Image via WikipediaBY JOHN MARTIGNONI
Q: At my Bible study last week (all Catholics), one of the regular participants informed all of us that she no longer believed in Hell. When we asked why not, she said that her DRE, who is a nun, and her priest had both told her that Hell did not exist. We were dumbfounded. What can we do about this?
A: First of all, I would ask this person why she is continuing with the Bible study. If there is no Hell, you might as well be studying something by Shakespeare, or Dostoevsky, or Faulkner, or Tennyson, or any one of a number of great writers and poets. After all, if there is no Hell, then the Bible is a book filled with lies and why would you want to be studying a book filled with lies? It talks about Hell (Gehenna), it talks about judgment, it talks about being saved from our sins, it talks about the lake of fire, and so on. Well, if there is no Hell, then there is no judgment, and there is no need to be saved from our sins.
All of which leads to the conclusion that there was no need for God to become human and die on the cross for our sins. So, either Jesus did not die on the Cross, or He must not have been God, because how could God make the mistake of thinking that He had to save us from our sins, so that we would not be condemned to Hell, when there is no Hell? Wouldn’t God know that there is no Hell?
So, to be studying the Bible, which talks about all of these things, when none of them are true - if there is no Hell - seems to me to be a quite unproductive use of her time. Now, she might say, “Well, we can learn a lot of good things from Jesus, he was quite the enlightened teacher,” or some such thing. Sorry, but if Jesus wasn’t God, then He was either a liar or a fool, as He clearly identified Himself as God. Or, the people who wrote about Him were either liars or fools, as they clearly identified Him as God. Which would mean there is basically nothing in the Bible that you could trust as being true and accurate. So, again, why bother studying it?
Regarding the claim that her priest and DRE had told her that Hell does not exist, I would say to not believe that unless you heard it directly from their mouths. I find it very hard to believe that a priest or a nun does not believe in Hell, although I can believe it about a nun more easily than I can about a priest. And I say that not as an insult to nuns, but the fact is, for a priest to not believe in Hell, basically means that he is putting the lie to everything he does on a daily basis.
If there is no Hell, then there is no need for any of us to be redeemed. There is no Original Sin. Therefore, Baptism...being born again...is a lie. If there is no Hell, then Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross to redeem us. Therefore, the Mass...the Eucharist...is a lie. If Baptism and the Eucharist are lies, then all the other Sacraments are lies, too.
Which means his priesthood would be a lie. His vocation would be a lie. He would be lying every time he says Mass, hears confession, puts on his collar, baptizes a baby, anoints the sick, confirms those coming into the Church, and officiates at a wedding. Those Sacraments are all lies because they are all oriented towards our salvation, but our salvation is not an issue, since there is no Hell, so all of them are lies. The Church itself would be a lie. And it seems troubling to think someone could choose to live such a life, a life of lies, rather than simply leaving the priesthood and moving on. Which is why I find it very hard to accept that she heard such a thing from her priest.
Q: At my Bible study last week (all Catholics), one of the regular participants informed all of us that she no longer believed in Hell. When we asked why not, she said that her DRE, who is a nun, and her priest had both told her that Hell did not exist. We were dumbfounded. What can we do about this?
A: First of all, I would ask this person why she is continuing with the Bible study. If there is no Hell, you might as well be studying something by Shakespeare, or Dostoevsky, or Faulkner, or Tennyson, or any one of a number of great writers and poets. After all, if there is no Hell, then the Bible is a book filled with lies and why would you want to be studying a book filled with lies? It talks about Hell (Gehenna), it talks about judgment, it talks about being saved from our sins, it talks about the lake of fire, and so on. Well, if there is no Hell, then there is no judgment, and there is no need to be saved from our sins.
All of which leads to the conclusion that there was no need for God to become human and die on the cross for our sins. So, either Jesus did not die on the Cross, or He must not have been God, because how could God make the mistake of thinking that He had to save us from our sins, so that we would not be condemned to Hell, when there is no Hell? Wouldn’t God know that there is no Hell?
So, to be studying the Bible, which talks about all of these things, when none of them are true - if there is no Hell - seems to me to be a quite unproductive use of her time. Now, she might say, “Well, we can learn a lot of good things from Jesus, he was quite the enlightened teacher,” or some such thing. Sorry, but if Jesus wasn’t God, then He was either a liar or a fool, as He clearly identified Himself as God. Or, the people who wrote about Him were either liars or fools, as they clearly identified Him as God. Which would mean there is basically nothing in the Bible that you could trust as being true and accurate. So, again, why bother studying it?
Regarding the claim that her priest and DRE had told her that Hell does not exist, I would say to not believe that unless you heard it directly from their mouths. I find it very hard to believe that a priest or a nun does not believe in Hell, although I can believe it about a nun more easily than I can about a priest. And I say that not as an insult to nuns, but the fact is, for a priest to not believe in Hell, basically means that he is putting the lie to everything he does on a daily basis.
If there is no Hell, then there is no need for any of us to be redeemed. There is no Original Sin. Therefore, Baptism...being born again...is a lie. If there is no Hell, then Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross to redeem us. Therefore, the Mass...the Eucharist...is a lie. If Baptism and the Eucharist are lies, then all the other Sacraments are lies, too.
Which means his priesthood would be a lie. His vocation would be a lie. He would be lying every time he says Mass, hears confession, puts on his collar, baptizes a baby, anoints the sick, confirms those coming into the Church, and officiates at a wedding. Those Sacraments are all lies because they are all oriented towards our salvation, but our salvation is not an issue, since there is no Hell, so all of them are lies. The Church itself would be a lie. And it seems troubling to think someone could choose to live such a life, a life of lies, rather than simply leaving the priesthood and moving on. Which is why I find it very hard to accept that she heard such a thing from her priest.
About John Martignoni
John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.
John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.
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