The Broad and Comfortable Road to Lukewarm Christianity and Destruction
In a recent talk, Avery Cardinal Dulles observed that "more education is needed to convince people that they ought to fear God."1 Coming from an eminent theologian, such counsel should attract attention. But will it be heeded?
The Catholic pulpit in America has long been short on formation. Funeral Masses have turned into canonization ceremonies while good pastoral advice for the scrupulous is commonly dispensed to the unscrupulous. One is likely to hear that God is "nothing but love and mercy" or that no one can "earn" salvation — half truths at best. For example, the Bible states clearly that in God there is "mercy and anger alike," and Jesus declared that "he who loves me keeps my commandments."2
Catholic homilists with both feet on the ground will not imitate pop psychiatry, which specializes in the painless removal of guilt. Lulling assurances are out of touch with the Gospel. Jesus, who inaugurated his public ministry with the word "repent" (Mt. 4:17), advised the woman caught in adultery to "sin no more" (Jn. 8:11). Likewise, in the case of the man cured at the Pool of Bethesda, it was advised "sin no more lest something worse befall thee" (Jn. 5:14).
Queried on the subject of how many would be saved, our Lord replied "few" because the "gate" to Heaven is "narrow" (Mt. 7:13-14). "Few" may be taken to mean "relatively few" since no one knows the date of the Last Judgment; indeed the population of Heaven may be numbered in the billions. There is no way to pinpoint the precise meaning of the word "few." Nonetheless, it is sobering that Jesus chose the image of a narrow gate. Augustine believed it "certain that few are saved," and he was not alone.3 Virtually every saint, pope, father, and doctor of the Church who ever spoke or wrote unequivocally on the subject, took Jesus literally. Saints Polycarp, Irenaeus, Basil, Chrysostom, Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, Robert Bellarmine, Peter Canisius, Alphonsus Liguori, Elizabeth Seton, Peter Eymard, Josemaria Escriva, and Faustina Kowalska, to name but a few, all subscribed, either implicitly or explicitly, to the principle of the narrow gate.4 And to the saints may be added such luminaries as Innocent III, Thomas a Kempis, Cardinal Newman, and Sister Lucia of Fatima.5
Among modern theologians there is a school that views the "narrow gate" as more of a warning wrapped in Hebraic hyperbole than something to be taken at face value. One of the better known proponents of this line of thought is Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose book Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved"? appeared in 1986. In essence, Balthasar claims that all mankind, past, present, and future, may be saved. He relies heavily on scriptural passages that portray Jesus as having come to save "all" or "the many." But what does this prove? God also planned a carefree existence for our first parents. Nevertheless, Adam and Eve, by virtue of a single stroke of defiance, succeeded in losing the Garden of Eden.
Balthasar is vulnerable on other grounds as well. There are two references in the Gospels to narrow gate imagery. In Luke 13:24, our Lord states that "many" will fail to enter Heaven. In Matthew 7:14, He stipulates that those who enter will be "few." The word "few" is crucial since it defines the meaning of "many" (implying a sizable majority). Yet Balthasar makes no mention of it. He fails, in addition, to acknowledge the existence of a third clarifying passage: "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Mt. 22:14). Even if one were to make allowances for Balthasar's reliance on irrelevant passages, coupled with much redundancy, it is hard to justify his systematic suppression of evidence damaging to his case.
The flimsiness of the theory of universal salvation — even Balthasar's "hope" for it — becomes doubly apparent the moment one examines it against a background of Scripture taken in its entirety. Not only is Jesus' reference to the "many" repeated by Peter and Paul; it squares with the assessment given by Moses, Jeremiah, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.6 Then, too, our Lord did not dub Satan the prince of the "underworld," but rather of "the world" (Jn. 14:30; 16:11). How can this be if there are few, if any, on Satan's side? Many Christians, to this day, jump at the opportunity to announce that they are "not religious." Yet the Lord is described by St. John as "vomiting" the lukewarm out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16).
Did Jesus not require conversion on the part of all who heard His words and knew about His miracles?7 Yet few converted. Did He not condemn whole classes of people, including lawyers (Lk. 11:46), and scribes and Pharisees (Mt. 23:27) — the elite of Jewish society? What is one to conclude?
God is likened in the Gospel to a stern master who has lazy servants flogged and murderous ones put to death (Mt. 21:41; Lk. 12:47). Moreover, for every parable illustrative of God's mercy, there are three or four threatening divine retribution. Again, what is one to conclude?
One can go further. Why is Judgment Day always described as a day of wrath, never of rejoicing?8 Why wrath if everyone, or even a large segment of mankind, is headed for Heaven? Why wrath if God's mercy carries all before it? One of the leitmotifs of the Bible is the corruption of human nature. Repeatedly, "the present generation" (i.e., the human race as we know it) comes across as "evil."9 Does the tone of Jesus' language not suggest the need for a dramatic change of heart? The Son of Man predicted that He would return on the Last Day to separate goats from sheep and to cast the former into Hell (Mt. 25:32-46). Are we to believe that there will be no goats on the Last Day to take their place beside Lucifer and his band of fallen angels?
