grave sin, like lying or thievery - - a simple example would be walking away with a pen that you had borrowed from a bank counter or from your place of work. Murder is an entirely different story. Murder is the height of aggression by way of admitting you no longer have use for a moral code, and that you accept that the worthiness of your life is no longer worth saving. But murder in self-defence... is that a sin? The famous Bible quote "Vengeance is Mine, Sayeth the Lord," means in plain English that only God gets to kill. And good Lord, we've seen with great frequency that God often and does willingly kill. But are God's acts of killing the innocent a sin? All those burning crosses on all those hills that burned back in the times when the Spanish Inquisition thrived tell me the mind of men, those vested with power, those who stand behind religious doctrine, like some kind of shield from God, operate with a twisted mind that is influenced by sin.
No one should throw a stone at another unless they too can come to the Gates of Heaven and declare that they are above sin or in other words, as a gentle reminder, that you, too, live in a glass house. If and when I arrive at the metaphorical Gates and St. Peter pointed the way to God to me and God actually spoke to me, before allowing me to enter, I sure hope that God would make this one and only statement to me:
"I'm going to keep an eye on you, Patricia Kathleen McCarthy." That statement speaks volumes. It tells me that even in Heaven you can get up to no good.
Once in a while you've got to be free to commit a sin, for without free will there can be no free admission of sin.
Ah yes, sins and their diabolical outcomes. There are small and large sins, the biggest and worst is murder and the smallest is an omission of the sin itself, that is hiding the fact that you've sinned by way of lying to your loved one or taking great pains to cover up the truth. We've all sinned. We're all part of a group that cannot reach the end of our lives and look St. Peter in the face at the Gates of Heaven and declare, "Not once! Not once have I sinned! I'm the one and only Puritan."
Everyone has sinned in some shape or form, according to religious doctrine. For me, even the usage of the word sin offends me. I'd prefer that the word be substituted for wrongdoing, a transgression, or a violation. But for the sake of this post, sin it shall be.
As a pre-teen, I mastered the art of shop-lifting and it meant nothing to me to fill my pockets with make-up that later I bestowed upon friends as gifts. They were impressed with my dexterous fingers and I was wholly impressed with them for being impressed with me. When I finally developed a sense of self and defined and accepted my inner image, I realized that shop-lifting merchandise from store counters was just plunk-stupid and not worth the risk. However, the wrongdoing remains with me and will until the time comes when I shall atone for my failings... (that is according to religious doctrine).
Some believe that Catholics are naturally predisposed to harboring guilt for a multitude of things, such as degenerate sex, which tops the list. I agree, but only in part, that this statement rings true. Catholicism is predicated on the atonement of sins and being mindful of our treatment towards others. I don't particularly care for organized religion, as I've made it known to my closest friends but I cannot deny the power of awareness and taking responsibility for our actions, if these actions are in fact wrong. After all, how many friendships and marriages have been derailed as the result of a silly sin, such as coveting the lithe lady with lily-white skin or that bronzed boy with a waist smaller than your own? Would you be prepared to lie, cheat or steal just to spend one night with said individuals? If you're going to carry the guilt that comes with the pleasure, then it would naturally and logically follow you should first enjoy the pleasure with total abandon. Sin and Pleasure are therefore one and the same and never, shall you remain innocent until you have tasted both.
It's a travesty to think anyone alive and with a reasonable working brain would live their entire life not committing at least one grave sin, like lying or thievery - - a simple example would be walking away with a pen that you had borrowed from a bank counter or from your place of work. Murder is an entirely different story. Murder is the height of aggression by way of admitting you no longer have use for a moral code, and that you accept that the worthiness of your life is no longer worth saving. But murder in self-defence... is that a sin? The famous Bible quote "Vengeance is Mine, Sayeth the Lord," means in plain English that only God gets to kill. And good Lord, we've seen with great frequency that God often and does willingly kill. But are God's acts of killing the innocent a sin? All those burning crosses on all those hills that burned back in the times when the Spanish Inquisition thrived tell me the mind of men, those vested with power, those who stand behind religious doctrine, like some kind of shield from God, operate with a twisted mind that is influenced by sin.
No one should throw a stone at another unless they too can come to the Gates of Heaven and declare that they are above sin or in other words, as a gentle reminder, that you, too, live in a glass house. If and when I arrive at the metaphorical Gates and St. Peter pointed the way to God to me and God actually spoke to me, before allowing me to enter, I sure hope that God would make this one and only statement to me:
"I'm going to keep an eye on you, Patricia Kathleen McCarthy." That statement speaks volumes. It tells me that even in Heaven you can get up to no good.
Once in a while you've got to be free to commit a sin, for without free will there can be no free admission of sin.
