DAY 198
CHALLENGE
“I can’t take the idea of hell seriously. The idea that a loving God would confine people to a fiery place deep in the earth where devils poke them with pitchforks in a torture chamber is ridiculous.”
DEFENSE
The next world transcends our ability to imagine, and, even at their best, the images we use aren’t meant to be more than pointers.
Like some popular depictions of heaven, popular depictions of hell owe more to artistic imagination than they do to Scripture. The im- age of devils poking people with pitchforks—or otherwise torturing them—is not found in Scripture but in art and in cartoons.
Scripture depicts fallen angels in hell alongside fallen humans (Jude 6; Rev. 20:10), not torturing them.
Describing hell, the New Testament uses images like fire (Matt. 13:50; Mark 9:43; Rev. 14:10, 21:8) and being excluded from God’s presence (Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 25:30; 2 Thess. 1:9). These give us a way of picturing the next world, but because that world transcends our imagination, we must recognize the limits of the images.
John Paul II stated: “The images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy” (General Audience, July 28, 1999).
Consequently, “The thought of hell—and even less the improper use of biblical images—must not create anxiety or despair, but is a necessary and healthy reminder of freedom” (ibid.).
“Hell’s principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (CCC 1057).
We therefore must leave the details of precisely how hell works— where and how the suffering takes place—to God. What is important for us is to recognize the need to ensure that we are united with God, the source of ultimate and eternal happiness.