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…