1) In a �reverie� circulated among friends but not published until after his death, the philosopher Jacques Maritain included what he called a �conjectural essay� on eschatology, in which he contemplates the possibility that the damned, although eternally in hell, may be able at some point to escape from pain.

2) Karl Rahner , another representative of the more liberal trend, holds for the possibility that no one ever goes to hell. We have no clear revelation, he says, to the effect that some are actually lost. ... Rahner therefore believes that universal salvation is a possibility.

3) The most sophisticated theological argument against the conviction that some human beings in fact go to hell has been proposed by Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book Dare We Hope �That All Men Be Saved?� ... ... he does say that we have a right and even a duty to hope for the salvation of all, because it is not impossible that even the worst sinners may be moved by God�s grace to repent before they die.

4) At one point in his book Balthasar incorporates a long quotation from Edith Stein , now Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross , who defends a position very like Balthasar�s. ... Stein finds it possible to hope that God�s omnipotent love finds ways of, so to speak, outwitting human resistance. Balthasar says that he agrees with Stein.

5) Avery Dulles : This position of Balthasar seems to me to be orthodox. It does not contradict any ecumenical councils or definitions of the faith.
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These excerpts come from:
http://www.firstthings.com/fti...articles/dulles.html

Read this excellent article to see how Cardinal Dulles qualifies these observations, which, of course, need some qualifying. Also, he extensively sets out different "opposing" views from within tradition.

pax,
jb

I think Hell must exist, for if freedom exists, then so does its use in rejection of God. That's a theoretical position, of course, but if it has validity at that level, then why not in reality?

Of course . . . yes . . . God is a determined Lover.

On the other hand . . . Jesus taught about Hell as a reality that some would suffer. Many mystics claim to have had visions of the souls in Hell.

So, what do I think?

My leanings are to consider Jesus an authority on this matter!

But who actually goes there . . .???

Agreed, Senor.

I'll just quote my response to another person from an earlier e-mail exchange, today:

quote:

I think another important thing to remember is that God loves us so very much that He would not coerce a relationship with us or violate our freedom. Like the old Damean's song: "Love that's freely given wants to freely be received" --- so, in that vein, theologically, we must retain hell as a theoretical possibility. At the same time, like the next verse of that same song: "All the love you've poured on us can hardly be believed" --- thus, in that vein, it is very difficult to conceive of God as ever being, in the end, an unsuccessful suitor!

pax,
jb

So when LSU fans shout "go to hell, Ole Miss" and the Tigers win, Ole Miss fans' souls aren't consigned to hell? And all this time . . .

Then there's Fr. Zalba's famous quote from the old birth control commission days in the 60's. In taking issue with the majority report to advise the Pope to change the traditional teaching, he asked, "Well what about all the people we've already consigned to hell for practicing birth control." To which Mrs. Crowley replied, "What makes you so sure God has executed those orders?" Touche'

OTOH, Jesus did say, "those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and those you hold bound, they are held bound."