Autor: Ormerod, Neil

Buch: Creation, Grace, and Redemption

Titel: Creation, Grace, and Redemption

Stichwort: Gericht - Hölle (3 Erklärungsversuche: verwirklichte Möglichkeit - Auflösung - reale, doch unrealisierte Möglichkeit); Fegefeuer; Origenes, apocatastasis; Thomas

Kurzinhalt: How can a God of love condemn someone to eternal punishment? ...

Textausschnitt: HELL AND PUNISHMENT

185c The notion of hell involving the possibility of eternal damnation remains one of the great sticking points, or point of tension for many modern believers.1 The question simply put is, How can a God of love condemn someone to eternal punishment? In responding it is not adequate to contrast the God of hell-fire and brimstone of the Old Testament with the God of love revealed by Jesus in the New Testament. Many of our images of hell are in fact drawn from the mouth of Jesus, for example, in Mark 9:47-48 Jesus warns, "And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched." The notion of hell is present in both Old and New Testaments. Moreover, the notion of hell is well attested in a large variety of religious traditions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam to name a few.2 This widespread belief points not necessarily to some universal revelation but to some underlying universal concern or experience to which a religiously attuned consciousness will inevitably respond: What are the consequences of my sins and failings? For if there are no consequences whatever, the moral life would seem to be pointless.3

186a We have already learned that the Old Testament had no clear conception of the afterlife. The principal notion is of Sheol, the underworld inhabited by the shades of the dead. This is a "washed-out" existence; the shades are not really alive, cut off from the living and from God. It is not necessarily a place of punishment or suffering in an active sense, more a place of absence or futility. The dead cannot praise God, so what is the point of existence! Some translations of the Old Testament will render Sheol as "hell" or "Hades." We have also seen how, under the pressure of persecution, Israel developed a notion of resurrection of the righteous whom God would raise from the dead so that they may be rewarded for their fidelity in the face of suffering. The same apocalyptic pressure gave rise to a sense that the wicked deserved punishment for their crimes. (Fs)

186b Images of hell are not uncommon in the New Testament. Perhaps the most memorable account is found in the last judgment scene in Matthew 25, where we find the Son of Man separating sheep from goats, with the words:

Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." (Matt 25:41-43)

186c Hell is the counterpoint of the kingdom of heaven, the consequence of evil deeds (see, e.g., the parable of Dives and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31), of a lack of forgiveness (see the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matt 8:23-35), of sins and crimes that exclude us from the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10). Perhaps the most graphic images of hell can be found in the book of Revelation:
Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name." Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. (Rev 14:9-12)

187a These early Christian witnesses felt no contradiction between their proclamation of the good news of salvation and the consequences of human sin and failure to respond to the gospel or to live a moral life. (Fs)
187b While the writings of the New Testament formed the horizon of belief among the early Christian communities, there were not a few who sought to push the boundaries of the question. Based on 1 Corinthians 15:28 and his own curious blend of Christian faith and Neoplatonic thought, Origen developed the notion that in the end God would be all in all, that hell would be emptied and even Satan himself would be reconciled to God. This teaching became known as apocatastasis, or the doctrine of universal salvation. Although Origen's position was later to be condemned, he was not alone in putting forward such speculation. Others with a similar position include Gregory of Nyssa, Clement of Alexandria, and Jerome, all of whom are saints of the church. More recently, universalist tendencies can be found in the writings of Karl Barth, Karl Rahner, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. (Fs)

187c The issue of hell continues to "inflame" passions in various quarters.4 There are justified concerns in balancing divine justice and mercy, righteousness and compassion. Within the broad debate it would seem that there are two basic assertions in relation to hell on which all are agreed:
- The Church teaches the existence of hell as a "state" of eternal punishment (CCC, no. 1035)
- The Church has never taught that any particular person is actually in hell. (Fs)

188a Some might argue that the existence of Satan and the punishment of the demons (fallen angels) does in fact place some beings in hell. However, from these two basic positions theologians have developed three different accounts. (Fs)

1. Hell is a real (and realized) possibility for human beings. This is perhaps the "common teaching" of the Christian tradition. It would place in hell all those who die in a state of serious, unrepented (mortal) sin. The estimates of those damned to hell vary from the majority of the human race (Augustine's massa damnata) to a few recalcitrant sinners. Estimates probably reflect different degrees of optimism or pessimism in relation to the current historical context. (Fs)

188b The difficulties people have with this position vary. First, there is the notion of God inflicting an eternal punishment for sins. Is this fair and just? How does it fit with Jesus' revelation of God's forgiveness and mercy? Second, we have problems already identified with the definitive fixity brought about by death. Why is repentance not possible after death? And what is the value of the punishment of hell if it cannot produce repentance? Finally, how is a final eschatological state possible with some part of creation in permanent and unresolved rebellion against God? How can God then be "all in all"? These problems are resolved in one of two distinct directions outlined below. (Fs)

