You are awesome! The only actual answer to this is twofold: our parish priest said, when I was about 11: “God doesn’t send anyone to hell. It’s completely our choice.” God is love, and we have free will. We can choose to act out of hate and reject love. When we do that, we are already in hell even though we may be—on a material level—safe and prosperous. Hell begins right here in this life. Heaven begins in this life. And we can choose to walk out of the hell of our own making any time. Gif doesn’t put us there.
Which brings me to (drumroll) C.S. Lewis and the second part of the answer (he, btw, was one of the people who explained that life is a continuum). He has Aslan saying “all times are now to me”. And Aslan is his symbol/metaphor for God. We humans live in linear time. God does not. There is no “before” or “after” for the love that made the universe. The good people who died didn’t have to wait at all!
That is what I was taught, and what I believe. The harrowing of hell is a story—a metaphor. Hell itself is a metaphor—though, when you see what evils Israel and the U.S. are doing, it can seem pretty real.
While in Catholic College, ha, imagine that, Catholic education all the way through college! I had a Professor who was a Priest and a Historian. He basically debunked much of what had been considered historical in the Bible. He said much of it was allegory and should not be taken literally. He would cross-section the story in the Bible with historical facts. He was a blessing and didn’t mind my questions at all. I can’t remember his name, but he was awesome in that he encouraged critical thinking.
You are awesome! The only actual answer to this is twofold: our parish priest said, when I was about 11: “God doesn’t send anyone to hell. It’s completely our choice.” God is love, and we have free will. We can choose to act out of hate and reject love. When we do that, we are already in hell even though we may be—on a material level—safe and prosperous. Hell begins right here in this life. Heaven begins in this life. And we can choose to walk out of the hell of our own making any time. Gif doesn’t put us there.
Which brings me to (drumroll) C.S. Lewis and the second part of the answer (he, btw, was one of the people who explained that life is a continuum). He has Aslan saying “all times are now to me”. And Aslan is his symbol/metaphor for God. We humans live in linear time. God does not. There is no “before” or “after” for the love that made the universe. The good people who died didn’t have to wait at all!
That is what I was taught, and what I believe. The harrowing of hell is a story—a metaphor. Hell itself is a metaphor—though, when you see what evils Israel and the U.S. are doing, it can seem pretty real.
Hope this helps.
While in Catholic College, ha, imagine that, Catholic education all the way through college! I had a Professor who was a Priest and a Historian. He basically debunked much of what had been considered historical in the Bible. He said much of it was allegory and should not be taken literally. He would cross-section the story in the Bible with historical facts. He was a blessing and didn’t mind my questions at all. I can’t remember his name, but he was awesome in that he encouraged critical thinking.