Follow-up: Eternal Punishment
Question from Charles on 5/26/2008:
Dear Father Levis, thank you for your reply, but I don't think you quite understood my question (or perhaps I did not express it clearly enough).
You wrote in response that, "The sinner who sins, dies unrepentent." Perhaps this is the crux of the problem. You seem to be saying that in Heaven or Hell, a human being no longer has free will. If I have free will in Hell, I can repent. But God apparently does not accept the repentance of souls in Hell. On the other hand, if there is no free will in Heaven, then God is spending eternity with robots and automatons who are not freely loving and serving Him.
Do you see the problem, the paradox? Please help me understand. Thank you!
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 5/27/2008:
Charles, WE never lose our freedom of will, either in Heaven nor in Hell. Those in Heaven are so attracted to the Divine Goodness, it is inconceivable that they would refuse to return divine love. Those in Hell are given by God precisely what they have chosen while on earth.They shoce anti-God, unfortunately die, and God gives them what they freely chose on earth. They have no chance of eternal salvation, they have lost freely that opportunity.In Hell they suffer from the misuse of free will on earth, from their freely committed sins.Freedom in Hell is not removed. They continue to choose evil for all eternity as they lived on earth, the place of trial and temptation, which trial they failed forever. Fr. Bob Levis
Question from Charles on 5/26/2008:
Dear Father Levis, thank you for your reply, but I don't think you quite understood my question (or perhaps I did not express it clearly enough).
You wrote in response that, "The sinner who sins, dies unrepentent." Perhaps this is the crux of the problem. You seem to be saying that in Heaven or Hell, a human being no longer has free will. If I have free will in Hell, I can repent. But God apparently does not accept the repentance of souls in Hell. On the other hand, if there is no free will in Heaven, then God is spending eternity with robots and automatons who are not freely loving and serving Him.
Do you see the problem, the paradox? Please help me understand. Thank you!
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 5/27/2008:
Charles, WE never lose our freedom of will, either in Heaven nor in Hell. Those in Heaven are so attracted to the Divine Goodness, it is inconceivable that they would refuse to return divine love. Those in Hell are given by God precisely what they have chosen while on earth.They shoce anti-God, unfortunately die, and God gives them what they freely chose on earth. They have no chance of eternal salvation, they have lost freely that opportunity.In Hell they suffer from the misuse of free will on earth, from their freely committed sins.Freedom in Hell is not removed. They continue to choose evil for all eternity as they lived on earth, the place of trial and temptation, which trial they failed forever. Fr. Bob Levis
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