Hell according to orthodox teaching
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In Christian theology , hell is the place or state into which, according to God's ultimate judgment, unrepentant sinners and atheists pass in general judgment or, as some Christians believe, immediately after death (special judgment). Its character is derived from the teaching in the biblical texts some of which, interpreted literally, gave birth to the popular idea of hell. Theologians today generally view Hell as the logical consequence of using free will to refuse union with God, and since God will not enforce conformity, it is not inconsistent with God's justice and mercy.
Some Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that heaven and hell are relationships with or experiences of God's righteous and loving presence. There is neither a created place of divine absence nor an ontological separation from God. One expression of the Eastern teaching is that hell and heaven are dimensions of the increasing presence of God, since this presence is experienced either as agony or as paradise , depending on the spiritual state of a person who lives with God . For someone who hates God and hates himself as God's image bearer, being surrounded by the divine presence could only lead to inexpressible agony. Perry T. Hamalis writes in Aristotle Papanikolaou and Elizabeth H. Prodromou book Thinking Through Faith: New Perspectives of Orthodox Christian Scholars that for the Orthodox: “These theological symbols, heaven and hell, are not roughly understood (by Orthodox Christians) as spatial goals but rather relate to experiencing the presence of God in two different ways. ”Several Orthodox theologians describe Hell as separation from God in the sense of noncommunity or loving fellowship. Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) spoke of "the hell of separation from God". Paul Evdokimov declared: "Hell is nothing but the separation of man from God, his autonomy excludes him from the place where God is present." According to Theodore Stylianopoulos, hell is a spiritual state of separation from God and inability (the correct answer?) to God (is it calling?) Experience the love of God while you are aware of the ultimate deprivation as punishment. Michel Quenot stated, “Hell is none other than a state of separation from God, a state that humanity has been plunged into because it preferred the creature for the Creator. It is therefore the human creature, and not God, that creates hell. The human being who was created out of love has the incredible power to reject this love and to say no to God. By rejecting fellowship with God he becomes a predator and condemns himself to a spiritual death (hell) that is more terrible than the physical death that results from it. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Perry T. Hamalis: The Meaning and Place of Death in an Orthodox Ethical Framework . In: Aristoteles Papanikolaou, Elizabeth H. Prodromou (eds.): Thinking Through Faith: New Perspectives from Orthodox Christian Scholars , Crestwood NY 2008, pp. 183–218, here p. 195.