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Orthodoxy

Orthodox CU adheres to all of the same core, foundational doctrines that the rest of the Church does. In fact, St. Gregory of Nyssa was both instrumental in the development of the Nicene Creed and an avid proponent of ultimate reconciliation. Many other well known theologians, from John Chrysostom to George McDonald, have long espoused the same ideas. Because so many of its saints were so unambiguous in their support of it, the Catholic church today still allows for hopeful universalism.

Truly, for an all-knowing God to create men and women in his image and place them into his creation, knowing full well that many would choose to condemn themselves to eternal torment, without mercy forever and ever, would be an act of “limitless cruelty” as David Bentley Hart puts it. The words “forever and ever” show the sort of obfuscation that has abetted this ignorant and hateful idea, for they are not present in Scripture at all. The English translation is actually based on an assumption of meaning over the idiom “to the ages of the ages.” An age may be a very long time, but it is not eternal.

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Hell vs Gehenna

The word “Hell” itself is a modern concept based on the Germanic underworld Hel or Haljo which has been inserted over the top of the Greek “Gehenna.” That word is a name transliterated from the Hebrew “Hinnom,” as in the Valley of Ben Hinnom crucial in Jeremiah 7, 19, and 32. This valley was described in detail concerning the punishment of iniquity, aka destruction and enslavement by Babylon. Even though God himself said that it would “burn and not be extinguished” (Jer 7:20), we know well that the punishment was temporary both materially and spiritually. The city and Temple were rebuilt, the covenant restored, because God is faithful even when we are not. God promised this restoration even as he was describing the punishment.

So we see a clear issue when Jesus references these events, while speaking of the destruction of the second Temple that would take place in 70 AD (Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21), and that reference is then obscured by ideas of “hell” devised many centuries later. The idea of Gehenna as a sort of purgatory for the punishment of sin was devised by the Pharisee, never spoken of by any Prophet and not taught by any apostle of Christ and rarely by anyone within the first 500 years of the Church. The sociopathic Tertullian of Carthage spoke of the ecstasy of watching the enemies of God burn forever¹, which his apprentice Augustine continued. Shabbat 33b tells us that a long time in Gehenna was considered to be 12 months.

Truth does not fear the light and there has been a great deal of effort in covering up this interpretation. I have lost count of the number of seminary trained theologians who have noted that they never even discussed this topic in school. The very fact that it has not been properly discussed raises concerns of bias. History shows such bias was begun by Roman emperors meddling with the Church in coercive ways.

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Reconciliation in Ministry

There is a great deal more than can be said on the subject. Since this is a core aspect of the salvation of Christ from sin and death, it is foundational to the gospel message. While those who have been mislead all their lives may find the growing pains difficult, it is also an emancipatory revelation that allows us to move forward as disciples in Christ with power, in hope.

We can spend less time trying to force people to accept our faith and more time living it out. We can accept the mission to bring restoration to the world and be a part of God bringing about resurrected life through his Church. For centuries, Christians have largely stood back and watched the world devolve all around them into chaos and suffering. It has, in fact, perpetrated much of that itself, while we await some nebulous future event. Why would God give us more if we have not been faithful with that already in our care? Personally, I think that it’s God who is waiting on us.

I hope that you will choose to learn more of these ideas with an open mind and a faithful heart, then allow them to work through you to bring transformative works to the world around you. The Holy Spirit is our advocate, leading us in wisdom and truth; equipping us with armor to defend against our true enemy and the power to bring new life to a world that desperately needs it.

To go more in depth on the interpretation and the philosophy behind ultimate reconciliation, you’re welcome to check out my book on the subject.
Available on most ebook platforms.

1. “De Spectecullis” chapter 30, https://www.pseudepigrapha.com/LostBooks/tertullian_spectacles.htm ↩︎