Unquenchable Fire The Traditional Christian Teaching about Hell edition by Lawrence R Farley Religion Spirituality eBooks
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The doctrine of hell as a place of eternal punishment has never been easy for Christians to accept. The temptation to retreat from and reject the Church’s traditional teaching about hell is particularly strong in our current culture, which has demonstrably lost its sense of sin. Fr. Lawrence Farley examines the Orthodox Church’s teaching on this difficult subject through the lens of Scripture and patristic writings, making the case that the existence of hell does not negate that of a loving and forgiving God.
Unquenchable Fire The Traditional Christian Teaching about Hell edition by Lawrence R Farley Religion Spirituality eBooks
This subject is important to read about, although difficult to accept. Well written, as usual for the author. Both awesome and sad to consider these teachings, but good to have this book added to the Orthodox study materials.Product details
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Unquenchable Fire The Traditional Christian Teaching about Hell edition by Lawrence R Farley Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews
Perhaps the last time I thought about hell was reading Peter Hitchens’ book, The Rage against God, in which he tells of sight-seeing in Burgundy, France, and stumbling, to his annoyance upon Rogier van der Weyden’s polyptych, The Last Judgment, in the ancient hospital listed in his Green Michelin guidebook. “In search of the fine food and wines” of the region, instead, he reported that, “a sudden, strong sense of religion being a thing of the present day, not imprisoned under thick layers of time … chastened him, the effect not having worn off in three decades” (p.103-4). If, as the universalists and conditionalists mentioned in Lawrence Farley’s book are correct, Hitchens need not have worried and might have indeed gone on his merry way, eating and drinking his way through France, rather than seeing that “these naked figures fleeing the pit of hell …were me and the people I knew” (103
Farley’s new book, Unquenchable Fire The Traditional Christian Teaching about Hell, sets out thoroughly for the layperson, the historic view. Beginning with Christ’s words in the gospels, moving on to those of the apostles, and to the teachings of 26 Church Fathers as well as the witness of church culture over the centuries, Farley then makes the case for the morality of the traditional view. He concedes, with C.S. Lewis that there is no way to make the position palatable but after examining five objections to those who find it immoral, he concludes that part of our problem today is that we are more “perplexed” by the problem of evil than horrified by it, and that we have a superficial view of ourselves and others, epitomized in “I’m OK, you’re OK.”
On the positive side, Farley shows how taking the prospect of unending torment seriously overturns the modern preoccupation with whether or not life has meaning, answering in the affirmative and transforming life into an adventure. In his words, “we live our life on the razor’s edge between two eternal alternatives our choices matter and struggle is crucial” (237). As Orwell noted in his 1940 review of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, “nearly all western thought since the last war, certainly all ‘progressive’ thought, has assumed tacitly that human beings desire nothing beyond ease, security and avoidance of pain.” But this is not so. What healthy young person does not crave high challenge and the need for sacrifice? Not only is the traditional view of judgment and hell that Farley outlines so well consistent with the teaching of the Church over centuries, but it also affirms the deepest needs of our human nature.
A Systematic but Reflective analysis of the Orthodox view of Hell
I have just finished reading "Unquenchable Fire The Traditional Christian Teaching about Hell" and found the book to be well presented on educating how Christians should approach the idea of Hell. This book is definitely written for Eastern Orthodox Christians as is makes assumptions that are only relevant to them since many concepts presented are foreign to a Protestant mindset. For example,
"We must therefore take care not to confine our search for the mind of the Church to the ecumenical councils alone, combining a reductionist view of our tradition with a kind of conciliar fundamentalism. Rather the authority of our Tradition resides in a combination of Scripture, the Fathers, the Creed, the ecumenical councils, the canons, the liturgical tradition and the icons."
The above quote is the framework which Fr. Lawrence approaches the question at hand. Even non-Orthodox can benefit from this book, however, the will need to familiarize themselves with Orthodox terminology before the can get a gist of what is actually being argued. Fr. Lawrence argues the traditional view of Hell as an eternal state or place (ultimately an irrelevant distinction used as a snowball fight in ivory igloos) that is the fate of all whom Christ judges as unworthy to join the elect in heaven. He also argues that Universalism (all dogs go to heaven) and Conditionalism (dogs go to the pound for awhile but then get euthanized) are heresies that are occasionally endorsed by saints in different points in church history. Fr. Lawrence through different chapters explains how the bible, the fathers, the liturgy, the iconography and the ecumenical councils demonstrate a harmoniously picture of hell as understood in antiquity by the church. Fr. Lawrence gives ample examples through quotations put into historical and cultural context as to why this uniform traditional vision of hell, and is oft forgotten distinction from hades, is held universally (no pun intended.) Fr. Lawrence points out how many of the proponents of Universalism are guilty of fudging with the context/meaning of words as well as misrepresenting people (Origen comes to mind) in order to reconstruct history so as to assemble a picture of the churches teaching about hell which is then in turn a teaching which directly effects our understanding of the meaning of salvation and the urgency required by Christians to struggle via repentance. The book also attempts to answer certain moral questions in relation to how a truly good God can allow for a hell to exist in the first place. One contention addressed in the book had to do with the problem of "free will" not actually being free and thus naturally leading to universal cleansing. (which I was pleased with since I have contemplated this one since it was written) was poised by the philosopher David Bentley Hart; an Orthodox Universalist. Hart puts forth that....
“Free will is a power inherently purposive, teleological, primordially oriented toward the good, and shaped by that transcendental appetite to the degree that a soul can recognize the good for what it is. No one can freely will the evil as evil; one can take the evil for the good, but that does not alter the prior transcendental orientation that wakens all desire. To see the good truly is to desire it insatiably”.
Fr. Lawrence's' replies,
"Philosophical arguments about what the human will is or is not capable of are interesting, but must take an epistemological backseat to the teaching of Scripture—and the Fathers would agree. And, as we have seen, the Scriptures are fairly clear that Gehenna’s suffering is eternal. But we must still interact with Hart’s assertions about the human will. I would respond that Dr. Hart simply underestimates the power of evil."
As well as
"In the devil we find an abyss of unreason, a perverse fixity and commitment to rebellion, even when it is known to be futile and self-defeating and leads to damnation. It is this evil, this disease, which swallows up and consumes the human will. If Christ possessed an unfallen natural will, and all men now possess a gnomic will, another term must be found for this damned will, which chooses puerile spitefulness in the face of joy. Such a will currently exists in the devil. How could one deny that it could not also come to exist in men in the next life?"
I would actually appreciate if DBH made a more thorough and systematic treatment of universalism as he sees taught in scripture (since he claims that it is overwhelmingly present but he has gone without proving it at any great length at this time.) as this would make a good, alternative perspective since Fr Lawrence's book is certainly biased since it is an argument being put forth and is not simply informative. Overall I found the book inspiring and offered a good reminder to be cautious when dealing with philosophical speculations that are not grounded via the mind of the church when it comes to anything in regards to the nature of salvation in Christ. I will also mention the book is not too dense but not overly simplified either. This book will likely have little impact on those that "aren’t already a part of the choir" and even less on non-believers but is a good resource for those whom are openly seeking truth in Christ through the church and want a more holistic understanding of what the meaning of salvation and hell are as taught via the mind of the church.
Interesting read. Clearly written.
Great book. It walks one through the understanding as it progressed through the revelation of Scripture. In the end, it shows that not all are saved from hell. Some will go to hell, and that hell is eternal and permanent. Very thorough and no stone left unturned.
This subject is important to read about, although difficult to accept. Well written, as usual for the author. Both awesome and sad to consider these teachings, but good to have this book added to the Orthodox study materials.
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