On hell

This post is in response to Nora's comment on my previous post. She says:

"Daniel, have you read George MacDonald's views about hell? I confess that I don't completely understand his theology, but his view seems to be that hell is a temporary state (not literal burning, btw) for the betterment of the individual to bring them to a place of reconciliation. In other words, he views it (if I understand correctly) not as a place of punishment, but a place of growth that is as much an expression of God's love as heaven. I'm interested in hearing more about your views on hell as well, as this is something I have struggled with for a long time."

I have to be careful exactly how I phrase my response, since this unfortunately seems to be some kind of political issue. Very briefly let me just say the following. I'm not up-to-date on my MacDonald, but I have encountered views of 'hell' as refinement. In fact, one of my favorite Christian bloggers (Richard Beck) seems to hold something like this view ('hell' is a place of rehabilitative justice were God's love always wins out--eventually everyone will be made fit for heaven). Personally I think this is a very appealing view for theological reasons, and it makes sense of the biblical truth that 'heaven is an acquired taste'. However, I honestly cannot find it anywhere in Scripture. It is consequently my view that people who believe this need to admit that theirs is a synthetic, post-biblical construction (which may or may not be a bad thing depending on your other theological commitments).

My own view on the subject is (and hopefully it isn't too presumptuous to say this) more closely tied to the biblical text. Heaven is not a post-mortem destination for eternal souls, but is rather the metaphorical abode of God. While there is biblical reference to being 'with Christ' after death, it seems to me to be somewhat of an afterthought. The more positive emphasis is on resurrection and new creation. As NT Wright continues to affirm, the hope of Christians is not disembodied bliss in 'heaven', but rather embodied bliss on the (re)new(ed) earth (which I guess could also be described as the new heavens, since "God's dwelling is with humankind"--the present 'veil' between heaven and earth is done away with).
So much for 'heaven'. What about 'hell'? Well, as many (e.g. McLaren, Perriman) have pointed out, 'hell' is a post-biblical construct. What we get in Scripture is an amalgamation of references to Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna. Sheol (in the OT) and Hades (in the NT) seem to be roughly equivalent as 'the place of the dead', and the biblical writers seem to alternate between imagining it as a place of ethereal existence (which would include both a place of torment and a place of rest) and as a metaphor for non-existence. The point being that developing a theology of the 'afterlife' isn't a pressing concern for the biblical writers. Gehenna, as both NT Wright and Andrew Perriman argue, seems to basically be an apocalyptic spin on anticipated historical destruction (see, for example, Mark 13, where the entire point is that Jerusalem will be destroyed, and the disciples are to run from the city when they see the 'signs of the times'). It is an image for God's judgment of rebellious nations (and usually, in the mouth of Jesus, of rebellious Israel). The point is that, by and large, this judgment isn't post-mortem, but rather pre-mortem--and resulting in plain ol' mortem. Israel is destroyed, annihilated, trampled on by Roman armies. Jerusalem is overrun by pagans. Israel's faithlessness is punished, while the new Israel of God (the Church) is vindicated. This is the biblical thrust of so-called 'hell' imagery, in the Gospels least.

For those of us who have been taught to think in terms of non-physical souls (a more Greek than Jewish notion after all--though of course there is some overlap), we immediately think 'oh no! but then, what about what happens to me after I die?' This is of course a valid question, but my point is simply that it is not a question the biblical text sets out to address. So then we must clearly distinguish what Scripture says on the one hand, and what we imagine is a good answer to this non-biblical question on the other.
I personally don't believe in the existence of a post-mortem torture chamber for non-Christians. The problem of course is that if I say "I don't believe in hell," people will misunderstand me as saying that I simply am disregarding all the NT says about judgment, wrath and destruction. But my claim is the exact opposite: belief in the modern notion of hell, rather than my disbelief of it, is what constitutes ignoring the biblical data.

Now, with all these qualifications out of the way, do I have an answer to the 'what happens after we die?' question? Yes and no. I have hunches and intuitions. More importantly I have trust in the goodness, fairness, and justice of God. We will all have to face the Lord Jesus Christ, judge of the living and the dead. As a physicalist however (one who doesn't think human 'souls' are by nature eternal), I'm comfortable with the idea that when we die, we simply are dead (viz. we don't 'go' anywhere). In that case, 'judgment' takes place at the general resurrection, when God makes all things new. I imagine that if our mental pictures are correct and that God has in fact decided to finally bring this epic to a close, then everything which has no place in the new creation will be discarded. Perhaps everything and everyone will be to a certain extent salvageable, perhaps (more realistically?) not. God is the judge. I am not.

But the point is that Christians claim to know what God looks like: Jesus. For this reason, if we truly believe that some day all of us will have to face up to how we have lived in light of the Creator's decrees, we will be moved first to be conformed to the image of the Son, and second to encourage others to 'repent', to change, to pledge allegiance to God (rather than to this or that cause, or this or that nation), and to join his Kingdom revolution.
This is the hope of the world. God will renew all things. But even better: God has already begun to renew all things--and we're invited in on the process.

Nora, does this help?
Peace,
-Daniel-