The "hope" for universal salvation seems especially far-fetched in light of God's condemnation and destruction of faithless towns (Capharnaum, Sodom, and Gomorrah)10, not to mention His extermination of entire peoples after allowing time for repentance (Wisd. 12:2-10). Consider, in addition, the individuals struck dead by God for their wickedness: Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), 10 out of 12 scouts sent to spy on Canaan (Num. 13-14), Lot's worldly wife (Gen. 19), and Onan, who "wasted" his seed (Gen. 38). The consigning of entire cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah to Hell (Jude 7), along with virtually all of humanity at the time of Noah is highly suggestive. The booming metropolis of Sodom stands out because we happen to know how many of its people were "just" at the time of its demise: 10 at most (Gen. 18:32).
None of the above is meant to suggest that a good Catholic should doubt his salvation, much less yield to despair, provided he does all that can reasonably be done to secure his salvation. God is not out to "get" anyone. At the same time, one must not be presumptuous. Eve, as immaculately conceived as Mary, fell into grave sin. St. Paul drove himself to the limit, yet even he felt impelled to confess, "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should be rejected" (1 Cor. 9:27). Never in all of history were Christ's followers more zealous than during the generation after Pentecost. Still, the Christian communities of Sardis and Laodicea were castigated by Jesus for moral decadence (Rev. 3:1-4, 15-17).
All of which is borne out by what we know about biblical rulers. Out of dozens of Jewish kings following Solomon, all but a handful are said to have "done evil." And out of the handful who "did good," fewer still went beyond private virtue to bestir themselves on the political level.11 Like Stephen of Hungary and Louis IX of France who mounted campaigns to root out evil during the Christian era, such heroes of antiquity as Hezekiah and Josiah waged war on the priests of Baal.
Why do many find it difficult to accept "narrow gate" imagery, of which the Bible is full? Some, ignoring the voice of conscience, simply want what they want without having to feel guilty. As a nation, we are rapidly losing all sense of right and wrong.
With members of Christian churches routinely violating cardinal tenets of the faith, in concert with their heathen brethren, is it any wonder that theologians have seen fit to fashion a rationale for spiritual lassitude? The more widely sin is committed, especially mortal sin, the more widely it is condoned. And the more it is condoned, the more widely will Christ's references to "everlasting fire" be minimized because the God who is capable of sending a single person to Hell is, by definition, capable of dispatching men in large numbers there.
Some find it hard to understand why God — who is all good, all knowing, and all powerful — can produce children who are inclined to run amok. In an increasingly pluralistic society, we may have Hindu friends or associates who believe that the soul is never beyond redemption, even after death, due to reincarnation. A fair number of Moslems regard Hell as temporary. And there is something about "narrow gate" terminology that is unpalatable to soft-headed egalitarians (the doctrine of equality undergirds our political system). In many states hardened killers may hope for, and get, parole. We are used to a second chance — and a third and fourth. The finality of Hell may appear incongruous.
The answer to why a good God created people who can carry within them the seeds of their own destruction may be summed up in two words, "free will," for ultimately it is men who consign themselves to Hell — not God. When one of my uncles entered MIT fifty years ago, freshmen were seated in an auditorium and told by school officials to "look to your right, look to your left — the students in those seats will not graduate." And it was true. Today the graduation rate is close to 98 percent. But our query remains: Why was the "gate" at MIT and other competitive schools so narrow at the time? Were students unable to pass their math courses? No. Everyone admitted was qualified. What was lacking was commitment and perseverance. So, too, when it comes to moral failure.
Yet the mystery remains. One never ceases to be amazed at the breadth and depth of evil. Why do so many tread the path of darkness? When one considers what the vainglorious man gains in return for what he gives up, it's incomprehensible to those with eyes of faith. Jesus Himself was so shocked and dismayed by the refusal of Jewish leaders to accept Him as the promised Messiah, after an unprecedented string of miracles and a body of teaching that was literally divine, that He broke down and wept (Lk. 19:41). As God, He knew all about evil. But as man, He was as disheartened and shocked as anyone else when confronted by the riddle of sin and unbelief. Christianity teaches that men are potentially good and that all may become saints provided they avail themselves of the means furnished by God. According to the Catechism, human nature is "inclined to evil" (#403, 405, 407).
