Sympathy for Sinners

 Can we enjoy Heaven, knowing of loved ones in Hell? It is a question to consider. 

In one of his lectures, R.C. Sproul, a Presbyterian pastor and Reformed theologian, asserts that when we get to Heaven we will be so changed by our own glorification, so amazed by the extinction of sin, and so fully enamoured by God's holiness that all else will pale into obscurity. Only the full glorification of God in his holiness will be of any interest, and we will totally disregard the plight of those who failed to gain salvation. Those we once knew and loved will be forgotten, and disregarded. Only God, and nothing else will matter. We will be overawed, and obsessed with worshipping God.

I'm sorry. I just cannot believe that. If God's infinite holiness is so all important, then his infinite mercy must also be its equal. That means, simply, that this idea of divine all-or-nothing justice - eternal heaven, or hellfire unending - must be modified. There are MUCH BETTER ways to punish sinners. If God can't, or won't use Karma, or something similar, then He is not just. If He is that vain and stuck on his own holiness and glory, then He is not worthy to be God. Holiness without mercy is not Divinity. To Dr. Sproul, I must reply, "Your God is too small. Your thoughts are not his thoughts. " 

God, in his infinite mercy, would have mercy for ALL SINNERS, regardless of faith. After all, He sends his rain for the unjust, as well as for the just. If life is like a university, where we learn spiritual truths, and not merely a testing ground to separate the "worthy" from the "defective," then there is room for our improvement. And I am not willing to say that God isn't perfectly able to create all of us worthy to be saved, if we use our own choice to accept Him.

 Once He sadly consigns those who insist on rejecting Him, and who stood for evil in knowing opposition to his goodness, to the punishment they demanded, God has before Him a choice. He has to decide what to do with those who were too weak, or ignorant, to strive with whole hearts and minds to follow Him without any regard for the wisdom of this world. This world is a hard test, which only the sternest and most single minded can hope to pass. Those who do are rightly lauded as "saints," and their passage to Heaven is clear. The question remains for how to justly reward or edify those who desired to reach for God, even tried to do so, but fainted on the Way before they passed into their final sleep. 

And, is it fair to condemn those who never heard that there was a choice, whose best intentions could only be to follow the path of moral goodness through the world, without being such a fool as to eschew a successful life? The world has its own rules, sometimes rational, even if often disregarded by the masses. We can choose Good, the best that we can discern, even if we don't know God. It was for those good souls, who lived before his time, that Jesus descended into Hell before his resurrection, so that they could hear and choose to believe and follow Him back into the Light. Of course, "good souls" is a relative term, for all have sinned and fallen short, and need to choose faith in Jesus. 

But since that day, we have been given the "Great Commission," and Jesus doesn't go to Hell every weekend to rescue the ignorant. Rather, we all must stand before Him, in his role as judge, to be compared to his holiness and offered his mercy. Have we believed, and now make claim for his forgiveness? Or do we beg for a second chance? What is the course of infinite mercy, without defying justice? We don't throw the ignorant into jail, but we educate them and release them on probation. Can Jesus do any less?

The idea of Karma was developed to serve the needs of justice, even when it seems that the unjust avoid it in this life. Immortal souls are reincarnated to new lives, in which their new circumstances reflect either punishment or reward, and the person is expected to try to learn how to progress spiritually toward eventual merging into bliss with the gods. This can be repeated over and over, until the end of time. It is a brilliant idea, and Jesus could use it to place a soul where it will definitely hear the Gospel, and thus have its own choice to make. And He can know how well the message was understood, to know if yet another chance might serve both mercy and justice. He could  teach them over and over, for eternity if necessary, that the wages of sin lead to suffering, and that rejecting good and God leads to Hell. He could even offer a deconstruction to non-being, granting oblivion to one who just wants it all to end. THAT would be a loving, merciful God... to teach, until they may eventually get it right. 

