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this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2024
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God, at least according to the Orthodox, Christian understanding, is not a sin calculator programmed to mete out punishment for actions which fit specified criteria. Rather, he is a person (three Persons, technically, but one Being), and he is one who is good and loves mankind, and is intimately familiar with every detail of your life and motivation for your actions. His relationship with each individual is personal, and he acts towards them in full understanding of who they are and where they were coming from. It is not a one size fits all rulebook.
It is not clear to me why anyone would go to hell in that case. My understanding of people is imperfect, as is my capacity for universal love, but I certainly don't want anyone to suffer, especially since I understand that people are responding to incentives and are not themselves perfectly rational beings with absolute control over themselves or the situations they respond to. I can't imagine sending anyone to eternal suffering described as a lake of fire under any circumstances in preference to helping them to grow better, if I had both the power and a necessity for them to be better by some measure.
The Orthodox understanding of hell differs from how it's commonly understood in the West. We understand hell to be essentially the same thing as heaven, only experienced differently. After death, everyone is surrounded by the infinite love and presence of God. For those who are turned toward him in faith, they experience this as the epitome of joy and peace, while those who are turned away from him toward their own sinful corruption experience this as pain. The difference lies not in God but in how the individual, shaped by the choices they have made and the person they have become, receives and experiences him.
In addition, while it is a minority view, universal reconciliation is a perfectly valid Orthodox position, one based on the teachings of venerable Church Fathers such as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Isaac of Nineveh. Under this understanding, God's love is ameliorative as well as perfect, and it cleanses and purifies even those who stand in rejection of him. Hell is seen as a state of purification rather than eternal torment, and will eventually bring all created beings into a full and blissful communion with him. Some may have a longer journey to take, but everyone will eventually be saved and experience God exactly as he intended for us.
Wow, that's so much better than fire and brimstone. Still not enough to make me believe in anything, but I can at least understand why a kind and rational person would be ok believing this, vs the eternal hellfire punishment crap.