Hell..a place or a condition?

[GEddie]

I think they want people to understand it’s not part of our physical world which people often conotate with “place”.

I know it used to be thought to be in the center of the earth. I think the Catrchism wants to stay away from that stuff.

I think rather than “place” (where?) “condition” (what does that mean??) or “state” (does that mean it’s all in our human heads???) we can think of Hell as a “situation.”

An analogy from human life might be someone in prison. People in prison are somewhere, because they have human bodies. But “prison” does not tell us where they are: it could be Huntsville, Tex; Parchman, MS; Ossining, NY, etc.

Likewise, the fact that those in Hell are embodied does not mean we can determine where they are. The realm of being is larger than our telescopic sight.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[Vico]

Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

Let us return once more to the night of Holy Saturday. In the Creed we say about Christ’s journey that he “descended into hell.” What happened then? Since we have no knowledge of the world of death, we can only imagine his triumph over death with the help of images which remain very inadequate. Yet, inadequate as they are, they can help us to understand something of the mystery. The liturgy applies to Jesus’ descent into the night of death the words of Psalm 23[24]:

“Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, O ancient doors!”
The gates of death are closed, no one can return from there. There is no key for those iron doors. But Christ has the key. His Cross opens wide the gates of death, the stern doors. They are barred no longer. His Cross, his radical love, is the key that opens them. The love of the One who, though God, became man in order to die – this love has the power to open those doors. This love is stronger than death.

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20070407_veglia-pasquale_en.html

​

Baltimore Catechism No. 3 - on the states of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven

Q. 1379. What is Hell?
A. Hell is a state to which the wicked are condemned, and in which they are deprived of the sight of God for all eternity, and are in dreadful torments.

Q. 1380. Will the damned suffer in both mind and body?
A. The damned will suffer in both mind and body, because both mind and body had a share in their sins. The mind suffers the “pain of loss” in which it is tortured by the thought of having lost God forever, and the body suffers the “pain of sense” by which it is tortured in all its members and senses.

Q. 1381. What is Purgatory?
A. Purgatory is the state in which those suffer for a time who die guilty of venial sins, or without having satisfied for the punishment due to their sins.

Q. 1382. Why is this state called Purgatory?
A. This state is called Purgatory because in it the souls are purged or purified from all their stains; and it is not, therefore, a permanent or lasting state for the soul.

Q. 1395. What is Heaven?
A. Heaven is the state of everlasting life in which we see God face to face, are made like unto Him in glory, and enjoy eternal happiness.

Q. 1396. In what does the happiness in heaven consist?
A. The happiness in heaven consists in seeing the beauty of God, in knowing Him as He is, and in having every desire fully satisfied.

When our bodies are re-united with souls:
Q. 1390. Will our bodies share in the reward or punishment of our souls?
A. Our bodies will share in the reward or punishment of our souls, because through the resurrection they will again be united to them.

 

[domNoah]

It is a place, a seperate kingdom, a place of fire and brimestone. If you are interested in the teaching of scripture, the Church Fathers, and Saints may I recommend the Torments of Hell, a free Audiobook that discusses it in vivid detail, taken from The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, Heaven. New York: Benziger Brothers 1899
Nihl Obstat: Thomas Kinkead.
Imprimateur: Micheal Augustine Archbishop of New York 1899.

alleluiaaudiobooks.com/catholic-audibook-the-torments-of-hell/

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[Vico]

It is a place, a seperate kingdom, a place of fire and brimestone. If you are interested in the teaching of scripture, the Church Fathers, and Saints may I recommend the Torments of Hell, a free Audiobook that discusses it in vivid detail, taken from The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, Heaven. New York: Benziger Brothers 1899
Nihl Obstat: Thomas Kinkead.
Imprimateur: Micheal Augustine Archbishop of New York 1899.

alleluiaaudiobooks.com/catholic-audibook-the-torments-of-hell/

Interesting book. On quote from it is:
“for the teaching of the Catholic Church on this point is all we need* She teaches that there is a place or state of unequalled and never-ending pain in reserve for the damned.”

 

[domNoah]

Interesting book. On quote from it is:
“for the teaching of the Catholic Church on this point is all we need* She teaches that there is a place or state of unequalled and never-ending pain in reserve for the damned.”

