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The theological definition of hell is total aloneness--not being connected to anything.
*Huston Smith, The Soul of Christianity, 119
Yes, I am the gate. Those [sheep] who come in through me will be safe. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. ... My purpose is to give ... a rich and satisfying life.
*Gospel of John 10.9-10, NLT
I grew up with teaching of a fiery, everlasting sea of fire below earth and teaching of an immaculate city above the clouds. The first teaching was of a material hell; the second teaching was of a material heaven.
So, just how do we think of heaven and hell within emerging views of our universe? There is not one way. And we do not have to affirm a materialistically-located heaven or hell to affirm or experience heaven or hell.
Understanding the nonlocal, nonspatial universe, it is logical to speak of heaven and hell in the eternal Now. Heaven is present, Hell is present. Heaven is here. Hell is here. Each of us is living some or all of heaven and hell.
I do not affirm a literal-material heaven or hell. Neither has any appeal to me, at all. A person living in the Spirit and Love of the Living Spirit has no wish for a mansion or streets of gold or a massive celestial city with massive walls of precious stones. She can care less about such afterlife material visions, for the Spirit has weaned her heart from such gross need. So, she who has been weaned off material satisfactions--How could she long for such a material heaven? How could she who believes only in the Spirit, believe in such a material hell? She who knows that time is relative and Eternity is timeless, how could she see heaven or hell in terms of time? Spirit defines the nature of heaven and hell, not your clock or watch.
A Christian had been struggling with religious doubts. In sleep one night, he had a vision. He met an angel in the hallway of a building. The angel invited him through a doorway. They walked into a large room where there was a huge table; persons sat around it. A large container of stew, which everyone could reach, rested on the table. The atmosphere was heavy and cold. Person's faces showed they were afflicted with many passions, such as anger, impatience, malice, greed, ..., due to deprivation. Each person suffered a constant state of hunger and thirst, for no one, with their long spoons, could lift the stew to his or her mouth. The Christian man felt sad for these persons and chilled by the coldness of the room. The angel looked at him, and he spoke, "My friend, this is hell." The man replied, "If this is hell, then, is there a heaven?"
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The angel led the man to another room across the hallway. The room looked like the first one, with a container of stew and many persons sitting around the table. In contrast, however, the atmosphere was light and warm. Person's faces were joyful, showing each enjoyed being together in fellowship. In fact, the atmosphere was festive, yet reverent, too. Each person had the same type long spoon as persons in the first room. They each, however, were feeding the persons sitting on either side. The Christian man felt happy in this room and for the blessed persons. The angel looked at him, and he spoke, "My friend, this is heaven." The man replied, "If this is heaven, then, I want to live in heaven."
Heaven is the state of bliss of communion and sharing. Heaven is a communal, relational Existing. Heaven is not an individual experience, though personal. Heaven is fullness of sharing, drawn into the Triune Godhead--not as belief but experience--, Who is Communing Itself. Heaven is Loving: which is loving-and-loving-with.
Hell is the state of absence of communion and sharing. Hell is aloneness: being cut off from communing spirit with spirit in inexpressible loving-with. Hell is individualistic. Hell is absence of the Triune Godhead, for Spirit is Communion. Hell knows not Love: hell, therefore, leads toward isolation and loss of loving-and-loving with. Ultimately, hell is the experience of being alone and cut off, even though surrounded by many persons and things. Hell, indeed, gets lonelier and lonelier for the person creating his or her own hell, for hell is self-created through the choices a person makes and the character she or he shapes. Choice--like with heaven--becomes destiny.
*OneLife writings are offered by Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He writes in the spirit of John Wesley's focus on the priority of inner experience of the Triune God; scriptural holiness; ongoing sanctification; the goal of Christian perfection (or, wholeness). Brian seeks to integrate the best of the contemplative teachings of Christianity East and West, from the patristic Church to the present. Brian lives a vowed contemplative life with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in North Florida. OneLife writings are for anyone seeking to live and share love, joy, and peace in the world and in devotion to God as she or he best understands God.
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