Hell

Etymology Hell = cognate to hole (cavern) and hollow. A substantive fr Anglo-Saxon helan or behelian (to hide). = Lt occulere, celare and Grk kalyptein by derivation, - denotes dark & hidden place, - of underworld = Lt. infernus (lower, infernal), derived from the root in, hence = place within and below the earth.

= Haides (fr. Roort, fid (to see) & a (privative which denotes an invisible, hidden, and dark place. = sheol (fr. Hbr root = to be sunk in, to be hollow); accordingly = a cave or a place under the earth.

Biblical Expressions: OT sheol (= Sept. hades; Vulg, infernus) = the kingdom of the dead, of the good (see Gn 37:35) as well as the bad (see Nm 16:30) = it means in general hell in the strict sense + the limbo of the Fathers NT since the limb of the Fathers disappeared due to the effects of Christs paschal mysteries, = place of the damned Note: Gehenna used more frequently as hades; fr Hbr ghinnom or g-ben(e)hinnom (lit. valley of the sons of Hinnom) o Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, (Wadi er-rababi) = place of worship of Moloch, detested by the Jews and referred to it as the abode of the damned. And Christ adopted this usage of the term. other allied terms = lower hell (2 Pt 2:4) abyss (Lk 8:31) furnace of fire (Mt 13:42) place of torments (Lk 16:28) pool of fire (Rv 19:20) unquenchable fire (Mt 3:12) everlasting fire (Mt 18:8) exterior darkness (Mt 7:12)
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mist or storm of darkness (2 Pt 2:17) Meanings of Hell Hell in strict sense, place of eternal punishment for the damned (men and demons) Limbo of infants (limbus parvulorum), where those who die in original sin alone, and without personal mortal sin, are confined as some kind of punishment Limbo of the Fathers (limbus patrum) where souls of the just who died before Christ awaited the opening of heaven by paschal mysteries; for in the meantime heaven was closed against them in punishment for the sin of Adam Purgatory where the just, who die in venial sin or who still owe a debt of temporal punishment for sin, are cleansed by suffering before their heaven admission.

Location Where is hell? Opinions: Damned free to roam the entire universe, but they carry their punishment with them, i.e., Ubiquists (Ubiquitarians), e.g. Johann Brenz (16th c Protestant theologian On some far island of the see, or at the two poles of the earth, in the sun (e.g, Swinden, 19th c Englishman); in the moon, or Mars beyond confines of universe Bible: within the earth as it is an abyss (where the wicked descend to (see Nm 16:31; Phl 2:10). If they are there, God dwells in the opposite direction up there (in the heavens) Church had decided nothing on this subject; hence we may say it is a definite place; where it is. We do not exactly know St. John Chrysostom: We must not as where hell is, hot how we are to escape it St. Augustine: It is my opinion that the nature of hell-fire and the location of hell are known to no man unless the Holy Ghost made it known to him by a special revelation Existence Scriptures: referred as to Abyss, furnace of fire, Valley of Hinnon (Gehenna), sheol, eternal fire, pond of brimstone and fire, exterior darkness, place of torments, perdition, destruction, second death, Tartarus, and inextinguishable fire (see Nm 16:30; Ps 48:18; Is 14:15; Mt 5:29; 10:28; & 18:9) Fathers of the Church:

St. Ignatius of Antioch inextinguishable fire (Epistle to the Ephesians, 16.1-2) St. Polycarp eternal punishment (Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, 10) St. Irenaeus (see Adversus Haereses, 4. 39) St. Ambrose (Com. In Luc. 7,20)

Denial: Conditonalism affirms only souls dying in justice and in sanctity will survive after death, b/c those dying in sin will be annihilated (existence of hell is denied) or else sent to a temporal hell (nature of hell is denied), e.g. o Gnostic and those who deny the immortality of the human soul and those who admit a final resurrection only for the just (there may be a short resurrection for the condemned, but they will immediately die again after receiving their sentence in the last judgment), e.g., Jehovahs Witnesses and some Adventists.

Universalism affirms all will be saved sooner or later, e.g., o Origenists describe hell as some sort of prolonged purgatory o Algigensians maintain purification to be carried out through a series of successive reincarnations o Anabaptists (19thc) influenced by Schleiermacher o K. Barth (Lutheran)

Aterminism (Origens original doctrine) after present stage of history shall have reached its end with the final judgment, another stage shall begin everything will start all over again, following an endless cycle; condemned by Synod of Constantinople (543 AD)

