The Afterlife-- Hell Flashcards
Revelation 19:20 on Hell as a place
“A burning lake of fiery sulphur”
Matthew 3:12- Jesus on Hell
“He will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire”
Luke 15:24- Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Matthew 25:46– Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.
Origen on hell as a spiritual place
Hell is a separation from God where “Each sinner kindles his own fire… and our own vices from its fuel”. punishment is the anguish in the self reflection that will come having been separated from God’s glory. This is not physical torture but inner torment of the soul. However, Origen argued that this period must come to an end and everyone will be reconciled back to an all-loving god having realised their misdeeds and repented after death. Canon Catholic belief
Gregory of Nyssa on hell as a spiritual place
Hell is a state of conscience which is experienced when placed in front of Jesus for the final judgement
Tillich & Sartre on Hell as a symbol
Tillich- hell is a symbol for human alienation from one another. All is eventually reconciled back to God.
Sartre- hell is a representation of the psychological torment of guilt surrounding perceived sins.
Support for hell as a real place
Hegemonic conception in most of the history of Christianity- Danté’s Divine Comedy (Inferno) etc.
Appeals to the idea that Jesus is God incarnate- since Jesus prophesizes directly about the type of torture sinners in hell will endure. Only God has the authority to teach about eschatology.
Annihilationism- hell is real and eternal but people do not remain there for eternity and are eventually annihilated by God into non-existence (resolves the logical problem of evil that a just god would bever condemn his creation t an eternal torture
Support for hell as a real place
Hegemonic conception in most of the history of Christianity- Danté’s Divine Comedy (Inferno) etc.
Appeals to the idea that Jesus is God incarnate- since Jesus prophesizes directly about the type of torture sinners in hell will endure. Only God has the authority to teach about esch
Criticism of hell as a spiritual state
Contradicts Jesus and scripture and stuff
