The Odds of Salvation
Note: The primary purpose of this website is to guide you to heaven. It was written to provide evidence that there is a God interested in the salvation of your soul. Jesus Christ is that God and he established the Catholic Church to lead you to a moral life and heaven. This section is meant to alert you to the danger of taking your salvation for granted.
Posted: 12/19/2018 Updated: 3/26/2020
Redemption vs Salvation
Redemption and salvation are two distinct, but related concepts. Redemption is the singular act by which Jesus rescued us from the slavery of sin through his sacrificial death on the cross. Salvation is the lifetime process of attaining holiness. Holiness is achieved by living a life that is not natural for you. But it is possible, if you humbly accept God’s special gift of grace. If you do, you will be able to get to heaven by obeying God’s will, as outlined on the homepage of this website.
Salvation Risk Analysis
Since the author of the Laws of Nature and the Natural (moral) Law are the same, logic indicates that it is essential to understand and apply God’s moral laws to human behavior.
I have worked for many years in the field of life-saving medical device development. An important quality tool in our business is a risk analysis, designed to minimize the likelihood that a defective device will be produced. Each part and assembly is evaluated for severity, occurrence and detection. The goal is to identify serious and frequently occurring problems that are difficult to detect after fabrication. Each criterion is given a numerical score (1 – 10) and multiplying them gives an overall score; the highest numbers are the most dangerous. A Risk Priority Number (RPN) of >150 is problematic, and any severity score of 9 or 10 is a red flag.
Applying this technique to the salvation status of US Catholics, members of the one true faith:
• Severity = 10. Hell, described by Christ as “eternal fire,” is unacceptable. It is eternal separation from God.
• Failure Rate = 9.5. Catholics who fail to attend mass weekly (80%) and church-goers who reject the teaching on contraception (75%) are numerous. These data indicate that 95% [= 80% + 20%(0.75)] of all baptized Catholics are objectively committing at least one of these grave offenses and are unrepentant. Gambling with the Almighty by withholding one’s repentance until the unforeseeable hour of death is risky and seems like an attempt to manipulate God’s mercy, as if that were possible.
• Detection = 2 to 8 (high level of uncertainty). In terms of Catholic teaching, this category means that one is aware of the gravity of a sin and gives full consent to it. Since post-modern attitudes have infected US Catholics, many can understandably fit into the category of “invincibly ignorant.” Nevertheless, everyone has virtually unlimited access to the Church’s teaching and claiming ignorance at the last judgment isn’t a rational strategy.
• RPN = 180 to 720! (Worst Case is 1000)
Ignoring important issues identified by a risk analysis can lead to a catastrophe, such as the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986, killing all seven astronauts aboard (photo below).
Eternal Knowledge of the Saved and Lost
No mere human knows the likelihood of salvation. Only the eternal Son of God knows and 2000 years ago he said that few will enter the narrow gates of paradise. (Lk 13:23-24; Mt 7:13-14)
• And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Lk 13:23-24; Mt 7:13-14
• “But when the king [Jesus] came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment [dispositions necessary for admission to the kingdom of heaven] … Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Mt 22:11-14
Given this information, logic dictates that one must live a holy life to make it into the top echelon of the saved. This can only be done by living in accordance with all the teachings of his Church and avoiding the common mistakes of setting one’s own standards and aligning oneself with the prevailing sterilized and sexualized culture.