| Back
Traditional Theology of Hell Alvin Shaul Rotz, TH211 Theology Paper: Tradition October 6, 2003 The Theology of Hell Original Thesis: Christ�s last words of �Into your hands I commit my spirit,� (Luke 23:46) give doubt to the Catholic doctrine of Christ�s descent into hell after his crucifixion. Adapted Thesis: The Christian doctrine and segment of the Apostle�s Creed that testifies to Christ�s descent into hell (Hades) after his crucifixion base their theology on debatable proofs. I have always found it interesting how certain theories can have multitudes of evidence and proofs and yet, they remain just that, theories. So is the case with the theology of Christ�s descent to hell following his crucifixion. As I have researched various theologians and their works, I have found that most will either state the definiteness of their belief, or give examples of various theologies. In general three main arguments have been established: first, that Christ did not descend at all; second that he did descend to the underworld (ei"& ta katacqovnta katelqovta), that is, the place of the dead; and third that he descended hell (descendit ad inferna) and battle with Lucifer and/or Hades in an effort to rescue those who came before Christ. At the advice of Dr. George Lyons, professor of Religion at Northwest Nazarene University, I have chosen J.N.D. Kelly as my main source of theology for this work. J.N.D. Kelly�s published works include Early Christ Creeds (1950), Early Christian Doctrines (1958), The Athanisian Creed (1964), Jerome: His life, writings, and controversies (1975), The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (1986) and Golden Mouth (1995). He has proved to be an authority of many subjects concerning the legalities of the Church. Kelly was the Principal of St. Edmund Hall in Oxford as a University Lectureer in Patristic Studies. The first appearance of the doctrine of Christ�s descent appeared in the Fourth Formula of the Sirmium Dated Creed of 359. It stated that he �died, and descended to the underworld and regulated things there, [he was] whom the gatekeepers saw and shuddered.� The first variant of this appeared in the Aquileian creed. Rufinus originally believed that �he descended into hell� simply meant that he had been buried. However, later in his life and teachings, he related it to 1 Peter 3:19 (how Christ �went and preached to the spirits in prison�) (Kelly, ECC, 138). Wolfhart Pannenberg takes a much more modern view: It was part of the special destiny of Jesus already to have experienced in his conscience the reality of hell during his physical death. The connection between conscience and the experience of hell is not a phenomenon of human experience which is to be found everywhere in this way. It does not arise in the normal human experience at all, but characterizes the particular kind of experience present at Jesus� death (Pannenburg, 92). The principal Scripture associated with Christ�s descent is 1 Peter 3:19. When one Scripture is used support many theses, it is often helpful to consult multiple translations of the passage. The New International Version states: �through whom [the Spirit] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.� The Recovery version states: �In which [the Spirit] also He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.� The New King James version says: �By whom [the Spirit] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison.� The Good News version states: �and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits.� The Greek puts it this way: �e*n w'&/ kaiV toi'" e*n fulakh/' pneuvmasin poreuqeiV" khvruxen� which literally means �in whom and also to the spirits in prison he went to preach.� Most of these give the same basic concepts. The Good News version uses a translation that interprets the Greek as many post-fifth century theologians believe; Christ in his spiritual existence, that is, his preincarnation, went and preached to Noah (v. 20) during Noah�s time. The interpretation denies any relationship between the verse and Christ�s descent to hell. It is important to note that this was the view that was principally held in Western fashion after the time of St. Augustine (Kelly, ECC, 380). In his book Adventuring Through the Bible, Ray C. Stedman gives a straight forward assumption of this view: �Peter recalls the way the gospel was preached in Noah�s day, and how the Spirit of Christ, speaking through Noah, preached to the people of his day so that he might bring them to God� (Stedman, 734). Allen Mandelbaum says this while explaining Dante Alighieri�s stance on Christ�s descent: Christ descended into Limbo after his death in 33 A.D., when Virgil had been in Limbo about 50 years. Christ�s descent into Limbo, from which he removed the Old Testament worthies, is known as the harrowing of Hell. It has its source in the Apocrypha, in a portion of the Gospel of Nicodemus, and was