2. Hell is not a state of punishment but a metaphor for annihilation. Some argue that, rather than a state of punishment, hell is to be thought of as simply the annihilation of the sinner. At death, then, the sinner simply ceases to be. This position is adopted by a number of Protestant theologians, but also by Edward Schillebeeckx.5

188c This solution has a certain elegance. On the one hand, no punishment is as great as simple annihilation; removal of the gift of being is an obvious and complete repudiation of the sinner. And it is an eternal punishment, completely removing the sinner from the flow of time and even being. On the other hand, it removes the problem of an eternal process of conscious suffering on the part of the sinner, a suffering that has no redemptive goal or purpose in the sinners themselves. One might even refer to scriptural references to the "death of the soul," as distinct from the death of the body.6

188d Critics of this position can raise a number of objections. Some would find it hard to reconcile with the notion of hell as commonly taught. Some see it as excessively rationalistic, almost too neat, in the face of the mystery of God. Finally, it is difficult to reconcile with the notion of the natural immortality of the soul, which has played an important role in Catholic thought. Here we might find why it is attractive to Protestant theologians who do not necessarily accept the natural immortality of the soul. (Fs)

189a
3. Modified universalism-hell as a real but unrealized possibility. Finally there is a position akin to apocatastasis that would see hell as a real but unrealized possibility. Taking a lead from the absence of any condemnation of a person to hell, this position views hell as a real possibility (realized perhaps in the demons) but never actual in the case of human beings. For example, Edith Stein, recently canonized St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross by John Paul II, thought the likelihood of going to hell as "infinitely improbable" in light of God's prevenient grace,7 while St.Therese of Lisieux proclaimed belief in hell but entertained the possibility that hell is empty.8 This position would then consider the Gospel material on hell as a "threat discourse," something that highlights the dangers of human freedom separated from God. (Fs)

189b A further modification in von Balthasar's writings is that we must hope that all are in fact saved. We must pray and act for the salvation of all, as an element of Christian hope (CCC, no. 1058). The "rightness" of this position is evident in the horrific notion of hoping or praying that someone be condemned to hell. Avery Dulles quotes material from John Paul II that points in this direction:9
Christian faith teaches that in taking the risk of saying "yes" or "no," which marks the (human) creature's freedom, some have already said no. They are the spiritual creatures that rebelled against God's love and are called demons (cf. Fourth Lateran Council). What happened to them is a warning to us: it is a continuous call to avoid the tragedy which leads to sin and to conform our life to that of Jesus who lived his life with a "yes" to God.

Eternal damnation remains a possibility, but we are not granted, without special divine revelation, the knowledge of whether or which human I beings are effectively involved in it. 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 within the proclamation that the risen Jesus has conquered Satan, giving us the Spirit of God who makes us cry "Abba, Father!" (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) (General Audience talk of July 28,1999)

190a There is no resolution of this difficult problem. We are dealing with fundamental issues of freedom, both divine and human, of grace and sin, forgiveness, compassion, and our human hardness of heart. This is the stuff of our human drama. With von Balthasar, perhaps the best we can do is hope that in fact, all are saved. (Fs)

PURGATORY-A CATHOLIC THING

190b While belief in heaven and hell is part of the common Christian tradition, Catholics have long held a belief in a third postmortem state, that of purgatory.10 Persons in purgatory are still "in process"; that is, they are moving "toward" the beatific vision, but because of the reality of sin in their lives, there is some impediment to their final enjoyment of that vision. Their state is "definitive" in that their salvation is assured. But there is still a need for transformation and growth, even after death. As with the case of infant baptism and original sin, belief in purgatory is built on the church's practice of praying for the dead, which led to the teaching, rather than vice versa. How does such prayer benefit the dead and what difference does it make? The doctrinal "answer" to these questions is belief in purgatory. (Fs) (notabene)

190c The first evidence we have of prayers for the dead is in the Second Book of Maccabees (12:43-46). After a battle between Jewish and pagan armies, Jewish fighters who had died in battle were found to have pagan amulets on their bodies-basically good luck charms. This was clearly an affront to God, but on the other hand they had died fighting for the survival of God's people. In addition, at this time speculation in relation to the afterlife was developing among the Jews. The response of the leader of the Jewish forces, Judas Maccabees, was: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."This practice of praying for the dead continued in the early church; for example, the Apostolic Constitution (ca. fourth century C.E.) states:
Let us pray for our brethren who sleep in Christ, that God who in his love for men has received the soul of the departed one, may forgive him every fault, and in mercy and clemency receive him into the bosom of Abraham, with those who in this life have pleased God.11

191a There are also some scriptural texts, such as 1 Cor 3:11-15, that give some indication of a postmortem purification, but these are relatively minor and inconclusive, at least in the minds of Protestant and Orthodox Christians. (Fs)

