The Protestant and Orthodox Churches, on the other hand, say
that the only place you’re going to find purgatory is with a pair of skis, a
lift ticket, and a map to Durango, Colorado. They believe that purgatory is a
non-biblical invention, using the following ideas as their reasoning:
Jesus Christ already paid for sins in full. According to 1
Peter 3:18, Jesus Christ paid the price for sins once and for all time on the
cross. Protestants believe that if Christ paid for people’s sin already, then Christians
don’t need to go through a cleansing process a second time. What’s more, they
say that the idea of purgatory cheapens the work that Jesus Christ did on the
cross by putting the burden back onto Christians to persevere through a
purification process.
Purgatory is missing from the teachings of Jesus and the
apostles. Although Jesus talks much about heaven and hell, he never
specifically mentions or alludes to a place called purgatory, nor do the
apostles or anyone else in the New Testament. Protestants and Orthodox Christians
claim as support the idea that any New Testament scripture that Catholics use
for support are speculative and don’t provide clear evidence of purgatory’s
existence.
Purgatory isn’t mentioned in the Old Testament, either. The one
statement in the Catholic Bible that Catholics bring up as supporting prayer
for the dead wasn’t a part of the ancient Hebrew Bible or the scriptures of the
early Church. (See Chapter 6 for more on the Bible).
Jesus’ encounter with the thief on the cross implies
immediate entry into heaven. Protestants look at the words that Jesus said to
the thief on the cross (see Chapter 3) at face value and believe they teach
against any sort of limbo in between earth and heaven. In Luke 23:43, Jesus
tells the thief who had an on-the-cross conversion, “Assuredly I tell you,
today you will be with me in paradise” (italics mine).
The concept of purgatory evolved over time. The idea of
purgatory expanded over time – it’s not an idea that has consistently been part
of Church doctrine since the beginning. Purgatory didn’t get much attention in
the Church until the fifth century; the idea of a division between martyrs and
average Christians came first, followed by praying for the dead, and then the
idea of purification before entering heaven followed much later.
When you’re forgiven, your sins are forgotten. Although
Catholics distinguish between one’s forgiveness and purification, Protestants
believe the Bible doesn’t make a distinction. They point to Hebrews 10:17-18,
which says, “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more. Now where
these sins have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice or offering for
sin.” They also point to Romans 8:1 where Paul says, “There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Finally, the Apostle John
writes in 1 John 3:3, “Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself,
even as he is pure.”
Going to Hell: Considering the Underworld
“You can just go to hell.” “To hell in a handbasket.” “Hell,
no.” People casually say the word “hell” all the time in expressions like
these, but the Christian concept of hell is anything but casual. Frankly, it’s
scary business, though one that people outside of the Church find silly,
unfair, or politically incorrect. Hell isn’t a very popular topic inside church
walls, either. People much prefer more positive messages. Go to a thousand
churches on a Sunday morning, and for each of the ministers you hear preach on
hell, I’ll give you a nickel. I suspect that I won’t need much spare change to
pay you.
Yet, the belief in hell is closely tied to the Christian faith.
After all, if Christ died to save people, it follows logically that he had to
save humans from something. Without hell, the whole notion of Jesus suffering
on the cross for humanity doesn’t make sense.
All Christians agree on the broad definition of hell as
being the state of complete separation from God. And yet the specifics of what
that separation means have always been the subject of debate. Ever since the
first century, three distinct viewpoints on hell have permeated the Christian Church:
Eternal punishment of the unsaved (people who aren’t Christians)
Annihilation of the unsaved
No punishment, because all will receive salvation from God
The last perspective – commonly known as universalism – may be
much more palatable and politically correct than the others, but this view has
no biblical legs to stand on and has never been considered a position that’s in
synch with biblical Christianity. Universalism can’t be proven by the Bible,
but proponents of the other two perspectives both argue that the Bible supports
their hellish claims.
Eternal suffering
The traditional understanding of hell is as a place of
never-ending conscious suffering. The Bible seems to support this belief
strongly, referring to hell in quite sobering terms:
“The unquenchable fire of hell” (Mark 9:43)
“The everlasting fire” (Matthew 25:41 and Jude 7)
“The smoke of torment rises for ever and ever, and they have
no rest day or night” (Revelation 14:11)
“The blackness of darkness” (Jude 13)
“The lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15)
In addition, one of the parables that Jesus teaches also
describes the conditions of hell in terms that fit this same description. In Luke
16:19-31, Jesus tells the story about a rich man and a beggar:
Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in
purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. A certain beggar, named
Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the
crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked
his sores. It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by
the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In hell,
he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus
at his bosom. He cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For
I am in anguish in this flame.”
But Abraham said, “Son, remember that you, in your lifetime,
received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now
here he is comforted and you are in anguish. Besides all this, between us and
you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you
are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us.”
He said, “I ask you therefore, father, that you would send
him to my father’s house; for I have five brothers, that he may testify to
them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.”
But Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let
them listen to them.”
He said, “No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from
the dead, they will repent.”
He said to him, “If they don’t listen to Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.”
Based on biblical texts like this one, many Christians believe
that hell involves suffering that’s both spiritual and physical. Proponents of
this idea believe it’s hard to read this parable that Jesus told any other way
than as a strong warning against a hell that’s a scary, uncomfortable place to
be.
Other Christians, however, agree with the view that hell
involves eternal punishment, but think of the punishment as more spiritual in
nature and don’t necessarily believe that actual physical torture is involved.
Extinction of the unsaved
The concept of annihilationism originated in certain parts
of the Protestant Church over the past few centuries. Annihilationists believe
that rather than suffer eternal torment, unsaved people simply cease to exist
after they die. Supporters often cite four justifications for their belief:
God’s nature is to be a king, loving God. Having nonbelievers
suffer endlessly doesn’t make sense and just makes God look like a warmonger
rather than a God of love. From this standpoint, nonexistence is torture
enough. Let justice be served, but swiftly, not strewn out for eternity.
Eternal life is itself a gift. Because eternal life is a
gift from God, the idea of an eternally damned life doesn’t make sense.
Jesus Christ came to conquer and destroy evil. The Bible
speaks of Jesus Christ conquering evil on the cross and eventually destroying
evil in the Final Judgment, but if a hell of eternal torment exists, then evil
doesn’t seem to be totally destroyed, just contained.
Hell destroys. Annihilationists look at the Bible and
emphasize that it speaks of hell in terms of “death” and “destruction” – words that
don’t go with a place that lives on and on and on forever:
Jesus speaks of the “soul and body” being destroyed in hell
(Matthew 10:28).
The Apostle John writes in Revelation 20:14-15 that the
unsaved “will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death.”
The Apostle Paul speaks of hell as “death” in Romans 6:23
and as “destruction” in 1 Corinthians 3:17.
Some Christians put up two strong challenges, however, to
annihilationism, based on biblical teaching. First, Jesus Christ spoke quite
clearly that people who are confronted more with opportunities to receive grace
but refuse it will receive greater punishment. For example, Matthew 11:20-22
says:
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his
mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon
which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day
of judgment than for you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment