On Hope, Heaven, and Hell

Nicholas J. Healy On Hope, Heaven, and Hell AT THE END OF THE FINAL VOLUME of his Theo-Drama Hans Urs von Balthasar tentatively proposes that we consider the question ofeternal damnation not so much from the perspective ofman ("what does man lose if he loses God?"), as from the standpoint of God ("What does God lose if he loses man?"). What would it mean for God to have to condemn one of his creatures? According to Balthasar, we have become too accustomed to posing the question ofeternal damnation abstractly, as though the outcome were a matter of indifference. In Jesus Christ, God has revealed his desire to save all of mankind. As absolute love, God has involved himself in the drama of our salvation precisely to the point of being abandoned and dying the death of a sinner pro nobis—for our sake The loss of a portion of mankind, although a real possibility, would be an unspeakable tragedy for God and likewise for the Christian who is united in Christ to each member of humanity. Christians, who by baptism are given a share in the mission of Christ, are called to hope and pray for the salvation ofall. LOCOS 1:3 1997 On Hope, Heaven, and Hell In defending this thesis Hans Urs von Balthasar was confronted with considerable resistance and even accusations of heresy. At a press conference in Rome in 1984, on the occasion ofhis receiving the Paul VI Award for service to the Church in theology, he was sharply questioned about bis views on hell. In response to misrepresentations carried in the newspapers (it was claimed that he had asserted "hell is empty"), Balthasar published a short essay "Kleine Katechese über die Hölle" in the Italian weekly 11 Sabato, later reprinted in L'Osservatore Romano. In Germany this article soon became the object of an energetic attack by G. Herms (editor of the journal FeIs), H. Schaf, J. Bökmann, and others. Balthasar responded by writing Was dürfen wir hoffen? and then Kleiner Diskurs über die Hölle. He was clearly pained by the virulence ofthe attacks, in particular the harsh criticism ofAdrienne von Speyr. He describes the situation thus, "My little book Was düfen wir hoffen? was cut to pieces, almost interminably. ...before me lies a heap of angry letters, entreaties to return to the true Faith."1 Even before the publication in English in 1988 oí Dare We Hope 'That all Men be Saved' American theologians had begun to take aim at Balthasar's theology. In a series of articles published in The Wanderer in 1987 John J. Mulloy described Balthasar as a neo-modernist whose theology"contradicts the teaching ofJesus," and"contradicts nineteen centuries of Catholic belief."2 More subtle criticisms have since appeared in Communio1 and die Homiletic ScPastoraI Review.* Even among those otherwise well disposed to Balthasar's theological project the issue of hell remains contentious. In what follows, I propose to consider (1) What does Baldiasar teach about hell? What does he mean by 'hope for all men' and what are the grounds for this hope? and (2) Is his theology of hope consistent with the teaching of the Church? The roots ofBalthasar's understanding ofhope can be traced back to his days as a student. In 1929, after completing his doctoral dissertation History of the Eschatological Problem in Modern German 82 Logos Literature, Balthasar entered the Society of Jesus. He later describes his period of studies with the Jesuits as "a grim struggle with the dreariness of theology, with what men had made out of the glory of revelation;"5 and as a "languishing in die desert of neo-scholasticism ."6 Yet it was during these years that he established enduring friendships with, and was deeply influenced by, Eric Pryzwara and Henri de Lubac, both of whom defended a universal hope. Under the guidance of de Lubac, Balthasar undertook major studies on the thought of three Greek Fathers: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Maximus the Confessor. In these authors he discovered "a Christendom that still carried its thoughts into the limitless space of the nations and still hoped for the salvation of the world."7...