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The Catholic Church teaches that no one is predestined to Hell, and that the church's teaching on Hell is not meant to frighten but is a call for people to use their freedom wisely. It is first and foremost a call to conversion, and to show that Humanity's true destiny lies with God in heaven.
Hell in Catholicism is the "state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed" [1] which occurs by the refusal to repent of mortal sin before one's death, since mortal sin deprives one of sanctifying grace.
This still leaves the question of why God set out those people's lives (or the negative choice of deeds) which result in Hell, and why God made it possible to become evil. In Islamic thought, evil is considered to be movement away from good, and God created this possibility so that humans are able to recognize good. [ 43 ]
Christian writers from Tertullian to Luther have held to traditional notions of Hell. However, the annihilationist position is not without some historical precedent. Early forms of annihilationism or conditional immortality are claimed to be found in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch [10] [20] (d. 108/140), Justin Martyr [21] [22] (d. 165), and Irenaeus [10] [23] (d. 202), among others.
"View 1: When Noah was building the ark, Christ 'in spirit' was in Noah preaching repentance and righteousness through him to unbelievers who were on the earth then but are now 'spirits in prison' (people in Hell)." [5] "View 2: After Christ died, he went and preached to people in Hell, offering them a second chance of salvation." [6]
They cannot correct their sins in this world or the next, and do not repent, even at the 'gates of hell', as it were. This world can therefore seem unjust where the righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper. Many great thinkers have contemplated this, but God's justice is long, precise and just. [3] [32]
Swedenborg and Rose refer to John the Baptist to describe how he was performing baptism of repentance. John the Baptist would preach repentance along with the other disciples and the Lord himself along with performing the baptisms. If people repented then their sins were forgiven and they were welcomed into the church. [citation needed]
Hick, in particular, stated that the seemingly contradictory nature of the Bible's references to damnation came about because the warnings of hell are conditional to warn men about eternal suffering if they permanently refuse to repent, but nobody would actually make that choice. [1]