Is there a contradiction in the Church and the Bible?

[Gavin]

In the Apostles Creed, we say Jesus descended into Hell. If that is true then why did Jesus say in Luke 23:43 that He would be in paradise with the prisoner?

 

[tomo_pomo]

Because being so close to Jesus even in hell feels like paradise

 

[annad347]

He would be, but first, to save us, He went to hell to pay for our sins, then He rose on the 3rd day, walked with apostles for 40 days then ascended into heaven

 

[Dlee]

I don’t know if this is Catholic teaching, but I’ve also heard that verse explained as,
“Verily I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” In other words, I’m telling you this today.

 

[Dougbro1]

The Church does state this as one possible meaning of the verse. But even with the other meaning of the verse a lot of people use, it still doesn’t conflict, because for one thing, Heaven and Hell are outside of normal everyday time.

 

[Dlee]

it still doesn’t conflict, because for one thing, Heaven and Hell are outside of normal everyday time.

I thought about adding that, too. You are absolutely correct. Thanks for adding that.

 

[Kaliaa]

Let’s look at what the Church says about this.

From the CCC:

[632] The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was “raised from the dead” presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.

[633] Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”: “It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.” Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.

[634] “The gospel was preached even to the dead.” The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ’s redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

[635] Christ went down into the depths of death so that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Jesus, “the Author of life”, by dying destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.” Henceforth the risen Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades”, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth”.

The paradise that Jesus mentioned to the good thief was this same place.

 

[irenaeuslyons]

In the Apostles Creed, we say Jesus descended into Hell. If that is true then why did Jesus say in Luke 23:43 that He would be in paradise with the prisoner?

Jesus is one in essence with the Father who is in heaven even while Jesus harrowed hell. Another explanation is that Jesus’ presence in Hell (the version that is the limbo of the fathers) made it an earthly paradise like Eden because they were in the presence of God. Another explanation is that heaven and hell are part of eternity and therefore temporal sequencing does not map to the eternal state which is outside of time.