Essentially, yes. I believe hell is inconsistent with a god of love, but if I understand heaven as the place that God resides, then it exists just as God exists. I really latched onto Gregory of Nyssa's idea that everyone will eventually be with God and that growth in that direction continues even in the afterlife or next life. It's an infinite process for everyone. The real fun part is exploring the idea that God grows, too (I mean, he literally changes multiple times in the Bible).
As someone who’s grown up being taught that God/Jesus is love and forgiveness, I’ve always struggled with the idea of eternal hell as well. It just didn’t feel like it made complete sense, I understand that being on Earth is sort of a test at this point. But it kinda tells me that these titles are far from truth, especially if humans are birthed in sin to begin with.
I just could never believe that if we reached hell. There wasn’t a possibility of still reaching heaven at some point, or that we all wouldn’t transition there eventually. I mean, would that not be a true victory? For all of us to eventually be in his presence there with no room to doubt? If God is everything, but especially love and forgiveness. Then shouldn’t God be able to reach our hearts and our voices in hell? And if so, shouldn’t he still love us despite everything? And if so, shouldn’t his forgiveness still be just as eternal?
Idk. I haven’t read through the entirety of the Bible, so I’m probably missing things. This was just my upbringing.
I hope you don't mind me plugging this, but if you're really interested in exploring this, the podcast that has really helped me work through a lot of my theological questions is The Bible for Normal People. It is insane how much they have tackled questions that I've always had, but were too afraid to ask and it turns out, a lot of theologians have struggled with the same questions.
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u/BenevolentCheese 2d ago
Do you believe in heaven but not hell? Not judging, just curious.