'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

New Zealand Tablet, 25 July 1912, Page 3

'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

(A Weekly Instruction specially written for the N.Z. Tablet by ' Ghimel.') ?

LIFE AFTER DEATH (IX.)

The present series of articles on Hell may be fittingly closed by a consideration of some of the more common objections to its existence, and to the eternity of its punishments.'.. " >

1. The existence of Hell is irreconcilable -with Divine Justice.On the contrary, we answer, Divine Justice is merely exercising Its stricts rights when It inflicts a positive punishment on - the wicked. - No punishment, however great, can ever repair the offence offered by sin to the Majesty and Sanctity of God. 'All punishment,' explains St. Thomas, 'must be proportionate to the offence or sin for which it is inflicted. But in every sin we may distinguish two acts of the will, in as much as by sin, the soul first of all turns away from God, the- unchanging, infinite Good, and in this respect is guilty of an infinite offence, and then in the second place chooses, in place of God, some transitory pleasure, an act which is finite in every way. The rejection of God is punished by the loss of God, which may be truly called infinite, since it is the deprivation of an infinite good, and the. unlawful preference of the creature is expiated by the finite pain of sense.' 2. But, at any rate, the existence of Hell with its torments is opposed to the infinite goodness and mercy of God.—Like most of the objections against revealed truth, this objection is based upon a misconception and misstatement of 'the dogma assailed. Of course, if you insist on considering God as a tyrant Who delights in tormenting His creatures, if you take as literally true the moving descriptions of certain mystical writers, or the terrifying pictures of some great artists, you may find it difficult to see the merciful Hand of God therein. But, after all, these efforts of imagination are only •symbols of a reality which imagination can never reach, inadequate symbols indeed, and yet of great use;in inspiring that salutary fear of Hell which serves as a deterrent in severe temptation, or as a -motive of prompt repentance after a fall. For the rest, when Divine Justice demands such punishment, what right has our puny reason to say that Divine Mercy must remit the punishment thus justly inflicted? If Mercy were God's only attribute, we might indeed have some ground for thinking that He would forego all punishment, but as a matter of fact, Mercy exists and acts along with Wisdom and Justice, and these require that sin shall be punished. ■ . ' ;, - 3. Eternal punishment is repugnant to God's justice, for what proportion can there be..between the act of. a moment and an eternal Hell ?—ln the first place, we may reply with St. Thomas that the proportion between the crime and its punishment is based not on the duration of the act, but on 'its malice and gravity. The objection, taken literally, 'would be fatal to all justice, human and divine, for we constantly see crimes that were committed in a moment punished by years of imprisonment, or even death, which is the human equivalent of eternal punishment.' In the second place, if we are inclined to think there is a terrible disproportion between the gravity of a momentary act of sin and the severity of an eternal punishment, we should consider what that sin involves. No man is condemned except because calmly and deliberately, and ' with full reflection, he has refused to serve God accord- _ ing to his knowledge; there must be determined malice ~ and deliberate rejection of God. If any excuse "can be made, God will be the first to make it. But surely an act of that'nature deserves an eternal hell. '-' For the soul that consents to such an act does so with full " knowledge of the consequences. It is not taken by surprise, it has every chance. It has been sealed with; the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ P crowned with the most wonderful-gifts and graces, and i yet -it deliberately: refuses to listen to the dictates of" its own reason, it defaces and destroys as far as it

can the beauty of the divine likeness, it wilfully abuses and flings away its graces and its gifts, it tramples - underfoot the blood of its Saviour, and then, rebellious to the last, it passes out of the world. It has literally chosen sin for its last end, and therefore, it has the /* will to sin eternally.' 4. But may not the lost soul repent after death? Is the will not free?—The will, indeed, is free: God does not destroy the nature even of the lost. But still there can be no conversion of the heart. For the lost

soul sees and is obliged to confess that God owes it to the moral order not to give it another, chance. Out of this knowledge there springs a hatred of sin, not, however, because it is an offence against God, but only because it has brought this just punishment the grief of the soul may be very real, but it is not prompted by the love of God, and therefore cannot serve as the basis of true repentance. The soul, therefore, is forced, despite itself, to confess the justice of God, and yet, because it still loves the wickedness for which it is being punished, it curses the Judge Who carries out the sentence —that is its way of proclaiming the final triumph of the Creator. Conclusion. — 'To our limited view, Hell, as we conceive it, may seem unjust, unwise, unloving; and attempts to justify it from reason, valid or invalid, may sometimes only irritate and disgust us. . . . Here, if anywhere, we must fall back upon the very notion of faith, as an heroic clinging to God in spite of crushing difficulties, in spite" of all that may appear most contrary to our rooted conviction as to His goodness and mercy. It is just the way we ourselves should try the faith of one tp whom we had already given abundant proof of our goodwill. . . . "He Who made the eye, shall He Himself not see?" and He that made the human heart, and bore a human-heart, with all its tenderness and compassion, and fierce indignation against cruel injustice, shall He not be fair, and just, and kind, and tender ? . . . Eventually, I shall surely see how all that was revealed was true; but so far short of the whole truth as to make my present judgment on it worthless and vain. I am" content, therefore, to wait patiently and trustfully as for the answer to a riddle, which now puzzles me hopelessly because I am on the wrong track for its solution; the more I reason, the faster I stick in the mire. When I hear the answer I shall laugh and say, "Of course! How could it be otherwise?" ' {Nova et Vetera, p. 151).