proclaimed as dogma at the Fourth Lateral Council in 1215 and at the Council of Lyon in 1274. The discussion of Limbo was echoed twice in 1991 by Father Mateo of the Catholic Information Network. He says this of the Apostle�s creed: The article in the Apostle�s Creed that Christ descended into hell means that after his redemptive death on the cross and before his resurrection, Christ visited the �Limbo of the Fathers�, the place or state of the souls of the just who died before the accomplishment of the redemption. He went there to �preach to the spirits in prison� (1 Peter 3:19) and the other saints of God, who could not enter heaven until the redemption was accomplished. Many other creeds include statements about Christ�s descent. The Athanasian Creed states �Who suffered for our salvation, descended to hell, rose from the dead�� (Kelly, TAC, 20). Others include a few Spanish creeds of the 6th century and the Gallican creeds of the 7th and 8th centuries. Also, though not creedal material, the descent was clearly mentioned by St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others (Kelly, ECC, 378-379). Tertullian�s De anima describes Christ�s descent like this: Christ our God, who because he was man died according to the Scriptures, and was buried according to the same Scriptures, satisfied this law also by undergoing the form of human death in the underworld, and did not ascend aloft to heaven until he had gone down to the regions beneath the earth (Kelly, ECC, 380). Agreeing more with the views of Dante and St. Ignatius, St. Caesarius of Arles describes Christ�s victory in hell: Because the Lion, that is, Christ, of the tribe of Judah, descended victoriously to hell, snatching us from the mouth of the hostile lion. Thus He hunts to save us, He captures to release us, He leads us captive to restore us liberated to our native land (Kelly, ECC, 382). In discussing the different possibilities toward the right definition of hell or Hades, it is interesting to find views that completely contradict everything else suggested. In Kathleen Norris� Amazing Grace, hell is defined as the absence of God (Norris, 315). In all my studies, hell has always been associated with the location, whether it is the place of the dead or a pit of fire. Therefore, I find it hard to agree with her statement. It might however, brim the edges of Pannenberg�s assessment of Christ experiencing hell on the cross. This would assume, however, that God was not with Christ while Christ was on the cross, a subject that within itself is quite debated. The Church of the Nazarene takes no stance on the issue of Christ�s descent an it is not included in the denomination�s Articles of Faith. Those of Nazarene loyalty however, do take part in reciting the Apostle�s Creed which supports but does not define Christ�s descent. I have found that the use of a multitude of sources has enabled me to analyze a wide variety of scriptural interpretation by theologians. The bulk of my information has come from J.N.D. Kelly. His work on Early Christian Creeds and does an excellent job of analyzing how various theologians can vary widely on a single creedal article. I look forward to seeing how other Scriptures may intensify these theological interpretations. Bibliography (MLA Format) Alghieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, The Inferno. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. Bantam Books. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland. 1980. Bible. The New King James Bible. New Testament and Psalms. Thomas Nelson Inc. 1980 Bible. The New Testament. Recovery Version. Living Streams Ministry. Anaheim, CA. 1991. Bible. The Student Bible. New International Version. The Zondervan Corporation. 1986. Bible. Today�s English Version. 2nd Ed. Good News Translation. Amercian Bible Society. 1982. Father Mateo. Christ�s Descent into Hell. Catholic Information Network. 1997. 8/25/91. http://www.cin.org/mateo/9108255.html. Father Mateo. Limbo of the Fathers, Descent into Hell. Catholic Information network. 1997. 7/28/91. https://www.cin.org/mateo/9107282 Kelly, J.N.D. The Athanasian Creed. Harper and Row, Pub. New York and Evaston. 1964. Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Creeds. Longmans, Green CO., London, New York, Toronto. 1950. Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines. Harper and Brothers, Pub. New York. 1958. Kelly, J.N.D. Jerome: His life, writings, and controversies. Hendrickson Pub. Peabody, Massachusetts. 1975. Norris, Kathleen. Amazing Grace. A Vocabulary of Faith. The Barkley Pub. Group. New York, NY. 1999. Oxford Greek Dictionary. 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press. 1982. Pannenberg, Wolfhart. The Apostle�s Creed. The Westminster Press. Philadelphia. 1972. Stedman, Ray C. Adventuring Through the Bible. Discovery House Pub. Elaine Stedman. 1997. Tertullian. De anima. 55. Oehler II. 642. Study Log: 10 Hours |