To Hell You Go

Jonathan Edwards is widely known as one of the greatest and most profound of American theologians and revivalists. His famous fire and brimstone sermon, "Sinners in the hand of an angry God" is characteristic of the Protestant understanding of a wrathful God who sends those he condemns to a fiery place called hell, where they will be forever tormented and severed from God and his kingdom. Such a view has caused many Protestants (good intentions they may have) to present the gospel in a blunt and offensive manner to people of other faiths.

Thus, looking into older traditions of Christianity, which have different views of hell, might be helpful towards our understanding and presentation of the gospel. In Roman Catholicism, as stated by Pope John Paul II, hell is not a place but rather "a state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." Whereas in Protestantism, it is the fury God who sends sinners into hell to be tormented, Roman Catholicism teaches that it is the sinner who in his own freedom of choice chooses to separate himself from God. Such condition of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God is called "hell."

Eastern Orthodoxy agrees with Roman Catholicism that hell is not a place but rather a condition that we choose to be in, but it goes on to state that hell is not a state of separation from God, for heaven and hell both exist in the presence of God (which is consistent with our belief that God is omnipresent). How then can a person experience hell and another experience heaven in the presence of God? Consider a person who hates God and is only concern of his self-centered desires. For this person to spend eternity in the presence of God is a tormenting and hellish condition/experience. But for another who loves God and is only concern of the desires of God, to spend eternity in the presence of God is a heavenly condition/experience.

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox understanding of hell are certainly more consistent with the loving nature of God. Perhaps such an understanding of hell (especially Eastern Orthodoxy) will challenge our fire and brimstone methodology of evangelism, and compels us to reexamine our "pulling people out of hell into heaven" mentality.