In the Catholic tradition the most definitive teaching on the existence of purgatory is from the Council of Trent (DS 1820; also CCC, no. 1030-32). At the time of the Reformation the issue of purgatory was inseparable from the complaints raised by the reformers about the selling of indulgences. Indulgences promised to "free souls from the punishments of purgatory"; the reformers equated this with works of righteousness and buying salvation. In light of this the council fathers affirmed the existence of purgatory and the practice and efficacy of prayer for the dead, while at the same time curtailing certain scandalous practices in relation to indulgences and unhelpful speculations that "do not make for edification" (DS 1820). (Fs)

191b This, then, is the basic teaching in relation to the nature of purgatory. Our problem is to try to make some sense of it, as theologians seeking under-standing of what is believed. Apart from the existence of purgatory, the ele-ments that seem most significant are the following:
- Prayers for the dead, including indulgences, are efficacious. (Fs)

- The postmortem state is one of suffering or purification for the effects of the sins in one's life. (Fs)
- This suffering is "for a time"; that is, it is not eternal. (Fs)

191c The first thing that we should note is that these elements seem to presume that the postmortem state is not atemporal or nontemporal.The prayers of the living are a temporal reality, and if they are indeed efficacious for the dead, then it means that there is some relationship between the dead and our temporal world. Similarly the very fact that the sufferings of purgatory are not "eternal" but have a beginning and an end would indicate that there is some temporal order in the postmortem state. If nothing else, the doctrine of purgatory should disabuse us of any assumption that the postmortem state is one of timeless eternity.12 This is not to take up without some hesitation the notion of spending a number of "days in purgatory" or of indulgences being a release from so many "days in purgatory," as was once promoted in popular Catholic piety. But it is to recognize, as we have argued before, that there is an ongoing relationship between the living and the dead one that in some sense "defines" their present state. This notion of a relationship between the living and the dead may also help us understand the other two aspects of purgatory noted above. How do we understand the notion of suffering and the efficacious nature of prayer for the dead?

192a Let us begin with the notion of the suffering of the dead. Common teaching often refers to the "temporal effects of sin" in relation to purgatory. What might this mean? We know that the evil people do has its consequences in history, in the lives of people and communities. Sin impacts persons, making their own sinfulness more likely; it distorts societies through sinful structures; it distorts cultures through their justification of sinful structures (ideologies). The effects of sin radiate out through human history and do not end simply because a person has died. In a very real sense we are still feeling the "effects" of the sin of "Adam and Eve," and certainly the effects of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Pol Pot. (Fs)

192b What is the relationship of the sinner who has died to the history of the consequences of their own sinfulness? How do they experience it? Are the dead active agents or passive in relation to the world? Passivity is itself a form of suffering. The dead may indeed "suffer" the consequences of their evil in the world, to which they are related, through their inability to do anything about it, through the awareness of their own personal responsibility for this evil. They suffer their own powerlessness; they suffer out of the love they have for those who are affected by their actions. This passivity is evident in the position of Aquinas that those in purgatory cannot even pray for the living (ST II-II q. 83, a. 11). Rather, they are in need of our prayers. (Fs)

The second aspect of this is more internal and has to do with questions of psychological continuity. In a traditional theology of grace, while God's grace is operative in the sinner, still there are "actual graces" prior to conversion proper, which create shifts or movements in the willingness of the sinner, so as to ensure that the psychological effects of conversion are not so dramatic as to cause serious breakdown. There is no reason to think that the same pattern does not pertain to our postmortem state. Most of this process can be thought of as letting go of undue attachments, a reordering of our desires toward the highest good which is God, a purification of our motivations, and so on. Such processes are not automatic in this life, nor are they likely to be in the next. Again there is a certain passivity to such a process, it is something one "undergoes" or suffers. (Fs) (notabene)

192c This brings us to the final element, the one that underpins the whole doctrine of purgatory, that of prayers for the dead. What does it mean to pray for the dead? Here again we might quote the opinion of Aquinas especially in relation to indulgences, that the primary effect of an indulgence is on the person who performs it (IV Sententiarum, dist. xlv, q. ii, a. 3, q. 2). It is not difficult to relate this to what we have discussed above. If the dead suffer the effects of their sins in the world, the changes in us brought about by our prayers can be part of the healing of that evil through:
- Promoting forgiveness in us for the person who has died-our lack of forgiveness may "bind" a person to their sins. (Fs)

- Taking on some responsibility for the evil they have done to others- repairing the damage done (reparation). (Fs)

Through actions such as these we may indeed lessen the suffering of those who have died. (Fs)
193a There are other eschatological issues that need to be explored, particularly in relation to notions of final judgment, general resurrection, and the relationship of the world to come to the present world. We shall take up these issues in the final chapter of this book. (Fs)