Don't go Hell....the weather is nicer here....Part I
I mentioned earlier that I will hope to cover the topic of Hell. I think that this is an important topic since many people have wonderful fantasy of what Hell is suppose to be like. They many times will base their ideas of what hell is suppose to be like on biblical imagery which is suppose to be symbolic for what it will feel like to be in Hell then what will actually take place in hell, and of course, there is what Hollywood would like you to believe about Hell.
First I wish to remind the readers that I am not a theology scholar and my views are expressed in the how I understand and interpret the teaching of the Catholic Church and this is the perspective that I will be heavily focusing on. Now with that out of the way I want to emphasize that this may or may not be the full teaching of the Catholic Church and retract any possible statement that is in direct or indirection opposition to Church teaching and suggest to get a more scholarly understanding you seek the help of a priest or professional Church scholar.
How do you start to talk about Hell. I mean itâs a scary thought for many because if it exists, you never want to go there because there are images of burning, suffering, and pain. Some Christians base their entire devotion to God on avoiding this very place. But of course, that is not the reason Christians should be well behaved. I mean if the sake of being good is to avoid evil it, in my humble opinion is missing something. I digress, before we can understand fully who goes to Hell we first must understand what Hell really is, and is not.
Hell is not this big place where the Devil thinks of creative ways to torture you. This is mostly Hollywood filling your mind. It is also not this big lake of flame, well at least not necessarily. Now many protestants read the Bible very literally and think that if the Bible paints this picture it must be exactly that. This argument can lead to all kinds of problems because it can neglect the true meaning of the texts. What do protestants do when the Bible doesnât seem to agree at two different parts? Since some protestants donât look to what the true meaning and stick to the literal description or meaning of the text that they canât see the connection of the text. Another problem comes up with scripture passages that suggest extreme ways to deal with problems. For example, Jesus says in the Gospels it is better to poke out ones own eyes then to be cast into the internal fire. Now unless all protestants are perfect and donât see with their eyes, they understand this text has more meaning then the direct command of the Lord. The meaning of this gospel example is not important at the moment.
Hell is describe in the Bible is not meant to be take completely at face value. That is why the Church defines Hell as:
âThe state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives (CCC 1033)â
We see in this definition many of the important factors to what will lead someone to Hell or the total separation from God which is the state a person finds themselves when they achieve the state of being in Hell. So Hell is more of a state and not per-say exactly a location or the mini-mart is a physical location like the gym or schools are too. So the notion that you go to hell in the strict physical sense is not what is meant when someone goes to Hell. The person who goes to Hell is separated from God and the blessed or those who are in full communion with the Creator. Well what does this mean to be complete separated from God?
Some may think well there are many people who spend their entire life separated from God, either because they are unhappy with him or they simply donât believe in him. Well no matter their relationship with God during the course of their life God remains permanently with them no matter the condition of the soul. This kind of attachment God has to his creation can, in some small way, be compare to a motherâs attachment to their child. Good mothers, who love their children will always, love their children no matter if the child event recognizes the existence of the mother and if the mother brought up the child the influences on the physiological development always remain behind. So though some may complain to exist without God they to the believer only fool themselves. One while living could no more purge God from their existence than remove their heart from their body and expect on living regularly. Granted there are still consequences for not having a mutual relationship with God but that is for another day.
You might be wondering why is it important to know that God is attached to us during our life time; very much sustaining us. Since God is the source of all that is good, he is the source of all and any happiness we experience. The feelings of joy, love, and so forth are all gifts from God. If you are separated from God, then all those good feelings, all those feelings are brought you joy and happiness are gone leaving you with only that which cause pain and suffering. It leaves us with the void and longing many of us experience and donât understand during moments of our life; the longing to be made whole with love itself. So when Jesus says you will burn in Hell, it in my opinion will be the burning desire to know God, to once again share in his gifts and ultimately his grace.
So we arrive at a picture of hell that is devoid of perhaps all the Hollywood horror that fills the minds of many. Instead we are left with the reality that Hell is total separation with God and in the end us alone with our own selfishness. Some may say what then are the roles of Demons and Satan, this is something for the moment I will leave to you to ponder since it is not part of the purpose of this jaunt. We wonât continue to describe Hell but leave this understand as is because this only part of our goal.
Now the second part of the definition tells us who will find themselves in total separation of God. But how does one choose to go to Hell. What are the actions that result in excommunicating one self from God and the blessed? Will there be Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Whites,Blacks, Latinos or so on in Hell?
