Pope Francis talks about how “Our infinite sadness can only be cured by an infinite love.” But if we freely reject God’s infinite love, we’re left only with our own infinite sadness. Here’s how to harmonize the idea of hell – an eternity of suffering apart from God – with the idea of an all-good and loving God.
Tag: God & Hell
God & Hell: The Infinite Good
Are we like the tortured “hungry ghosts” of mythology, constantly craving and never satisfied? Or are there good reasons to believe God is capable of TOTALLY satisfying the infinite chasm in our hearts? A brief overview of the philosophical, Scriptural, and Patristic evidence.
God & Hell: God or Hungry Ghosts
Perhaps everything I said yesterday sounds depressing: we go through life constantly craving the good, and yet none of the goods of this life satisfy that craving. And you’re right. If atheists are right, and this is all that there is, reality really does seem to be a sick joke. And so we have to choose in what we believe: God or hungry ghosts?
God & Hell: Our Infinite Hunger
Traditionally, the four Sundays of Advent were preached on the “Four Last Things” (death, judgment, heaven, and hell), so it’s a good time to ask: Is the idea of hell – an eternity of suffering apart from God – compatible with the idea of an all-good and loving God? I think that this is one of the strongest arguments against traditional Christian doctrine. I would argue that it is, but that to see this we need to see something about ourselves, and about God in relation to us, before we can see why. That’s what I’ll be exploring over the next four days. I’ll be making four major points:
1. We have an infinite craving for the good. Everything we do is in pursuit of the good;
2. Because no earthly goods are capable of satisfying our hearts, life is cruel… unless there is a good capable of satisfying the infinite longings of our hearts.
3. God, as infinite and perfect good, is the only one who can fill our hearts.
4. Eternity without God would necessarily be hellacious.
Let’s start with the first of these points…