Handling
By Sem. Ryan Fouts
Hell
H
ow do you handle hell? Hell is so awful that Scripture describes it both as an “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43) and as “darkness” (2 Peter 2:4). We know that where there is fire, there is light. Darkness subsides. But no metaphor like fire or darkness can fully contain the horror of hell; hell is unfathomable even to the most demented human imagination. How do you handle hell? Do you deny hell’s existence outright? How could a loving God send anyone to such an awful place? Do you attempt to get God off the hook by softening hell, imagining it as something more bearable? Here is the danger: when you redefine hell, you redefine your Savior. A savior saves. What does our Savior save us from? If Christ doesn’t save us from our sin, death, and the devil, what is His purpose? Perhaps He’s a cosmic Dr. Phil, who teaches us that through positive thinking any challenge can be overcome. Maybe the Lord is a path toward spiritual enlightenment or an exemplary humanitarian. If the reality of hell is forgotten, why do we even need a Savior? So, how do you handle Jesus? Jesus is a man. He ate bread and drank water. He labored as a carpenter. He walked on human feet, saw with human eyes, and touched with human hands. He is a natural man with an ordinary body.“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). The Lord of the universe is so unrecognizable when veiled in human flesh that His condemners thought He would die like any other man.They crucified Him like a common criminal. Jesus died, they buried Him, and everything went according to plan. He even descended into hell. But hell didn’t know who it was getting! St. John Chrysostom proclaims figuratively in his famous Easter homily that when Christ descended into hell, hell made the same mistake as Christ’s crucifiers.“Hell grasped a corpse, and discovered God. Hell seized earth, and encountered heaven. Hell took what it
F A L L 2 0 0 5 __ 5
(Article continued on p. 6, right column)
