Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory Quotes

“Life, laughter, and pleasure will be the last word rather than death, crying, and pain.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“To believe in God is to believe not only that love is stronger than death but also that joy is stronger than boredom.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“It is hard to see how repentance after death trivializes this life and our previous choices if repentance at the last moment of life does not do so. Repentance at the moment of death would not trivialize this life, so the argument goes, but repentance the moment after death would. Can a single moment of time have this much moral significance?”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“However, it does seem theologically objectionable to think God’s attitude toward us would change in anything like this manner merely because we had died. There is no obvious reason why justice requires God to cease having mercy at death and to punish those who have not repented by that time.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“In his analysis of what was wrong, the author of this article identified in his final paragraph a profound ambivalence in the American soul. America, he noted, was deeply double-minded, even as the nation sought to restore some sense of moral integrity: “The longing for moral regeneration must constantly vie with an equally strong aspect of America’s national character, self-indulgence. It is an inner tension that may animate political life for years to come.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“Pope Benedict XVI offered a highly suggestive definition of soul in one short line: “Soul is nothing other than man’s capacity for relatedness with truth, with love eternal.”17 To be properly related to love eternal, we must come to terms with the truth, both about God and about other people, including ourselves. As we come to terms with truth and let love eternal have his way in our lives, we experience fully the salvation of our souls.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“It is perhaps not as self-evident as our desire for happiness, but it is nearly as obvious that normal human beings have a deep yearning to love and to be loved. The countless love songs that pervade our culture, as well as the love poems and songs from centuries past, are eloquent testimony to the human longing for love.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“One may hope that in the very moment of death, lost souls turn to God, and instead of passing through the gates of hell to hopeless eternal misery, they go instead to purgatory.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“Purgatory is hope.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“At worst, the notion that such utter disinterest represents a higher or more admirable standard is pagan hubris.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“Accounting for morality in terms of heavenly truth claims not only allows us but inspires us to admire the Jean Valjeans of the world without suspecting they are mad or misguided in any way.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“To put the point another way, these beliefs provide rational reinforcement for our instinctive moral feelings. This is a significant observation for the obvious reason that we also have feelings and desires that are contrary to moral action. If rational considerations do not support morality but even undermine its rational credentials, it is likely that our moral commitments may be unsettled by thoughtful reflection and awareness.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“But the question I am pressing is how the “dagger” can continue to serve its purpose once we have seen through the fact that it is a shadowy illusion.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most

“Notice, there is a fundamental difference between providing a biological explanation of why we are inclined to accept a given moral principle and showing that we should accept it. If the ultimate explanation is biological, it is far from obvious that such principles truly obligate us to follow them.”
― Jerry L. Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: Rethinking the Things That Matter Most