"In a separate and theologically breathtaking statement before a papal audience at the Vatican on July 28, 1999, John Paul II told an astonished gathering that hell 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 declared. God’s statement in CWG is crystal clear regarding the lack of any role by Deity in condemnation and punishment, and the statement of Pope John Paul II is no less specific and direct. Said the Pope in his July, 1999 pronouncement: “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.” While eternal damnation is never the initiative of God, it is the self-imposed punishment of those who choose to refuse God’s love and mercy, the pontiff asserted. Hell is therefore “a situation in which one finds oneself after freely and definitively withdrawing from God, the source of life and joy,” he explained." To read more, click on the link below
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 12:37:12 +0000
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