"Because there is so much to read, I decided to cut it into two parts. Hopefully the second part of this blog will be completed by the end of the week."
First I wish to remind the readers that I am not a theology scholar and my views are expressed in the how I understand and interpret the teaching of the Catholic Church and this is the perspective that I will be heavily focusing on. Now with that out of the way I want to emphasize that this may or may not be the full teaching of the Catholic Church and retract any possible statement that is in direct or indirection opposition to Church teaching and suggest to get a more scholarly understanding you seek the help of a priest or professional Church scholar.
How do you start to talk about Hell. I mean itâs a scary thought for many because if it exists, you never want to go there because there are images of burning, suffering, and pain. Some Christians base their entire devotion to God on avoiding this very place. But of course, that is not the reason Christians should be well behaved. I mean if the sake of being good is to avoid evil it, in my humble opinion is missing something. I digress, before we can understand fully who goes to Hell we first must understand what Hell really is, and is not.
Hell is not this big place where the Devil thinks of creative ways to torture you. This is mostly Hollywood filling your mind. It is also not this big lake of flame, well at least not necessarily. Now many protestants read the Bible very literally and think that if the Bible paints this picture it must be exactly that. This argument can lead to all kinds of problems because it can neglect the true meaning of the texts. What do protestants do when the Bible doesnât seem to agree at two different parts? Since some protestants donât look to what the true meaning and stick to the literal description or meaning of the text that they canât see the connection of the text. Another problem comes up with scripture passages that suggest extreme ways to deal with problems. For example, Jesus says in the Gospels it is better to poke out ones own eyes then to be cast into the internal fire. Now unless all protestants are perfect and donât see with their eyes, they understand this text has more meaning then the direct command of the Lord. The meaning of this gospel example is not important at the moment.
Hell is describe in the Bible is not meant to be take completely at face value. That is why the Church defines Hell as:
âThe state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives (CCC 1033)â
We see in this definition many of the important factors to what will lead someone to Hell or the total separation from God which is the state a person finds themselves when they achieve the state of being in Hell. So Hell is more of a state and not per-say exactly a location or the mini-mart is a physical location like the gym or schools are too. So the notion that you go to hell in the strict physical sense is not what is meant when someone goes to Hell. The person who goes to Hell is separated from God and the blessed or those who are in full communion with the Creator. Well what does this mean to be complete separated from God?
Some may think well there are many people who spend their entire life separated from God, either because they are unhappy with him or they simply donât believe in him. Well no matter their relationship with God during the course of their life God remains permanently with them no matter the condition of the soul. This kind of attachment God has to his creation can, in some small way, be compare to a motherâs attachment to their child. Good mothers, who love their children will always, love their children no matter if the child event recognizes the existence of the mother and if the mother brought up the child the influences on the physiological development always remain behind. So though some may complain to exist without God they to the believer only fool themselves. One while living could no more purge God from their existence than remove their heart from their body and expect on living regularly. Granted there are still consequences for not having a mutual relationship with God but that is for another day.
You might be wondering why is it important to know that God is attached to us during our life time; very much sustaining us. Since God is the source of all that is good, he is the source of all and any happiness we experience. The feelings of joy, love, and so forth are all gifts from God. If you are separated from God, then all those good feelings, all those feelings are brought you joy and happiness are gone leaving you with only that which cause pain and suffering. It leaves us with the void and longing many of us experience and donât understand during moments of our life; the longing to be made whole with love itself. So when Jesus says you will burn in Hell, it in my opinion will be the burning desire to know God, to once again share in his gifts and ultimately his grace.
So we arrive at a picture of hell that is devoid of perhaps all the Hollywood horror that fills the minds of many. Instead we are left with the reality that Hell is total separation with God and in the end us alone with our own selfishness. Some may say what then are the roles of Demons and Satan, this is something for the moment I will leave to you to ponder since it is not part of the purpose of this jaunt. We wonât continue to describe Hell but leave this understand as is because this only part of our goal.
Now the second part of the definition tells us who will find themselves in total separation of God. But how does one choose to go to Hell. What are the actions that result in excommunicating one self from God and the blessed? Will there be Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Whites,Blacks, Latinos or so on in Hell?
"Because there is so much to read, I decided to cut it into two parts. Hopefully the second part of this blog will be completed by the end of the week."