Both fear that most men could be lost and hope that none will be appear essential to the Christian, often at different times. Dare we embrace both?
By David Larson, Crisis Magazine, Feb. 15, 2023
David Larson is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in the Federalist, Crisis Magazine, Front Porch Republic, and Catholic World Report. He has a masters in theological studies and is currently opinion editor for Carolina Journal in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and family. …
One of the biggest areas of conflict in the modern Church continues to be about the proper view of the Final Judgment—whether one should fear that most are doomed to Hell or hope that most are headed to Heaven (maybe after an extended stay in purgatory for some). Crisis editor Eric Sammons, in his recent piece “Dare We Fear That Most Men Be Damned?,” described it as not “exactly a theological debate as much as an attitude debate.”
I think this is the right way to frame it, since one can accept the same dogmas but see them in ways that more favor one or the other perspective. But what if these two attitudes can be held together, rather than as two competing attitudes? Is it possible they should be? …
Continue reading >>>>
