- Feb 5, 2002
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The TAN book entitled The Dogma of Hell: Illustrated by Facts Taken From Profane and Sacred History, by Fr. F. X. Schouppe, SJ, begins crisply as any author could make it: “THE DOGMA OF HELL is the most terrible truth of our faith. There is a Hell. We are as sure of it as of the existence of God, the existence of the sun. Nothing, in fact, is more clearly revealed than the dogma of Hell, and Jesus Christ proclaims it as many as fifteen times in the Gospel.”[1]
To deny your child a keen awareness of this potential danger is the greatest child abuse possible. What would you think of a parent that does not teach their son about the dangers of wild dogs next door? Or a parent that never warns their teenage daughter about walking through dark alleys at night?
Of course, you do not want your little one fearing the world to the point of seclusion. But a healthy fear of the world’s dangers is always appropriate.
And what of the greatest threat to your child? What of eternal damnation? Surely it is tempting to belittle the notion because you are raising a law-abiding citizen. You are not raising a monster, an animal, a hostile enemy of the Lord. This, Dear Parent, may be the very thought that leads you to the sin of presumption.
Continued below.
The Dogma of Hell is the Most Terrible Truth - TAN Direction
To deny your child a keen awareness of this potential danger is the greatest child abuse possible. What would you think of a parent that does not teach their son about the dangers of wild dogs next door? Or a parent that never warns their teenage daughter about walking through dark alleys at night?
Of course, you do not want your little one fearing the world to the point of seclusion. But a healthy fear of the world’s dangers is always appropriate.
And what of the greatest threat to your child? What of eternal damnation? Surely it is tempting to belittle the notion because you are raising a law-abiding citizen. You are not raising a monster, an animal, a hostile enemy of the Lord. This, Dear Parent, may be the very thought that leads you to the sin of presumption.
Continued below.
The Dogma of Hell is the Most Terrible Truth - TAN Direction
