In Further Along the Road Less Travelled,
Dr Scott Peck shares his view of Hell. I think’s his is a profound view. He
says the following: “The gates of Hell are wide open. People can walk right out
of Hell, and the reason they are in Hell is because they choose not to” (p.
171). The reason I think this is a profound image of Hell is because it
captures the idea of free will and how people misuse that in life on Earth. It
also indicates something about the state of mind of the people of Hell. The
dweller of Hell is someone who chooses to stay in Hell because it satisfies
their ego. He or she does not want to exit Hell for Heaven because the latter is
full of the sort of people that he or she didn’t get along with on Earth:
altruistic, charitable, loving, humble. The Hell dweller would rather be with
people who are self-conceited, greedy, arrogant, and envious.
It is
true that God created Hell. But it is also true that people build their own
Hells. And it is also true that people choose to walk the path to Hell that is
paved by the Devil. God has left the gates of Hell open during this life. Our
task during this life is to become self-aware by asking ourselves whether or
not we are on the path to Heaven or the path to Hell.
May God
grant us love of the people of Heaven. May He raise us on the Day of Judgement
with the people of Heaven. Aameen.
