Human Freedom and God's Love: Hell is Not Dead

God did not save the angels who fell (2 Pet. 2:4) and has told us He will not do so for humanity graced with a lifetime to repent of their fall. The Church has always taught that universalism in any variation is a dangerous heresy that breeds presumption. Hell is not dead, nor is it ever full (Prov. 27:20).

P class=MsoNormal>NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - There's a sad mutiny afoot in protestant evangelicalism, an internet mob mentality and tweet war over a recent book by a famous evangelical mega-church pastor, in which he floats questions on the reality of hell and the ultimate salvation of everyone. The publisher's blurb speaks of the book as putting "...hell on trial, and [its] message is decidedly optimistic--eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins."

A former Protestant of this pastor's denomination, I am intrigued by the schizophrenic dogmatic positions within this particular denomination (not to mention every other conceivable flavor of non-Catholic Christianity). But the real interest for me on this issue is the stubbornness with which the universal salvation belief pervades Catholic circles, presumably because of widespread ignorance of Church history and Tradition combined with an insidious secular humanistic mentality.

The flak is over "universalism." Summarily condemned by the Church Fathers as heresy, universalism basically posits that God is love, and could not, after lovingly cultivating the human heart, collective or individual, allow it to "burn" in an eternal hell. Originally, universalism included even Satan in salvation, but "neo-universalists," whether Protestant or Catholic, stop short of that when they propose the possibility that all men, without exception, will go to heaven.

Advocates of universalism trumpet that the Church does not teach that anyone is in hell. They cite statements from Church documents and Fathers (out of context), presenting them as though the Church once believed and taught universalism. The Bible itself is presented as a document that often contradicts itself and from which one can construct sharply different arguments so that theology is merely the product of human hands and hearts.

Calling themselves "new thinkers," they maintain that what those in the 21st century accept as immutable doctrine was first formulated in the fog and confusion of the 1st century, a time when Jesus' disciples were baffled and overwhelmed by the loss of their Lord and their own violent persecution on all sides. Early teaching on hell then, was understandably skewed, they say, and unreliable. Hell is therefore empty, they extrapolate, and the "love of God which desires all men be saved and come to the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3-4), is always successful.

It is true that when Jesus failed to return soon after the Passion and Resurrection that the Fathers were compelled to make sense of their various apostolic recollections and that competing ideas emerged immediately. But it was this very assembling and wrestling that produced the definitive clarifications of the Truth against dozens of competing variations.

And while the Church does not specify that particular individuals are in hell, she in no way teaches that no one at all is there. In fact, the Catholic understanding of human freedom as reflective of the very image of God within us is at risk when we undermine the potential of that freedom. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear:

"Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God." (CCC #1861)

The Catechism, the Fathers, and the Bible all firmly establish that some will choose hell. Hell is separation from God. This is clear in the dogmatic teaching of the Church, but who in particular will go to hell is not: "The words of Christ are unequivocal. In Matthew's Gospel he speaks clearly of those who will go to eternal punishment (cf. Mt. 25:46). Who will these be? The Church has never made any pronouncement in this regard (Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II).

It is also true that God desires all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4), but man was lovingly created in the glorious image of God with a free will. God respects man's free will to a wondrous degree: we can have all the hell we want, simply by ignoring His warnings against it.

The mystics and saints taught that when all things are made well, when all things have been gathered up and restored in, with, and through Christ, what will remain for those individuals whose will has been so hardened and twisted by sin is hell. The consuming fire that is the love of God will be heaven to those who know and love Him and hell to those who don't.

"Love demands salvation" is a nice, emotional idea and a comfort to those who fear the challenge of loving and following a God whose brand of love is not license or compromise but utter devotion. We don't see the early Church "loving free"; we see them as a sign of contradiction. The apostles were undone by the beauty of the Man. The first Popes' primacy was witnessed in their martyrdom for the Faith. The early Father's risked everything to live the Cross as Jesus preached and lived it.

Light Your Free Candle for Pope Francis. May He Rest in Peace.

Love demands commitment and devotion, selflessness, so that the justice of God is not compromised one bit by His love or mercy. The Cross is both justice and love. Jesus offers an urgent and immediate call - 'Repent! Be transformed! Turn!' 'There's a renewal of all things!' If the earth is, in some way, to be our eternal home, then its care, and the care of all its creatures, takes on fresh urgency.

Speaking on how the sexual abuse scandals that rocked the Church in recent years could have occurred, Pope Benedict the XVI commented, "The prevailing mentality was that the Church must not be a Church of laws, but, rather, a Church of love; she must not punish. Thus the awareness that punishment can be an act of love ceased to exist. This led to a darkening of the mind, even in very good people ... Ultimately this also narrowed the concept of love, which in fact is not just being nice or courteous, but is found in the truth. And another component of truth is that I must punish the one who has sinned against real love" (Light of the World).

God did not save the angels who fell (2 Pet. 2:4) and has told us He will not do so for humanity graced with a lifetime to repent of their fall. The Church has always taught that universalism in any variation is a dangerous heresy that breeds presumption. Hell is not dead, nor is it ever full (Prov. 27:20).

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Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, a contributing writer for Catholic Online, and the author of the DVD-driven Bible study Soul of the World, The Heart as God's Dwelling Place. Visit her at pursuingthesummit.com.

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