The Costs Of Original Sin

It is common knowledge that death is the result of Original Sin.  Death is also the end of life, a finality to suffering of all kinds and where decrepitude and the process of dying are lengthy and difficult to endure, death could be a welcomed relief unless the soul is destined for Hell.  Nobody knows if one's soul will go to Heaven or to Hell, therefore, it is better to endure whatever that may be left of life than to hurry the soul to Hell, if Hell is the soul's eternal destination.  If during the final period of suffering, one awakens to the true meaning of salvation and accepts it with a genuine and contrite heart, asking for the forgiveness of one's sins, as well as the forgiveness of those who have committed wrongs, then hopefully one's soul may be saved from the torments of Hell. [1]

It is believed that suffering in life shortens the time one's soul spends in Purgatory, an intermediate and painful stop for a full and irrevocable cleansing, freely-willed, in order that the soul may enter Heaven.

The cost of Original Sin is not merely death, it is perhaps life itself, full of suffering in varying degrees punctuated with moments of true joy, serving as contrasting windows for Hell and Heaven.

Relative to eternity, life is a short journey, one that continues to be presented with even more temptations as knowledge increases, and one that continues to be given the Free Will to select among them.  Many see the vast array of choices as advances in human intellect and capability, but this blogger sees them as multiplication of temptations, more new and improved paths that lead a sinner comfortably and luxuriously to Hell.

In other words, the high cost of death relative to life is no longer the one payment for Original Sin.  The one-time payment has been modified, a long time ago, into an installment plan even though the final payment, death, remains unchanged.  Now, each installment has become cheaper and thus affordable and accessible to everyone at any age where God is supplanted by social media, technology, virtual entertainment and, increasingly more and more sophisticated artificial intelligence.  Anytime when one's life, or for that matter, the world at large, does not have God's presence, there is suffering, some perceptible, some imperceptible until it is too late.



[1] For those who do not believe in Hell, just look at what humans can imagine, especially the work of artists and those in the movie industry who are so effective in presenting graphic Hell-like images on canvas and on screen, then imagine such hellish scenes being infinitely worse.  Once in Hell, Hell is no longer a childish pay-to-view entertainment but a real-time experience from which the soul can never escape--and what could that possibly feel like-- like a person who is continuously and forever gasping for oxygen but it is only available in the smallest amount so life cannot be lived and death cannot be had.