What is the Catholic view of "Hell" these days.

[TheBear]

Hey, everybody!

So, I just wanted to hear each individual Catholic's description of "Hell".


Thanks.

 

[Rhamiel]

hell is separation from God

like do I think it is all fire and brimstone and red demons with pitchforks?
meh probably not

but it is a deep and lasting spiritual pain
we were created to be with God
that is our deep and lasting purpose
so the pain of those in hell could be described as an existential pain

are there physical pains in hell too?
well if we trust the writtings of many saints and mystics, (by mystics I mean Christian mystics, Christians who have had visions and stuff like that) then yes, there is also a physical element to the torments of hell
though some people think that the physical part is just symbolic

 

[Memento Mori]

This view is probably unpopular, but I think hell is a physical place located (probably) under the earth. I base my belief on the Fathers and (less authoritatively) on the many revelations of the saints. Unfortunately, I think hell is often overspiritualized. The "spiritualization" of hell was a necessary corrective to a certain caricature of hell, but like most correctives it should not be taken in isolation.

 

[Michie]

*just subscribing*

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

This view is probably unpopular, but I think hell is a physical place located (probably) under the earth. I base my belief on the Fathers and (less authoritatively) on the many revelations of the saints. Unfortunately, I think hell is often overspiritualized. The "spiritualization" of hell was a necessary corrective to a certain caricature of hell, but like most correctives it should not be taken in isolation.

That's interesting. Do you think we'll find it someday with the deep drilling we are doing?

Cool info on ultra deep wells:
http://www.muststayawake.com/SDAG/library/Kozlovsky(DeepestWell).pdf
Could You Ever Dig a Hole to China? (Children's Encyclopedia of Science): 4. The Deepest Holes in the World

 

[Memento Mori]

That's interesting. Do you think we'll find it someday with the deep drilling we are doing?

Cool info on ultra deep wells:
http://www.muststayawake.com/SDAG/library/Kozlovsky(DeepestWell).pdf
Could You Ever Dig a Hole to China? (Children's Encyclopedia of Science): 4. The Deepest Holes in the World

Well, the only thing physical about hell as far as I know is the fire (which somehow has the ability to afflict incorporeal beings), so I don't suppose we'd know it if we struck it. Maybe it's in the earth's core? I have no idea.

 

[Fantine]

I think of the words of "Amazing Grace:"

"I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind and now I see."

I believe hell is separation from God--due to our blindness rather than God's absence. If God is everywhere God is in hell--but blinded by our sin, we fail to recognize Him.

I see purgatory in a similar way....God's love is shining upon all, warming them, and eventually those spirits who are not completely blinded by sin will recognize God and gradually allow His love to permeate their souls and join in true communion with Him.

Perhaps that's why I believe that few people are in hell...it seems to me that it would take a lifetime immersed in evil to be permanently blinded to the power of God's presence.

 

[Gwendolyn]

Perhaps that's why I believe that few people are in hell...it seems to me that it would take a lifetime immersed in evil to be permanently blinded to the power of God's presence.

I wish I could be so optimistic.

All I know is that if hell exists, I'm going there.

For the OP, the main thing the Church teaches about hell is that it is separation from God, and that it is painful. The spiritual pain and emptiness of never finding peace could be hell enough for eternity, I think.

I like Eastern Christian notion that God is light, and hell is being in the presence of that light and having it feel painful, like burning, because we rejected God in some way. Similarly, those in heaven experience the light as warmth and love.

 

[ourladyoftherosary]

Father Barron's commentary on hell:
Fr. Barron comments on Hell - YouTube

 

[BBCath]

I wish I could be so optimistic.

All I know is that if hell exists, I'm going there.

Gwen, how do you know that?

 

[Tigg]

All I know is separation, fire, pain and I am trying to not go there.

 

[WarriorAngel]

Hey, everybody!

So, I just wanted to hear each individual Catholic's description of "Hell".


Thanks.

Hell is awful.
Hell exists.
Souls burn.
They lose God.

And lastly - they chose hell at judgement as a form of mercy because they cannot bare to be in the Presence of the Lord [Who tried to warn them].
His Holiness is too much. Burning eternally is more merciful for them than being in His Presence. Such is the wages of sin...

 

[WarriorAngel]

I wish I could be so optimistic.

All I know is that if hell exists, I'm going there.

For the OP, the main thing the Church teaches about hell is that it is separation from God, and that it is painful. The spiritual pain and emptiness of never finding peace could be hell enough for eternity, I think.

