Is Hell Closed Up & Boarded Over?
ON BEING MORE TENDERHEARTED THAN GOD HIMSELF
Hell is out of fashion. That is, Hell is out of fashion as a concept. As a destination, it may be very fashionable indeed. As the famed logician and ballplayer Yogi Berra said when asked about a certain once fashionable restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
Hell is admittedly a disturbing concept. But then, Hell is a terrible thing. No one seems comfortable with it. But then, no one should be. Unease, self-doubt, anxiety about the painful and infinite consequences of my actions, fear of an eternity deprived of God’s presence — all these come up when I think of Hell.
No wonder few talk about it, even among those charged with the cure of souls and the teaching of the faith. Most ignore it, and a few speak against it. A priest who preaches at Mass week after week but from one year to the next never mentions Hell thereby conveys to his people that the concept is one they need not grapple with and the destination is not even on the map.
The few who are willing to talk about the afterlife take various approaches. Some mumble comfortingly that probably everyone goes to Heaven, or that at least we can hope everyone does, and that we can’t know that anyone doesn’t, and that our loving God will likely see to it that we spend our eternity fairly pleasantly. Some speak out explicitly, saying that salvation for everyone is certain or at least likely or at least cannot be disproved.
You May Also Enjoy
Neuhaus reminds us that although our culture is degraded, all Christians should take heart for through his cross and resurrection Christ has set us free.
The presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church has difficulty distinguishing the work of the Lord from that of the spirits of deception.
Knowing Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari's habit of not taking notes during interviews, why does Francis continue to allow him to stir up controversy and cause PR headaches for the Vatican?