TEXT JOIN TO 77022

The Pope Hopes No One Is in Hell. We Should.

In a television interview watched by millions, Pope Francis recently made a comment about hell that has been widely reported.

In the words of the Catholic News Agency:

“When asked by the interviewer, Fabio Fazio, how he ‘imagines hell,’ Pope Francis gave a short response. ‘What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith but my own personal view: I like to think of hell as empty; I hope it is.'”

I have a different—indeed, completely opposite—view.

I should make it clear that I, too, hope that sometime in the future—hopefully the near future—no one will be sent to hell. That would mean goodness had finally so prevailed on Earth that not one person was deserving of punishment in the afterlife.

But as of this moment, I fervently hope that some people are in hell—or whatever one wishes to call punishment after life; just as I hope some people are in heaven—or whatever one wishes to call reward in an afterlife.

Why? Because if no one is punished after death, that would mean either there is no God or, equally depressing, it would mean God is not just.

It should be added that if no one is punished, the corollary would mean that no one is rewarded. Pure logic dictates that it is not possible to have an afterlife in which people are rewarded but not punished. It would mean either everyone is rewarded—which would mean there is no justice—or only some are rewarded. But if only some are rewarded, that means those who are deprived of reward are thereby punished.

It shows how little serious thought is given to the subject that a vast number of people do not think the existence of a heaven and a hell are important subjects and/or dismiss them as religious nonsense.

This absence of serious thought can be easily demonstrated. Let’s imagine a society in which there were no rewards or punishments. I suspect almost no one—though not no one, as we shall see—thinks that would be a good society. How many people would want to live in a society in which murderers and rapists were never punished while people who engaged in exceptional goodness were never rewarded?

If that doesn’t make the case, let’s not imagine a whole society. Let’s imagine a school. Would you send your child to a school in which students who routinely disturbed their classes and flunked all their subjects were never punished and students who excelled behaviorally and academically were never rewarded?

I assume not. So why, then, would anyone want such a scenario for all of life? Why would anyone want people who committed terrible evils not to be punished and people who committed heroic, self-sacrificing good acts not to be rewarded?

This is why I wrote that there is an absence of serious thought on this issue. What people would find utterly objectionable in their society or even just in their child’s school, they are at peace with regarding life.

But there is more to this issue. People are, in fact, increasingly at peace with no reward or punishment in this life. This is the egalitarian impulse that is coming to dominate intellectual life. More and more people are, in fact, advocating for such a society. No more “retributive justice.” No more merit-based standards. No more valedictorians. No more failing grades. No more SATs. Indeed, no more standards. No more bail. No more punishment if you are caught stealing less than a thousand dollars’ worth of goods. No more prosecutors who prosecute. Only “equity.”

I am convinced that is what animated Pope Francis’ words. Note that he said he was stating his opinion, not church dogma. And as a man of the left, he’s uncomfortable with reward and especially punishment. As an egalitarian, the thought that anyone is in hell disturbs him.

So, why do people who think like the Pope oppose rewards and punishments?

Because rewards and punishments mean that one must make judgments about better and worse—morally, academically, and in most other spheres of life. It’s better to just assume no one is better than anyone else. That is what has animated participation trophies—no one, not even a team, is better or worse. In much of the contemporary intellectual world, the greatest sin is judging sin. And when you do away with sin, you do away with hell.

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His commentary on Numbers, the fourth volume of “The Rational Bible,” his five-volume commentary on the first five books of the Bible, will be released in November 2024 and is available now for presale. He is the co-founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.

COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS

Get the news corporate media won't tell you.

Get caught up on today's must read stores!

By submitting your information, you agree to receive exclusive AG+ content, including special promotions, and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms. By providing your phone number and checking the box to opt in, you are consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from my short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

About Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest books include The Rational Passover Haggadah and The Rational Bible, a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, "No Safe Spaces," is now available on DVD and BluRay. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.

Photo: VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 10: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus blessing from his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square on March 10, 2024 in Vatican City, Vatican. “The Pope picked up the image of the white flag, proposed by the interviewer, to indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation. His hope is for a diplomatic solution for a just and lasting peace” Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, said responding to journalists' questions on Saturday evening regarding an interview with Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS). (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Notable Replies

  1. As with most things the “Pope” says, I disagree with his opinion on the relative population of Hell. In fact, not only do I disagree with Francis’s belief that Hell is empty, it is my belief that he will someday–deservedly–inhabit that damnable place.

  2. One can hope that no one enters hell, but the Catholic truth is that we pray so that we don’t end up there, and so that others repent and reform their lives and don’t end up there. It is unpleasant and difficult, if not entirely impossible, to imagine a place of eternal suffering.

    I was raised on Fatima and its prophecies. The three little children were given a vision of hell by Our Lady after they were assured of heaven. No painting, no words can describe the suffering there and it was surely occupied. People fear God less and less and in doing so they aggrandize themselves. That is why among other virtues, we ought to pray for humility and wisdom as well as Fear of the Lord. Yes, Virginia, there is a hell. We need to pray, do penance and love and obey God if we hope to avoid it.

Continue the discussion at community.amgreatness.com

Participants

Avatar for Maximus-Cassius Avatar for Alecto Avatar for system