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in the course of my work in
evangelization I often run across this
objection how could an all good God
possibly send people to hell how could a
God who's described as infinitely good
create sustain and send people to a
place of infinite horrible torment and
you find the objection from both
believers and non-believers in fact a
lot of my friends on YouTube have
directed my attention to a video done by
George Carlin the comedian many years
ago Carlin I suppose was an ex-catholic
and he was lampooning
the whole idea of Hell and he said well
you know for some sin usually of a
sexual nature God will send you to this
place of infinite horrible tremendous
torment but then he changes and he says
but of course this God loves you
and of course the people all you know
burst into hysterical laughter they
can't get enough of it now you have to
confess somewhere in your soul you think
well maybe Carolyn's got a point is
there something just inconsistent about
this belief in the Eternity of Hell well
I would suggest that we should be very
careful about dismissing this doctrine
which has been enunciated by all the
great theologians of our tradition and
in fact goes back to Jesus himself on
the lips of Jesus himself we find this
language of Gehenna and of the
everlasting fire and so on I would say
this the doctrine of Hell is a corollary
a kind of a necessary consequence of two
other doctrines and I doubt anybody
wants to deny these other two namely
that God is love and that we human
beings are free I think you can't hold
those two without also holding the
possibility of Hell now here's why look
first at the claim that God is love we
hold not that God has love or that love
is one of God's attributes or love is
something that God does from time to
time
love is what God is the whole nature
essence substance life of God
is love - will the good of the other as
other that's who God is therefore God
doesn't go in and out of love doesn't
love some hate others he doesn't go into
emotional schnitz and change his mind
God simply is love in Jesus language
he's like the Sun that shines on the
good and the bad alike there is the idea
of the primacy of grace and of God's
love which is all through our tradition
there's the first great teaching now
here's the second one that human beings
are free
look God made planets and plants and
animals and insects to glorify Him
simply by being themselves that's how
they reflect the divine goodness but
human beings he made with intelligence
and will that means he wants us to
respond to his love who he is with our
own love he gave us that privilege of
our freedom now the minute you say
freedom you have to say the possibility
of the abuse of freedom that's the
nature of freedom if I can decide yes or
no I can say yes to the love that God is
and thereby find joy and peace and my
own deepest purpose or I can say no to
it I can resist it what does that cause
that resistance it causes suffering at
the level of the soul the deepest level
it's like fire it's like torment
it's like everlasting flames why am i
using that language because it's
biblical language to suggest this great
spiritual suffering what is hell hell
would be that final and definitive no to
God's love uh turd from the depth of
one's soul that's hell eternal suffering
yeah because it's this eternal no to the
love that God is now I think in light of
this clarification we can see how all
the language of God sending people to
hell God condemned
people to hell because of their mistakes
and so on is problematic God doesn't so
much send people there people send
themselves into this state by their
refusal of the Divine Love
that's why CS Lewis said I think
wonderfully the door to hell is always
locked from the inside is as though God
is is maliciously locking it from the
outside locking people in rather it's
people themselves who by their refusal
lock themselves away from the divine
love that's what hell would be Lewis
also said this and I think it's really
interesting
he said the love of God lights up the
fires of hell they say what does that
mean how counterintuitive but see love
is what God is that's all God knows how
to do the love of God is always shining
on us but if you turn away from it it
becomes a kind of torture to you because
you're meant to respond to it the very
love in which the saint Basques enjoy is
what the sinner suffers in think of it
this way imagine a great party is going
on this exuberant joyful riotously fun
parties going on one person is there who
is completely surrendered to it they've
given themselves over to the exuberance
of the party they're having the time of
their life and now imagine someone at
the same party they've come into the
same party but they are turned in on
themselves in a kind of reproachful self
regard sitting sullenly in the corner
for that person the very exuberance of
the party is a torture the very
exuberance of the party is a source of
suffering we shouldn't talk about God
capriciously sending people to hell
would you think of Hell this way if
anyone's in it and by the way the church
is not obliging anyone to believe
that human beings in hell we just don't
know but if there is anyone in it it's
someone who is absolutely insistent I'm
not attending the party
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