It is frankly unfair to tar every Christian with the Catholic/Protestant conception of Hell.
I think Origen may have posited the possibility of reincarnation. But he was also deemed somewhat heretical. There are some funny characters like that sprinkled throughout church history: a good dude, but some heretical ideas. Even applies to some recognized saints.
In Orthodox thought, heaven and hell are generally thought to be the same thing: the presence of God. When you die, you enter God's presence. To the extent that you have molded yourself, and allowed yourself to be molded, to God's Will, the presence of God is heaven. To the extent that you have cut yourself off from God, and conformed yourself to the world, the presence of God is hell. To everyone, it is a burning, purifying fire. If you're already mostly purified, it's just going to burn off the last few bits of deadwood you hauled along from your life. If you're mostly deadwood... that's going to be pretty unpleasant. I also think there's some hope in that vision of hell, though: it may be taking the metaphor too far, but it at least suggests that if you've got anything in you that *isn't* deadwood, it's salvageable, however small.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-10-15 02:00 pm (UTC)I think Origen may have posited the possibility of reincarnation. But he was also deemed somewhat heretical. There are some funny characters like that sprinkled throughout church history: a good dude, but some heretical ideas. Even applies to some recognized saints.
In Orthodox thought, heaven and hell are generally thought to be the same thing: the presence of God. When you die, you enter God's presence. To the extent that you have molded yourself, and allowed yourself to be molded, to God's Will, the presence of God is heaven. To the extent that you have cut yourself off from God, and conformed yourself to the world, the presence of God is hell. To everyone, it is a burning, purifying fire. If you're already mostly purified, it's just going to burn off the last few bits of deadwood you hauled along from your life. If you're mostly deadwood... that's going to be pretty unpleasant. I also think there's some hope in that vision of hell, though: it may be taking the metaphor too far, but it at least suggests that if you've got anything in you that *isn't* deadwood, it's salvageable, however small.