Is HELL Real... and How Can We Know?! w/ Dr. Peter Kreeft

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Peter Kreeft and Matt Fradd talk about if Hell is just. Matt and Peter talk about the clarity of the Gospels on Hell, and what purgatory is really like.



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[robertrazon]

Removing God in our Life is Hell. He is the source of all Goodness so without him we are either dead or no purpose/meaning in Life.

[tinkerbell]

"God the Father makes an offer man CAN refuse." -Dr. Peter

[Dandymancan]

My jaw is still on the ground, how have I never heard of this beacon of wisdom.

God Bless Him

[margokupelian]

I enjoyed this conversation immensely. Dr Peter is a great thinker and a good soul, a naturally wise man. 🤔
Thank you Matt, you’re great! Always searching for truth like we all do.

[liambrennan]

CS Lewis Problem of Pain sold me on the dogma of Hell when I read it. It went from a vague concept in my mind to a logical conclusion that genuinely shook me to consider as such.

[issaavedra]

As an ex-atheist convert into Orthodoxy, the Orthodox view of hell solved this dilemma for me. The Eschaton is the final revelation, Christ reveals everything in reality, and that includes you and the darkest corners of your soul. If you are crooked, you will hate this revelation, it will feel like an endless torture, but you will keep rejecting Him, because the mechanisms of repentance will not be there anymore... that is hell. On the contrary, if you are united with Christ, the revelation of Christ in everything is just Heaven. Everything will be as God intended it to be.

In other words, hell is not created, but the experience of Christ for an unrepentant sinner.

[clq]

I had a very holy friend who was very sick. In one of our conversations, she said something very similar to what Dr. Keeft spoke to about suffering in purgatory. She accepted all the suffering given to her even though it was hard. This was the first time I have ever considered that she was living out purgatory here on earth if that is such a thing.

[dogcatmom]

I’ve seen gratitude and wonder in my pets. I think our soul is on a higher level, since we are made in God’s image. But I do believe animals, at least those who are loved, do have a spirit. God takes care of His creations. ❤

[nuno]

I know hell is real, I've experienced it. I could smell everything, I could feel everything, moments seem like years...

[scurvydog]

I once had an interesting thought, c.s.lewis suggested that before the fall mans body was fully within his power but with the fall man no longer had full control of the body's appetites. All will be raised some to glory and some to damnation but all will be raised, imagine the torment of a mind with no control of the body's passions I could see that as the fire, after all the rich man asked for a drop of water. Imagine being a full mercy of your bodies thirst and unable to drink. And being in the presence of more powerful infernal spirits who hate you and are at will to harm you. Job but without rest and more intense pain. No escape despite the body screaming to do something to flee the suffering.

[dereknelson]

Great interview; I love Dr. Kreeft and think he is one of the greatest minds alive today. Thanks for this.

[eoinMB]

If ever anyone was in doubt about the existence of hell let me just direct you to St teresa of avila's biography and her description of hell, as she experienced it herself. Yes she actually experienced hell, she said that it was one of the greatest graces God had ever given her because she realised what God has spared her from and also that experience gave her a zeal for the salvation of souls. Please read her description of what hell is really like, it will scare the living daylights out of you and like st teresa it will give you a zeal for the salvation of souls. It will terrify you so much that you will drop to your knees and pray that even your worst enemy doesn't end up there

[joshualott]

Dr. Kreeft actually answers this question quite well in his Handbook of Christian Apologetics, similar to what he said about the intrinsic nature of the soul. The best analogy I can use in my finite wisdom is based on an episode of The Walking Dead, Season 9, Episode 1. At the Hilltop, Gregory and Maggie have an election to see who should be the new leader. Maggie wins. Gregory then conspires with another member of the Hilltop community to kill Maggie, but the attempt fails and Maggie deduces that Gregory orchestrated the whole scenario. But in this case, it certainly was not the first time Gregory betrayed Maggie and her people. He stood by Negan during the "All Out War" storyline. Maggie rhetorically asks Gregory, "How many chances do we have to give you?" Her presumption, warranted in this case, is that Gregory will NEVER change. He'll always make selfish choices that adversely affect the well-being of others. That he does so of his own freewill, I think, demonstrates that his soul is intrinsically unjust. Perhaps that is why some souls are condemned to hell.

[pop]

C.S. Lewis once said, 'The gates of hell are locked from the inside' which I see as profoundly in step with God being pure love. Also, in step with purgatory & Holiness & Sanctification.

St. Newman's poem, 'The dream of Gerontius' to me expands on this even more, from the expansion of time at the moment of death to the healing of the soul.

It reminds me of what we call 'Purgatory' in Catholicism & also what Orthodox may describe as an intermediate state through & after death.

God help us all & may Mother Mary be with us in that hour 🙏

[michaelpryor]

The reason why the state we die in is eternal and unchanging goes back to the time thing. Repentance is something that is completely dependent on time. We reflect on the past, feel sorry about what we've done in the present, and then seek forgiveness in the future. Problem with doing this in the afterlife is that we've entered a state where time doesn't exist in the way it does on Earth. You can't change from what you are in that present moment to someone different, because the future doesn't exist in such a way. You're simply who you are when you died.

[jamieclements]

Why do we feel like we have to justify the decisions of God? If God felt free will was important enough to make a place where created beings could choose to not be in His presence. This place would be free of all the fruits of the spirit and Pride, Greed, .and Lust would have their fill. That is all that is required for Hell to be a reality.

Thank you for all you do here, God Bless You and Keep you

Your Brother in Christ,

[yeshuast]

Our Saints give a pretty good insight of their visions of hell.

[ClosedDoor]

Funny coincidence, I'm on that chapter of The Problem of Pain right now.

[GrammyAmanda]

I understand that Hell is real, but I still pray God will convince every soul to want Him and to cooperate with Him. ❤

[SL-eskb]

It was interesting that a lot of the online complaints about the infinite dignity document was that the existence of Hell showed we don’t have eternal dignity- but that didn’t make sense to me as I thought God being perfectly Just just means that Hell perfectly respects our free will choice to be separate from Him so even eternal damnation respects our dignity …