Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Tuesday, April 02, 2002 Pleasure in Heaven is Seeing Others in Hell St. Thomas Aquinas once said something about one of the great joys of heaven was in seeing others in hell. Needless to say, this causes a bit of consternation to moderns. "What! What kind of schadenfrude, is that!? Yesh, nice Jesus freaks you are. Laughing and yucking it up while you see your moms and dads, brothers and sons twisting in the fire where the worm does not die. Makes me want to join the party, indeed!" Aquinas was thinking about the pure joy that comes when we see absolute justice finally applied. (Somehow nobody scorns the Buddhists for karma where you get to enjoy other people's suffering now for their past lives sins.) Is there no one who doesn't enjoy poetic justice in fiction (which is why we love happy endings for the long suffering and just deserts for villains)? Nor who doesn't applaud when a sneaky murderer is found guilty or generally appalled when O.J. types go free? But that's what Hell is. A place where the guilty enjoy the choices they have freely made. And not where the saints stand at the railings and point - "See! didn't I tell you so, Aunt Sue?! Aren't you sorry now?! Ha Ha ha!" Of course, I have a fervent wish that no one would end up in Hell and I can think of ways for God to act so that would not happen, but I have to believe in a Hell if I believe in human freedom. And I must say, when I consider the kind of hard heartedness and pure egotism in such people as the lesbians mentioned below - should they die unrepentant tomorrow - I want them to experience justice, true justice. posted by Mark Butterworth | 2:20 PM | |
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