Heaven and Hell Regarding heaven and hell…humans will understand that the Universe is not some outlying territory separate from Heaven, but that it’s part of The Only Territory There Is. They’ll come to understand that Heaven is the experience of traveling through that territory in a state of bliss—a state that may be reached at any time, no matter where within the territory of life one happens to be. Humans will also understand that life is not a system of reward and punishment, and that no one is sent to hell or condemned by God. At least one major world religious leader, Pope John Paul II, has already clarified this. He made a theologically breathtaking statement before a papal audience in Rome on July 28, 1999. “Damnation cannot be attributed to an initiative of God because in His merciful love He cannot want anything but the salvation of the beings He created,” the Pope declared to an astonished world. Eternal damnation is never the initiative of God, it’s the self-imposed punishment of those who choose to refuse God’s love and mercy, the pontiff added. And what is this “damnation” that is referred to? Is it endless fiery torture in that place of flames called hell? No, said the Pope. Hell, he announced, does not exist as a place, but is “a situation in which one finds oneself after freely and definitively withdrawing from God, the source of life and joy.” The Pope said people must be very careful in interpreting the biblical descriptions of hell—the “inextinguishable fire” and “the burning oven”—which he said are symbolic and metaphorical. These picture phrases are meant to “indicate the complete frustration and vacuity of a life without God,” John Paul said. So what is the truth? Are any human beings in hell? That is, Pope John Paul II said, “not something we can know.” This is a remarkable statement from the spiritual leader of one of the largest religious organizations in the world. Asked that question ten years ago, there are very few priests, ministers, rabbis, or mullahs on the planet who would have responded with anything other than an immediate and unequivocal “Yes! What do you think we’ve been trying to tell you???” But the Pope has apparently had some new ideas on this subject that are very much in concert with the New Cultural Story, because they eliminate the fear of hell as a theological tool with which to construct an entire spiritual reality that has deeply affected humanity. One result of this new teaching: People’s concept of life will no longer be shaped by a win-lose construction of the Afterlife. They’ll begin to formulate new ideas of what is experienced after death. Humans will then no longer structure their lives around the hope of getting to heaven or the fear of going to hell. They’ll stop doing extraordinary, shocking, or self-destructive things to produce the first outcome. They’ll find different reasons to act as they act, choose what they choose, say what they say, and think what they think. They’ll create that new measure of morality for which the world has been searching.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 13:17:10 +0000
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