I just wanted to say that I find myself very attracted to the Eastern Orthodox conception of heaven/hell.
What is heaven? God’s love.
What is hell? God’s love.
Did God create hell? No, because God’s love is uncreated.
Is hell eternal? Yes, because God’s love is eternal and there will likely be a handful of sinners who are eternally unrepentant.
Who is responsible for the existence of hell? The handful of spiritually dead individuals who remain eternally unrepentant.
Is hell ‘separation from God’? Quite the opposite!
Etc. etc.
Furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox conception of hell can easily account for gradations of rewards/punishments since one’s rewards/punishments will be directly proportional to one’s love for God and love for others. Those who love God and their fellow brothers/sisters as themselves will find his presence blissful while those who hate God (idiots like this and this) will be tormented in his presence. This is one reason why the Eastern Orthodox conception of heaven/hell is clearly superior to the ‘fire and brimstone’ conception of heaven/hell popular in Catholicism and Protestantism. The former can account for gradations of rewards/punishments while the latter cannot. Therefore, the latter ought to be rejected, with fervor.
The Orthodox heaven/hell-model is also superior to competing models because it will completely expose superficial believers. Those who profess a belief in God in name only (as described in Matthew 7:21-23), those who attend church for purely selfish reasons, false preachers who use religion to rack up wealth/power/fame/etc. on Earth, those religious believers who love their religion more than they love God (after visiting Mormon churches for a few months, I get a strong impression that some people there love their Mormon religious culture more than they love God. If they were to arrive at the pearly gates and find their Mormonism was wrong, they would probably be more horrified to find out their religion was wrong and unwilling to change their mind than excited to dwell with God. And I’m pretty sure the same sentiment exists in every other religion as well), etc. will have their superficiality smashed to pieces when exposed to the unmediated glory of a holy and just God. This is a great advantage of the Orthodox model indeed, especially when other models of the afterlife seem to thrive on rewarding superficial believers.
It would also seem to give hope to those who are deceased since it allows for repentance after death. The only people who will be in hell forever are those who are eternally unrepentant. It would also seem to give hope to those who are religious outsiders. There are probably a lot more consequences that I have yet to uncover but so far so good. Quite interesting indeed. I find myself liking it the more I think about it (while I find that my disgust for the ‘fire and brimstone’ model grows with the more I think about it).
Just thought I’d share that…