I like Eastern Christian notion that God is light, and hell is being in the presence of that light and having it feel painful, like burning, because we rejected God in some way. Similarly, those in heaven experience the light as warmth and love.

I doubt you are going there.

According the screams from the children at Fatima - it's intensely frightening.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Is it considered faux pas to consider the Orthodox view of hell, which is essentially that hell is being in the infinite presence of God's love while perpetually hating and rejecting that love? Like being at a party celebrating someone you don't like? It's a miserable experience.

 

[Gwendolyn]

Is it considered faux pas to consider the Orthodox view of hell, which is essentially that hell is being in the infinite presence of God's love while perpetually hating and rejecting that love? Like being at a party celebrating someone you don't like? It's a miserable experience.

No, that is not a faux pas. It is within the realm of Catholic belief as Eastern Catholics believe what you described. Add in the concept of God as light and light as burning those who detest it, and you have the Eastern view in a nutshell.

I favour that view.

 

[Gnarwhal]

No, that is not a faux pas. It is within the realm of Catholic belief as Eastern Catholics believe what you described. Add in the concept of God as light and light as burning those who detest it, and you have the Eastern view in a nutshell.

I favour that view.

Agreed, I think it makes the most sense. Especially since in the Old Testament God seems to manifest himself as fire (pillar of fire, burning bush, etc) so it seems logical to deduce that being in the presence of God would be an illuminating experience for the righteous, while as an unrepentant sinner it would be a painful experience.

I like your sigpic by the way!

 

[Brooklyn Knight]

"I don't believe in Hell; how about Los Angeles?"

Sorry, whenever Hell is talked about, that MadTV skit pops into my head with Woody Allen in Die Hard.

To me, Hell is like going out drinking and then waking up in the middle of the night in Bedford Stuyvesant. You ask yourself "how did I get here?," but you have no time to recollect because you hear a gunshot, and you start jetting, but you don't know which way is which. You try to use Google Map but that is a no go: battery is out of juice. You then start looking for the nearest payphone, and you find them...just that one is missing the actual phone, the other has no dial tone, and the third one has some sort of ooze on the speaker. Oh, and that's when you realize your wallet is missing.

Do you risk it? Of course not; this is Brooklyn after all. You then hope you can catch a cab, but this is Bedford Stuyvesant at 4 in the morning! You're better off finding a Leprechaun battling a Unicorn for a cookie, and I'm serious about seeing that because these Hipsters here in the park...you know what, I'm going off topic but I can talk about that some other time.

You then say "I know, I'll just head in one direction really quick," but you soon realize that was a stupid idea: you live in North Brooklyn and you just ventured further South. Way to go, genius. But you're kinda in luck: you spot a highway; you say to yourself "I'll walk along the underpass." Plan works...at first.

You then spot a group of people: 50-100. They're all huddled next to a burning trash can. You get spooked and as you turn, you get rammed by a semi.

Somehow, you live through it. You wake up from a coma that you've been in for 18 years. That nightmarish night is over with. You talk with the doctor and the nurses and they say what a miracle it is that you are alive. They give you thumbs-up and hugs.

Some time has passed and you just went through months and months of rehabilitation. You can't wait to start your life anew. Then, you get handed the bill. There's no way you will ever pay that off.

Oh, and you find out your home address is in Jersey.

That's Hell, my friend.

All I know is that if hell exists, I'm going there.

Hey, you're back! How's it going?

I see that attitude of you going to Hell is back as well. Please stop. You don't know that.

Okay, love you.

 

[truthseeker32]

I prefer the Eastern view as well, especially since God is omnipresent, and thus cannot ever be completely separated from us.

 

[QuantaCura]

Scripture does describe Hell as separation from the presence of God:

2:Thess 1:9 They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Our Lord also uses imagery that implies an absence (in parables He describes people being thrown out of a house into the darkness)

However, since God is omnipresent, I think speaking of a separation or being excluded from the Lord's presence should be understood to refer to the exclusion of the soul from communion with God and the blessed (cf. CCC 1033).

 

[truthseeker32]

Scripture does describe Hell as separation from the presence of God:

2:Thess 1:9 They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Our Lord also uses imagery that implies an absence (in parables He describes people being thrown out of a house into the darkness)

However, since God is omnipresent, I think speaking of a separation or being excluded from the Lord's presence should be understood to refer to the exclusion of the soul from communion with God and the blessed (cf. CCC 1033).

Some biblical translations read differently:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his power:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)
For they will be paid in judgment: eternal destruction from the face of our Lord and from the glory of his power,