The National Herald published its quarterly Religion & Spirituality insert in its June 20-26 edition. We asked our contributors to tell us if they believe heaven and hell exist and, if so, what are they? The following article was included in the insert.
By Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou
Why can’t everyone be saved? It seems a logical question. After all, as people have long observed, if God is love, why would He send anyone to hell? Just as most heresies are not new but recycled ideas from the past, the idea that in the end everyone would be saved is likewise nothing new. It had been discussed and rejected by the Church long ago. In fact, this idea has a name, in Greek, of course: apokatastasis panton. This literally means the “restoration of all (things).” Reportedly one of the early proponents of this idea was the most famous and influential theologian of the early Church, Origen, a brilliant third-century thinker from Alexandria. Origen and the teaching of apokatastasis were condemned by the Church at the Fifth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 551. Reportedly, Gregory of Nyssa, a famous and well regarded fourth century Father of the Church also may have taught this. The Fathers of the Church are considered authorities in Orthodoxy, and yet even if Gregory taught or believed it, apokatastasis was rejected. The opinion of one Father or a small number of Fathers does not override the opinion of the Church as a whole.
Why can’t Gregory of Nyssa and Origen be correct that, in the end, God will save everyone? In theology, our individual opinions or wishes play no role. What matters is what God has revealed to us. We must accept that and conform ourselves to His will and revelation, rather than pretend that the truth is something else. Christ spoke frequently of the Kingdom of Heaven and likewise he spoke of a place of eternal torment, usually referring to it as “Gehenna.” He told us that when he returns to judge the world he will separate the sheep (the good people) from the goats (the bad people) and that the sheep will inherit eternal life and the goats will be sent to eternal punishment. We cannot deny that Christ spoke many times of both a heavenly kingdom and of a place of eternal torment. Therefore, the Church rejects the notion that everyone will be saved in the end.
Besides Christ’s own teachings, why must apokatastasis be rejected? Why can’t it be true? There are three important reasons why everyone will not be saved: (1) Heaven is not a “place,” (2) We choose hell because God does not “send” anyone to hell, and (3) it is impossible to share eternal life with God later if we have not lived a life with God now on this earth.
First, what is “heaven” and what is “hell”? Let us divest ourselves of childish notions that heaven is like a lovely park where we will be having a picnic or that in heaven we will be sitting on clouds and playing harps. These ideas are acceptable only for young children who cannot conceptualize in an abstract manner. By the time we reach adulthood we ought to be capable of deeper and more complex thought than this. In the Orthodox Church we rarely speak of “going to heaven,” perhaps because that word conjures up in our minds a “place,” somewhere “up there.” But God is not “up there” and heaven is not a physical “place.” Conversely, what is hell? It is the absence of God and the absence of all of the good things he provides. Without God we would experience a tormented existence because it would be a life without love, hope, beauty, goodness, light, joy, etc.
Rather than referring to “going to heaven” the Orthodox Church speaks consistently of obtaining “eternal life.” Salvation is eternal life with God. Everyone will not “be saved,” not because God denies this to anyone but because we do not desire a life with God. The witness of the Scriptures are clear: God desires “that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim. 2:4). Even in the Old Testament the message is clear: God “does not desire the death of a sinner but that he turn from his wickedness and live.” (Ez. 18:23) Christ said that hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). It was never intended for us. God is a loving God. God wants everyone to be saved. But God does not force himself upon us. He respects human freedom. He created all of us with the ability to make our own choices, including whether we wish to have a relationship with Him or not. The invitation is open to all, but the choice must be by us and it must be made in this life. If we chose to follow the devil and his angels, then we will end up in the place which was prepared for them. But only because we have freely chosen it. What about people who may never have heard of Jesus Christ? What about people in difficult circumstances? Everyone knows right from wrong. Everyone is born with a conscience. Everyone knows what it is to be kind or to be cruel. We will be judged by God justly, not only on what we know or believe in our heads but on how we have lived our lives.
The purpose of this life is to gain eternal life. Why doesn’t God override human freedom and simply say “You are going to live with me eternally”? Because God is LOVE, he created us to love so He gave us the ability to love. Love cannot be forced or demanded. Love requires free will. Without free will we would be robots and we would lack the capacity to love. Therefore, God will never force us into a relationship with him because any relationship with God must be based on love and must be freely chosen.
Third, it is impossible for us to enjoy eternal life with God later if we do not live a life with God now. Why not? Why can’t I live a profane, immoral, cruel, greedy, selfish, hate-filled life now and still be with God later in the next life? Because God is HOLY and “heaven” is not a “place” but eternal life in union with God. God who is holy cannot share a life with one whose life is profane and sinful. It is true that we are all sinners, and God forgives our sins, but only when we acknowledge them and attempt to change our lives to model ourselves after God. We are all created in the “image” of God. Our purpose on this earth is to try to acquire the “likeness” of God. If we are not behaving in a God-like manner, we are deluding ourselves if we think that we could possibly share eternal life with God. With whom do you have a close relationship? With other people like yourself, who share your values, your lifestyle, your ideas, etc. Do you have those relationships because you ignore those people or because you cultivate those relationships and because they are important to you? It is not different than our relationship with God. We cannot expect God who is holy to share eternal life with us if we chose to ignore him, reject Him and chose a life of sin instead. Andrew of Caesarea, a Father of the Church, wrote that hell is unnecessary yet that people “volunteer” for it. Yes, God is good, loving, forgiving and compassionate, but people freely choose evil. Let those who point to the love, mercy and forgiveness of God also remember that he is honest, fair, righteous and true to His word. He neglected nothing for our salvation, even a death on the cross. He has done and continues to do His part. The rest is up to us.
Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou is professor of Biblical Studies and Early Christianity at the University of San Diego, and author of the book Guiding to a Blessed End: Andrew of Caesarea and His Apocalypse Commentary in the Ancient Church.
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