This is something I don't understand about the common Christian notion of burning in hell for all eternity: How exactly does suffering take place there? It is said that after we die, we get spiritual bodies, whether we go to heaven or hell. If souls suffer in hell for all eternity, this would then imply that their spiritual bodies are such that they are conducive to eternal suffering, no? Or can a soul suffer directly or in-and-of-itself somehow?
There are a couple of things that spring to mind from Christian (specifically Roman Catholic) theology. Firstly, that the dogma is that the damned will have physical bodies, and secondly that the main suffering of the damned is said to be emotional - "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Firstly, the physical. Consider the Apostle's Creed:
I believe in ...
... the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
"The resurrection of the body" is quite literal. It means that come Judgement Day, all the dead will be restored to life, souls reunited to physical bodies.
Then comes judgement, of course, with the righteous winning glorified incorruptible bodies and eternal life, and the damned... well, apparently "On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot." ... "I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." Among other things. Cue the preacher.
A brief interlude, to present an ancient shaggy-dog story...
A preacher is in full swing before an enraptured congregation, shocking and awing them with lurid accounts of the dreadful fates awaiting sinners on the last day:
"...their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind! As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so the Son of Man will send out his angels to weed out of his kingdom all who do evil. They will hurl the sinners into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth!"
At this point, he is interrupted by an old lady in the front row who cries out, "Oh, but Father! I... I don't have any teeth to gnash!"
"No teeth!" cries the preacher, glaring down at the would-be damned soul, "Teeth shall be provided!"
But, hell is generally considered to be much worse than physical torment. (Varda and Michael, you are woefully uninformed of the philosophy you deride.) Advanced considerations of hell tend to focus on regret, sorrow, and despair. Eternal sadness, rather than eternal physical punishment. The word-picture presented to me by my mother (a Roman Catholic, well-educated in theology, philosophy, and the sciences) was distasteful, but enlightening (I've embellished it a little):
Hell is like going to a party... the best party ever. You've been looking forward to it for so long, you've thought about nothing else for ages, and now it's here! Everyone will be there, everyone will be happy, and there will be every kind of fun thing to do.
But when you get there and step through the door, just as your heart is swelling up with so much happiness that you think you might just pop... you look down and realize that you are naked and covered in your own filth. Shit from head to toe, in your hair, your fingernails, between your teeth... everywhere!
Horrified, you can only think of getting away, hiding away where no one can see you while you clean up. So, you dive through a convenient door on your left, and begin searching for cleaning facilities... but there are none to be found. You keep trying to get clean, but make no progress. You can hear the party going on, and sometimes even see it, but you always flee when you do because being seen by the gloriously happy people at the party is unthinkable. You spend the entire party this way... hiding, weeping with frustration, shame, and regret... and the party goes forever.
To spell out that parable:
The party is both heaven and hell. The filth is sin. The basic idea is that being in the unfiltered presence of God is incredible bliss if you repent your sins and accept the forgiveness of God through Christ, and unbearable shame otherwise. This is a common idea, with minor subtleties and nuances (eg the nature of eternity - infinite time vs timelessness) proposed by various theologians.
More along those lines:
John Donne (Found in an interesting and readable sermon on this very topic:
Fire and Brimstone):
When all is done, the hell of hells, the torment of torments, is the everlasting absence of God, and the everlasting impossibility of returning to his presence...to fall out of the hands of the living God, is a horror beyond our expression, beyond our imagination.... What Tophet is not Paradise, what Brimstone is not Amber, what gnashing is not a comfort, what gnawing of the worme is not a tickling, what torment is not a marriage bed to this damnation, to be secluded eternally, eternally, eternally from the sight of God?
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1033:
To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self- exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."
Pope John Paul II:
Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy
(The previous two links were gleaned from Wikipedia,
Hell in Christian Beliefs)
On a side note, there is a common theme of moving from a hell that is a
punishment inflicted by God to a hell that is a state
wilfully chosen by the sinner. This theme is explored in some depth by...
C.S. Lewis writes a great story, and his works addressing Hell are no exception.
The Great Divorce and
The Screwtape Letters are a great read. Short, entertaining, and enlightening at least regarding Lewis's thoughts on hell, and perhaps Christianity's in general.
Long post. Sorry.
Hope it's readable!