NOTE: Theology explains existence of hell in the light of Gods sanctity & justice. It is known through faith; but it can explain somehow through reason alone. Actually, since this requital is not carried out on earth, it seems logical to expect it after death. Taking into account the nature of sin, its consequence (breaking our friendship with God), the resulting enmity with him, subjection to the devil) and the magnitude of the offense in the light of Gods infinite dignity, it is easy to understand the existence of a punishment in proportion to the offense committed. These arguments show the fittingness of hell. That is as far as Theology can go, since hell is a supernatural mystery known only through revelation. Nature
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Most accepted position: HELL = state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed in heaven. Biblical Proofs: Implied, e.g., in Mt 25:41) Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire By mortal sin, we exclude God from our life. The result? a breach between you and God which essentially a case of disobedience to God. Hell, then, is its state save total, definitive and final, i.e., the total & definitive separation of the creature from its Creator, of the son from his Father, of man from his God and Lord. Mortal sin = also an act in which one exchanges the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal men worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator (Rm 1:23,25) = pain of sense (for Church) referred to in the Gospel as fire. This is the meaning behind Matthean Depart from me, you cursed, = pain of loss (for Church)

Punishment in Hell 2-fold punishment: pain of loss (poena damni) and pain of sense (poena sensus)

Pain of loss: eternal privation of vision or union with God, in which precisely lies our supreme bliss/happiness greatest & most painful situation, objectively & subjectively speaking. OBJECTIVELY: 1st, by nature is created after the image and likeness of God; & more so, by grace, man has been elevated to the supernatural
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order, thus ordained to an end beyond the natural; and b/c of a choice to be forever deprived of it, man finds himself perpetually in a paradoxical situation that will never be resolved. 2nd, man has been redeemed by Christ, and being a mere creature, has been made a son of God. His vocation therefore it to love of God. But \then due to mortal sin, man has chosen to be not a friend of God but an enemy (Note sin is precisely an aversio a Deo, a rupture of friendship and communion with God).

= FORMAL OPPOSITION TO GOD HIMSELF. St. Thomas: mortal sins deserve the privation of seeing God, to which no other punishment is comparable. Either way, man finds himself in a paradoxical situation with no escape: he is a creature, but he does not recognize his Creator. This is a permanent state of conflict with no hope of solution. He knows he is called to love the Supreme good, but he finds himself forever incapable of accomplishing his vocation, and consummating his happiness. Hell brings to completion the breaking away from love of God, to which man is called as a creature &, above all, as a son of God. o Condition: A voluntary aversion to God (a mortal sin) A persistence in sin until the end of ones life. SUBJECTIVELY: consists in obstinacy of will in its hostility to God, without any hope of rectification. This implies inner conflict in the subject damned forever which will forever intensify while in hell: (see Aquinas, Catechetical Instructions, 76-77) o 1st: by their separation from God & from all good. This is the greatest pain of all b/c it touches the very nature of who man Is o 2nd: by suffering from remorse of conscience forever brought about not so much from hatred of evil (impossible!) from fear & enormity of punishments o 3rd: from despair of salvation brought about by the thought that they are unredeemable forever since hope is withdrawn from them, all is despair. B/c of this, their sufferings are most intense. = THE PROPER TO ESSENTIAL PUNISHMENT OF HELL, SINCE IT CORRESPONDS TO FORMAL BREACH OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD IN MORAL SIN.
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Pain of sense: consists formally in conversion towards creatures (conversio ad creaturas) while pain of loss = aversion of God (aversio a Deo). It torments the separated of the damned from moment of death, and will torment his body as well after the final resurrection. Scriptures, Tradition, Magisterium, majority of the Father and almost all of theologians understand this fire as a real fire, e.g.: St. Thomas: It is the fire of hell which tortures soul and body; & this, as the saints tell us, is the sharpest of all punishments. They shall be ever dying, and yet never die; hence it is called eternal death, for as dying is the bitterest of pains, such will be the lot of those in hell. (Catechetical Instructions, 76-77) Beside hellfire, other torments are: The very condition, state or place that hell is, where only horror, calamity, & misery are to be found; company of reprobates & devils, among whom only hatred reigns; torment of internal & external senses; & eternal remorse of conscience due to the corruption of sin, along with despair, hatred, and anger that it will produce in soul.

2-fold punishment:

2-fold property Eternity consists in enduring the pain of loss/sense forever and ever (without end)\ o Since mortal sin goes against Love itself, which is God, it is understandable that the infinite gravity of the offense demands a proportionate punishment. And since punishment cannot have an infinite intensity, it should logically be infinite in duration, i.e., eternal o The punishments of hell are also of unequal intensity, depending on the gravity and number of mortal sins committed in life. Subjectively, the pain of loss will be unequal: some will feel it more than others, depending on the gravity and number of their since. Objectively, however, the definitive & complete separation from God will be the same for all o Thus, inequality of punishments at least objectively considered applies mainly to the pain of sense. In this case, the sufferings will be objectively different, in proportion always to gravity & number of sins committed. Consequently, some will suffer more than others.
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