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It's hard for me to believe in an inescapable hell. I believe that hell could be eternal, if someone chooses to reject God throughout eternity. I don't doubt that some personalities, like Hitler and Stalin, are so warped and devoted to evil that they will suffer eternal damnation because repentance is not in their nature. But I suspect that for most sinners, hell (or perhaps purgatory) will be a place of suffering and punishment, but a place which, through repentance, can be left behind. I don't know if there are many people in this world who are so wicked that they are doomed to eternal separation from God. I believe that, in the afterlife, we will be punished for our evil deeds and rewarded for our good ones. But I'm skeptical of the black-and-white, all-or-nothing notion of heaven and hell. I think that there is a heaven, and a hell, and probably a stage (or stages) in between, but I don't know if our actions in the short time we spend on earth will determine our location throughout eternity. The saints will be in heaven forever, not just because they performed so many good deeds in this short life, but because they delight in choosing good over evil. And perhaps Hitler and Stalin will be in hell forever, not only because of their extraordinarily wicked deeds on this earth , but because they have completely rebelled against God and will snarl and gnash their teeth at Him throughout eternity. For the great majority of us, who fall somewhere between the extremes, I think that the afterlife will be a place where we will remember both our good and evil deeds. I think that divine justice requires that we understand why we are being punished or rewarded. Some people believe that the circumstances we are born into in this life are a reward or punishment for actions in a past life. This doctrine seems flawed to me. Divine, perfect justice would require that we understand how we have brought rewards or punishments upon ourselves. That's how it seems to me, at least. If we suffer in the afterlife, we'll know what we did to deserve suffering. If we find joy in the afterlife, we'll know what we did to deserve that joy. And I would guess that, in the afterlife, it will be easier and more rewarding to choose what is good. Good will simply be more attractive than evil, in every way. In this world, a person's exterior gives little indication of how much good or evil resides in their interior. In the afterlife, I suspect this imbalance will be corrected. However we see each other, whatever form we take, my guess is that the better the soul, the more beautiful and radiant its outward manifestation will be. And well-adjusted souls will gladly undergo the transformation to a sinless, perfect condition, a state of being where we are wholly acceptable to God. I don't know if we'll instantly be transformed into a state of perfect righteousness (heaven) or utter depravity (hell). Perhaps we'll still have to work at attaining righteousness, but the work will be easier than in this life -- the rewards of good (and the undesirability of evil) will be more apparent. This life is like a trial by fire -- we're given so much temptation to do what's wrong, so little apparent reward for doing what's right. It's as if this life were a test to determine which path we're inclined to follow. |
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A final thought: if the traditional Christian concepts of heaven and hell are correct, then how can heaven be a place of eternal joy when some of our friends and loved ones will be suffering the torments of hell? Won't that diminish our joy? All of us, regardless of our religious beliefs, have friends and loved ones who believe differently. The awareness that they are suffering unspeakable misery for all eternity would detract from our own perfect heavenly bliss, it seems to me. Any defense of the traditional conceptions of heaven and hell is inadequate and devoid of compassion when confronted with this contingency. I really don't see how an eternal, irrevocable hell could be a possible future for any except the most wicked among us |
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