In a day and age when fatuous optimism rules the roost, someone needs to puncture the utopian balloon. If our Lord could frequently salt His discourses with references to Hell and go out of His way to describe the torments of the damned, if He could use "narrow gate" imagery to spur His listeners to repentance, then so can we. Human nature has not changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and always. He referred to Himself as "greater than Jonah," as indeed He was. What is interesting is that both Jonah and our Lord warned their audiences, Nineveh and Jerusalem respectively, of impending doom.12 The greatest of all sermons occupies three chapters in the Gospel of St. Matthew. It is called the Sermon on the Mount, and it ends with a warning to those who would build their lives on sand.
Yes, Jesus came to save all. Yes, supernatural grace is on tap for all who desire it. But such grace must be freely drawn down. It is drawn down by regular confession, regular reception of the Eucharist, and perseverance in prayer. Mortification, volunteer work, Bible reading, and evangelization should be added for good measure. One should also take risks on occasion in order to bear Christian witness. There are no free rides to Heaven. Life is combat — every day, every month, every year.
Let it not be said of Catholic homilists in the 21st century what Blaise Pascal had to say about mankind in general: "We hate the truth [about ourselves]; they hide it from us; we desire flattery, they flatter us; we like to be taken in, they take us in" (Pensee, #145). Fear of the Lord is part of Mary's Magnificat. It is enjoined by Jesus (Lk. 12:5). According to Proverbs, it is the "beginning of wisdom" (9:10). Finally, it is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as enunciated by the prophet Isaiah, who thundered, "the one whom I [the Lord] approve . . . trembles at my word" (Isa. 11:2; 66:2). Let us, then, give the fear of the Lord the emphasis it deserves.
Endnotes
1. Avery Cardinal Dulles, "The Population of Hell" (Laurence J. McGinley Lecture, Fordham University, Nov. 20, 2002), p. 16.
2. Sirach 5:7; 16:12; John 14:21 (see also Mt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:14; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 20:12).
3. Augustine (1951), p. 188 (part of a multivolume series, Fathers of the Church). See also Sermon 111.
4. For Polycarp, see Fathers of the Church: The Apostolic Fathers (Christian Heritage, 1947), pp. 136, 139; for Ambrose, see his letter to Irenaeus (c. A.D. 387) in Fathers of the Church: Ambrose Letters (1954), p. 457; for Chrysostom, who applied the concept of the many and the few to the clergy of his time, see his Sermon on the Acts of the Apostles III, #4, para. 3; for Thomas More, see Bernard Basset's biography, Born for Friendship, p. 130; for Alphonsus Liguori, see his Sermon #27 in The Sermons of Alphonse Liguori; for Elizabeth Seton, see Fr. Dirvin's biography, p. 440 ("so few are saved"); for Peter Eymard, see The Voice of the Saints (1986), p. 81 ("the world is so wicked"); for Josemarla Escriva, see his The Way of the Cross, p. 114 ("God has very few friends"); for Faustina Kowalska, see her Divine Mercy in My Soul (1987), pp. 118, 153, 741 (Faustina saw the road to Hell as wide and easy and those going there so numerous as to make it "impossible to count them"). For the rest of the list, see Dulles's "Population," as cited in note 1, along with articles on Hell by Robert Smith in The Wanderer, May 2, 1986, and May 2, 1998.
5. For Thomas a Kempis, see Robert Smith, The Other Side of Christ, p. 45; for Cardinal Newman, see his "Many Called Few Chosen" in Parochial and Plain Sermons, V, pp. 254-59; Sister Lucia gathered from the Fatima apparitions that many, as opposed to few, are lodged in Hell.
6. See, for example, 1 Peter 4:18; Acts 2:40; Romans 2:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Philippians 2:15; also Exodus 23:2; Jeremiah 5; Proverbs 20:6; Ecclesiastes 7:28; Wisdom 12.
7. Matthew 10:14-15 (to be read in connection with Jude 7); Luke 6:49; 7:30; John 3:18; 8:24; 12:48; 15:22; Acts 3:23; 13:46-51.
8. See Proverbs 11:4; Zephaniah 1:15; Sirach 5:10; Romans 2:5; Revelation 6:17.
9. See, for example, Deuteronomy 1:35; 32:5, 20; Matthew 12:45; Luke 9:41.
10. For Capharnaum, see Matthew 11:21. For Sodom, Gomorrah, and its neighbors, see Jude 7. Jesus predicted a similar fate for towns that spurned His disciples (Mt. 10:15). For peoples exterminated in a state of sin after having time for repentance, see Exodus 23:20-24 (to be read in conjunction with Wisd. 12:2-27); Leviticus 18:22-25; 1 Kings 21:25-26. Note that the destruction of unrepentant peoples mentioned in Exodus stands in striking contrast to God's sparing of Nineveh, which repented (Jonah 3).
11. 2 Kings, chapters 18-20, 22-23.
12. Jonah 3:4; Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 19:43; 21:20.
Frederick W. Marks, former Professor of History at Purdue and St. John's Universities, is the author of six books, including, most recently, A Brief for Belief: The Case for Catholicism (Queenship Publishing Company).
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