Here are some more
“**The place **of torment would be far less deserving of this name were there no devils in
it.”

“Consequently, if God were to send an angel to the portals of hell, with this message to the wretched denizens** of that place of torment**”

“Even the great St. Teresa was in danger of damnation, for God showed her the place destined for her in hell”

“For heaven is a definite place, where not only God is, and the angels now are, but where Christ is also in His sacred humanity, and Our Lady with her human
body.”

And the Bible

“And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee, that thou wouldst send him to my father’s house, for I have five brethren, That he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments.” Luke 16 27:28

I have no problem calling it a place where one is in a state of constant torment As long as we all agree that the damned will be joined with their bodies and occupy physical space (with which they will burn in) after the resurrection.

 

[Jon_S_1]

I think rather than “place” (where?) “condition” (what does that mean??) or “state” (does that mean it’s all in our human heads???) we can think of Hell as a “situation.”

An analogy from human life might be someone in prison. People in prison are somewhere, because they have human bodies. But “prison” does not tell us where they are: it could be Huntsville, Tex; Parchman, MS; Ossining, NY, etc.

Likewise, the fact that those in Hell are embodied does not mean we can determine where they are. The realm of being is larger than our telescopic sight.

ICXC NIKA.

Well said!

 

[glendab]

Hello Cone.

If Hell is a place, will the residents of Hell be able to mingle with other residents? In other words, will the miserable at least have company or is it a place of abject desolation, loneliness and despair, like what they call “solitary” or “the hole”? Is it really as bad as it’s cracked up to be, or is it a relative “unquenchable lake of fire” only in contrast to what they’re missing out on?

We have these questions.

Philosophical speculations are just that - philosophical speculations. The Church has answered these questions so if your speculations are actual questions, then the Church has your answers. Do some reading and praying and you’ll get yours.

So, the “we” in your comments are really just a “you.”

Glenda

 

[glendab]

Hello GEddie.

I think rather than “place” (where?) “condition” (what does that mean??) or “state” (does that mean it’s all in our human heads???) we can think of Hell as a “situation.”

An analogy from human life might be someone in prison. People in prison are somewhere, because they have human bodies. But “prison” does not tell us where they are: it could be Huntsville, Tex; Parchman, MS; Ossining, NY, etc.

Likewise, the fact that those in Hell are embodied does not mean we can determine where they are. The realm of being is larger than our telescopic sight.

ICXC NIKA.

Very good! Solid explanation. Thanks.

Glenda

 

[ready]

What does the Catholic Church teach about hell? is it a place or a state?

The Catholic Church has traditionally taught that hell is both a place and a state of being. Modernism has some people believing that hell is only a state of being, when it is not. God bless you.

 

[Nelka]

The Catholic Church has traditionally taught that hell is both a place and a state of being. Modernism has some people believing that hell is only a state of being, when it is not. God bless you.

True.

Outside of Heaven so it must be an awful place.
Away from God so it must be an awful state of being.

 

[Vico]

The Catholic Church has traditionally taught that hell is both a place and a state of being. Modernism has some people believing that hell is only a state of being, when it is not. God bless you.

Catholic Encyclopedia has this:The Bible seems to indicate that hell is within the earth, for it describes hell as an abyss to which the wicked descend. We even read of the earth opening and of the wicked sinking down into hell (Numbers 16:31 sqq.; Psalm 54:16; Isaiah 5:14; Ezekiel 26:20; Philippians 2:10, etc.).
…
Hence theologians generally accept the opinion that hell is really within the earth. The Church has decided nothing on this subject; hence we may say hell is a definite place; but where it is, we do not know. St. Chrysostom reminds us:

“We must not ask where hell is, but how we are to escape it” (In Rom., hom. xxxi, n. 5, in P.G., LX, 674).
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newadvent.org/cathen/07207a.htm

 

[Ethernet]

by my reckoning, either a place or condition, it isn’t pleasant. Jesus speaks quite frequently of it in the New Testament. More important is to believe it exists.

I read this a long time ago, still food for thought: *The Cry of a Lost Soul. *You can google it - maybe 'cause I’m not a real member yet I can’t seem to get link to work.

 

[buffalo]

A condition for sure. At the final judgement when we receive glorified bodies?