And then, we have a theoretical case of a believer who isn't good enough for Heaven, or who carries with him remainders of defilement, which holiness must insist on removing before entrance can be granted. This is a "Leave your muddy shoes outside" theology. Forgiveness has done its work, and the person is saved from eternal punishment, but they didn't work hard enough to achieve their own holiness. They still had some "bad habits" that they need to be rid of before they are welcomed inside. This is where the Catholic Church brings up its doctrine of Purgatory. This is where souls are purified in a process that closely resembles the punishments of Hell, but is of limited and temporal duration, lasting only as long as the severity of one's sins deserves. 

This "purgatory" sounds like a contradiction to me. If one sin deserves eternal damnation, but a lifetime of "forgiven" sins can be purified, how is that any kind of justice? Either one is forgiven, or he is not. How does eternity in Hell translate into a temporary stay in prison, being tortured to  expunge the filth of sin? We were "washed in the blood of the Lamb," were we not? If someone is washed, are they not clean? And surely, if Jesus is authorized by the Father to forgive, is He not powerful enough to transform us clean when we are "clothed" in our resurrection bodies? It sounds like the Ultimate Divine One has never heard the phrase "forgive and forget." It's just not a credible extension of justice or mercy. And if holiness trumps those two, then it borders rather too closely to vanity and pride. That's not something I would expect from a God who would choose to empty Himself of his power and dignity to be born in a stable.

According to the Catholic Church, why do we go to Purgatory? They point to three things:
1. Reparations - Justice demands that you fix what you did wrong. This is not always possible.
2. Venial sins - Any unconfessed minor sins that are not yet forgiven by a priest.
3. Residual wounds - Habitual sins leave behind a pattern of inclination toward selfishness. 

That sounds logical, if you're thinking in a merely material world, but God is Spirit. His abundance can cover any losses that require reparations. Then, if Christ's blood covers all sins, then forgiven for salvation should include all of our sins, no matter when they occur. And Jesus can heal us instantly and completely when we die, so that we are freed from sin, and this is sealed when our bodies are transformed in resurrection. This whole thing sounds so petty and wholly unnecessary. Doesn't the Holy Spirit want to give us grace in abundance? This sounds like the Church still has a box full of Papal indulgences to sell. 

Do yourself a favor. Go to confession, do your penance, and attend Holy Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday. You will receive a plenary indulgence, and skip right past the door to purgatory. If you do that, and avoid all mortal sins, you'll be fine. 

If you're not Catholic, take your daily confessions to Jesus very seriously. He will be ready to forgive you and teach you how to do better. And find a Church that serves regular communion. Then try to always practice the presence of our Lord, for the sake of Love. And when you do good works, do them for Love of God. This is the fruit and evidence of your salvation, not a building up of merit. If you want to have rank in the Kingdom, then serve many as much as you can. 

In my humble opinion, the concept of purgatory and the promise of forgiveness cannot be fully aligned. God would not make his beloved children suffer to atone for sins that Jesus has already paid the price for, and we ourselves have had to experience the anguish of passing through death to be rid of. Forgiveness would stand at the door to the wedding hall to pass out clean gowns to all who come to attend. 

God does not stand on his dignity, vainly basking in his own glory, proclaiming his righteousness and holiness to all who attend, and inspecting us for any hint of a shadow of stain as we come forward to offer Him worship. His Love is so all-encompassing that He wants to see as many of us in attendance as may agree to come, for our own good and enjoyment, not his vanity. His Son's glory is enhanced by the increasing numbers of those who recognize Him as Savior, not by those who suffer for rejecting Him.

So do I think that God's glory will be my highest concern?  Nope. I don't worship a flawed god. I will be devoted to responding with love to Him who loved me despite my wretchedness, and who cares about giving me a place and a role to play among the heavenly host. I know that He wants me to be happy forever. 

As for those who rejected God and end up spending eternity in Hell, I am a bit sad and disappointed for them. Jesus, too, feels pangs of sad compassion for those who suffer. But it was their choice to reject him, and to oppose the way of goodness, refusing compassion to the people whom they knew in this world. If they now desire pity and compassion, they have only themselves to blame. And I have better things to do, although I might remember once in a while. 

But I don't think this Professor, pastor and theologian, has any idea of what he's talking about. He doesn't know the God that I have come to love. I don't worship a flawed God, who fails to remember those who suffer. Perhaps a time may come when my truly loving God will put an end to suffering once and for all.