Christian Century: What to say about hell: A symposium
Hell is talked about cautiously, if at all, in mainline churches. Yet the notion of a divinely ordained place of punishment for the wicked after death is deeply embedded in the Christian imagination. How should we think and talk about hell? Why don't we talk about it? We asked eight theologians to comment. …
Some symposiums can be hell.
LOL. I think some of the answers here could have reduced to three words: “I don’t know.” 🙂
Being brought up to accept the classic evangelical position of hell as eternal agony in a lake of fire my doubts were set in motion by a Franciscan monk who asked the question “If we retain our identity and individuality after death how can we be happy in heaven, even in the presence of a loving God, with the knowledge that people that we love are suffering in hell. If we do not retain our identity and individuality then we strive in vain.”
I cannot overcome the powerful concepts contained in this statement to retain my original position.
But as Griffth says.
“Hell is a nonnegotiable item of Christian vocabulary. It has scriptural roots, it is there in the earliest creeds, and it has been a staple of Christian preaching and art since almost the beginning.”
So even if we can’t imagine living eternally with the knowledge of hell, the concept of hell is still there. We are still left with the question of with to say about it.
With all due respect to the Franciscan monk, I think it’s a little silly to presume to know what things will look and feel like from the perspective of heaven.
In my current state, and with my current level of understanding, I’d tend to agree with him.
Jesus speaks more about hell than anyone else in Scripture…and He doesn’t soft-pedal anything. We can discuss the degree to which his description is meant to be taken literally or metaphorically, but I don’t think it’s tenable to deny the existence of hell and stay faithful to Scripture…in my current state…etc.
Oh, and if anyone really doesn’t believe in hell, go to an Ikea on a Saturday.
Ikea has nothing on Heathrow – any day of the week. It tends to prove Sartre’s “Hell is other people”.
LOL. “Hell is other people.” As someone who leans slightly toward the introvert side of the Myers-Briggs scale, I’ve always identified with this characterization. 🙂
I’ve been to Heathrow a lot more than I’ve been to Ikea…for some reason, Ikea is worse for me…
That said, I haven’t experienced the joys of the disaster that is Terminal 5…but it would be interesting if Dante were alive today to see what his levels of hell would look like.
Is there any evil a mortal man can do that warrants eternal punishment? Eternity, remember, is a very long time.
And is there any mortal man so good as to merit eternal happiness?
The second proposition isn't so hard to answer, if we accept that Jesus died for our sins, and that it's not our merit, but God's grace that gets is through the Pearly Gates.
But I still wonder about the first part.
Speaking of Dante's Inferno, isn't his innermost circle a circle of ice?
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