Hell, No!

In his pivotal talk, Richard Rohr recognizes that until Christians deal with their false notion of hell, their capacity to love and trust God is seriously compromised. Such a belief aims the whole Christian life in a fear-based direction and with a narrow win/lose worldview that only appeals to the ego. This view of hell makes God much smaller than the teaching of Jesus reveals.

Love cannot happen through threat, punishment, or demand. God’s ways are much more subtle and true. The largely medieval notion of hell that many Christians hold to this day makes mystical union with God largely impossible and even undesirable.

Richard uses Scripture, the Fathers and mystics of the Church, philosophy, and psychology to demonstrate that Divine Love is stronger than death or sin. That is the summary point of the Gospel. God’s victory, revealed in Jesus’ resurrection, is a victory for all of creation!

This talk was presented in Santa Ana, New Mexico, in 2014.