John Behr - Do Heaven and Hell Really Exist?

What kind of God would create Hell? Does the nature of Hell offer insight into what that kind of God would be like? Does the truth of Christianity, Judaism, Islam depend on the reality of Hell? Infinite torment for finite sin? Are there other interpretations of scripture? Traditional views of Hell are odious and repugnant. Who’d want reality to be like that?

John Behr is a contemporary Eastern Orthodox priest and theologian, and Dean of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he teaches Patristics. He was ordained to the diaconate (the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos) and the priesthood (the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross).

Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[mikehornick]

The question, not Behr’s answer, is evasive. The question of heaven and hell is usually posed in ways that presume Christ’s irrelevance. No definition of heaven and hell is to be considered, only a yes or no answer. We’re not to ask what it is we’re saying yes or no to. At best, this makes Christ a traffic cop or grid manager, waving cars on to their destinations. Anyone else could have been hired for that job. But according to Orthodox and Catholic doctrine, Christ himself is destination and way. Heaven and hell are defined in that doctrine as the attraction or repulsion of the dead and the living toward Christ. Hell just is their aversion to, or pain in the presence of, Christ’s self sacrificing love; it has no other content; dead or alive, you are in hell by your action, not God’s. Behr’s refusal to budge on this Christological point is a strength, but in an upside down world, he is belittled for weakness. Attend to your own weakness. Take up your cross.

[darkknightsds]

All the people saying he's avoiding talking about heaven and hell are wrong. No, he's saying that it's the wrong question entirely. Because what happens to us immediately after we die is not the focal point of the New Testament. In fact, this is barely mentioned at all. The focus of the New Testament is how Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom (Rule) of God and how we can have God come live with us through the spirit.

[J-Train]

This was six minutes and seven seconds of watching him try to avoid answering the darn question or attempting to reframe the question into something he /can/ talk about. I love watching those people squirm when told to get to the point. He never really did. These conversations always end the same way. Very disappointing but not at all surprising.

[Rohit-ozor]

It's very obvious that he is evading the question and doesn't want to confront the fact that he doesn't believe in heaven & hell as propagated in Christian tradition - perhaps to keep the charade of a believer for his followers

[bunnybby]

For everyone saying he is evading or not answering the question… he is attempting to. And he is doing very well. It’s a complex question that cannot be fully explained with a yes or no answer. Although theology isn’t my area, I took some theology classes at university where I was taught by him, and this is his way of explaining things. He’s amazing. The realities (or lack of) when it comes to heaven and hell cannot be fully explained with the depth of an amazing theologian in 6 minutes.

[anaccount]

He's not embarrassed to discuss heaven and hell and then refuses to discuss them.

[MJ]

Next up we’ll ask a cocaine addict if they enjoy cocaine.

[UriyahRecords]

It's not even certain we will die, because no one alive has experienced death

[joyfulmindstudio]

Fr. Behr described our relationship to the concepts of heaven and hell in a way that is in tune with Buddhist understandings of heaven, hell, and enlightenment. These images and ideas are metaphors that are meant to bring us back to the most important thing that we can do in this life, whatever else happens after death: We can practice letting go of all the ideas, opinions, fears, hatreds, and addictions that cause us to focus all of our energy on prioritizing ourselves above all others, maintaining an iron grip on anything we call “ours, ” and pushing away anything we label “not our problem.”

Even the Dalai Lama, who Buddhists believe to be the reincarnation of an unbroken line of saints going back to the Buddha himself, says flatly that he does not know what, if anything, becomes of us after death. In the face of this profound mystery, and our anxiety about not knowing what is to come, he says that the most important thing we can do is to learn how to live in a way where our happiness does not come at someone else’s expense—or vice versa. This, he says, is the very best preparation we can make for our moment of death—and for the moment after that.

This teaching is sometimes presented in the form of a question: “Since death is certain, and the time of death is uncertain, what matters most?”

There’s another Buddhist saying that explains why an Eastern Orthodox priest and the Dalai Lama could find themselves on basically the same page regarding what the mystery of death can teach us about life in the here-and-now: “All paths lead to one point.” That is, all religions seek to bring about the same change of heart in those who practice them: helping us to loosen the vice grip we place on all that we want and love, and to become willing to encounter what frightens, angers, or revolts us in ourselves and others, with compassion, and without turning away.

[lukew]

Eccl 5: 9 "The dead know not anything."
Acts 24: 15 "There shall he a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."
Psalms 37: 29 "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."

[willbrink]

Even biological death will be an option in the not too distant future if we don't snuff ourselves out in the next 300-500 years. The Orthodox priest didn't answer the Q...

[Markph]

Need to see the whole interview. Where is it?

[TheCosmicRealm]

Of course, heaven and hell actually exist. We're already in both heaven and hell, which is why good and evil both exist beside each other.

[angeleverable]

"Existence for eternity could get a little boring... especially towards the end".---Woody Allen. "All the interesting people are in hell". ---Nietzsche

[kalewintermute]

I think we are nearing the point where Christianity can mean whatever you want it to mean.

[KUPT]

Of course they exist!
They are both on this planet right now!
Poor are in hell and rich in haven

[jeromehorwitz]

"The mind is its own place and of itself can make a hell of heaven and a heaven of hell." -Milton

[TheMoonKingdom]

Wow, he's annoying. Right or wrong; just answer the question & say what you think.

[anaccount]

So he's a priest in the name of this religion and can't answer about as basic a question as you can get about his own religion

[dongshengdi]

Dimensions in Science: A Complex Picture.
we observe four dimensions.
* Three spatial dimensions: length, width, and height.
* One temporal dimension: time.
However, the story doesn't end there.
* Theoretical Physics: Some theories, like string theory, propose the existence of up to 10 or 11 dimensions. These extra dimensions are thought to be incredibly small and curled up, invisible to our current observations.
* Mathematical Concepts: In mathematics, we can define spaces with any number of dimensions. This is a tool used in various fields like geometry, physics, and computer science.
It's important to note:
* The dimensions we experience are the ones we can directly observe and measure.
* The higher dimensions proposed by theories are mathematical constructs used to explain phenomena we currently can't fully understand.
.
In religion, we call them heaven or earth or purgatory, or mind, etc .