Hell as Hatred
Hell is a state of absolute hatred and isolation, where individuals are bound together only by their mutual contempt. "HELL is where no one has anything in common with anybody else except the fact that they all hate one another and cannot get away from one another and from themselves." [1] This is not merely a theological abstraction but a lived reality wherever selfishness reigns unchecked. When people prioritize themselves over love, their existence becomes a prison of resentment, constantly repelling others yet unable to escape their own emptiness. Hatred feeds upon itself, turning every relationship into a battleground where people despise one another not only for their faults but for reflecting back the same flaws they refuse to acknowledge in themselves. This is the nature of a heart that rejects love—it creates its own torment, locked in endless conflict with others and with itself (James 3:16).
The suffering of such a state is not just the rejection of others but the fear of being rejected, revealing a shared agony and despair. The torment of hell is not merely the experience of being hated but the unbearable awareness that others see and despise the same darkness in us that we fear in ourselves. The sinner is trapped in a world of deception and illusion, for the deeper one falls into selfishness, the more one loses touch with reality. "Sinners are people who hate everything, because their world is necessarily full of betrayal, full of illusion, full of deception." [1] This hatred extends beyond relationships and infects one’s very perception of the world, making all things appear adversarial, unreliable, and meaningless. Such people become restless wanderers, disconnected from truth and enslaved to a cycle of endless dissatisfaction (Isaiah 57:20-21).
Yet, the world as it stands, despite its wars and suffering, is not yet hell; history holds deeper meaning beyond its evils. Human history is marked by profound darkness, yet it cannot be understood purely in terms of destruction. "The tree is known by its fruits. If you want to understand the social and political history of modern man, study hell." [1] This is a sobering reality—human civilization is plagued by cycles of greed, violence, and oppression, but these forces do not have the final word. The horrors of history reveal the consequences of sin, yet within that same history, there are those who choose another path, a path of selflessness, sacrifice, and love (John 15:5-6).
In suffering, love for one another creates a true community, while hatred scatters and isolates. The difference between those who are refined by suffering and those who are destroyed by it lies in their response to love. Those who embrace suffering as a means of transformation find themselves drawn together in solidarity, forming a community rooted in compassion. In contrast, those who reject love in the midst of suffering become hardened, increasingly estranged from others and from their own humanity. Hatred divides, leaving individuals fragmented and isolated, while love endures and deepens even in affliction (Romans 5:3-5).
God’s fire is transformative—when embraced through love, it becomes joy, but when resisted, it is torment. "OUR God also is a consuming fire. And if we, by love, become transformed into Him and burn as He burns, His fire will be our everlasting joy." [1] This divine fire is not an arbitrary punishment but the very nature of God’s love, which either purifies or destroys, depending on whether the heart is open to it. Love is not neutral; it either draws one into communion with God or exposes the soul’s resistance. Those who surrender to this fire find it to be the source of their deepest joy, while those who reject it find themselves unable to endure its presence (Hebrews 12:29).
True fulfillment is found in harmony with God’s selfless nature, while selfishness breeds conflict and alienation. "But when we are against God, that is, when we love ourselves more than Him, all things become our enemies." [1] The entire created order reflects God’s self-giving love, and those who live in harmony with this reality experience peace. However, those who seek to impose their selfish desires upon the world find themselves at war with everything. The universe does not bend to human ego, and when a person demands that it serve their self-interest, they experience frustration at every turn. This is why the selfish heart finds enemies everywhere—it is in opposition to the very nature of reality itself (Galatians 6:7-8).
Sin is the absence of good, inherently dull and uninteresting, leading to a life of illusion and eventual disgust. "Evil is not a positive entity but the absence of a perfection that ought to be there." [1] Unlike goodness, which is full and complete, sin is a void, an emptiness where life and beauty should be. It presents itself as something desirable, but it is only an illusion, offering momentary pleasure before leaving behind disappointment and regret. People do not pursue evil for its own sake; they are deceived into believing it contains something good. Yet, when they grasp it, they find only hollowness, a fleeting pleasure that vanishes, leaving them more restless than before (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
The pursuit of false values results in boredom, frustration, and destructive behavior. "The greatest sinners are the most boring people in the world because they are also the most bored and the ones who find life most tedious." [1] Sin leads to monotony because it offers nothing truly fulfilling. Those who devote themselves to selfish pleasure find that each indulgence leaves them emptier, requiring greater extremes to achieve the same fleeting sense of excitement. This constant search for stimulation leads to restlessness, then to frustration, and ultimately to violence. They lash out not because they have found something meaningful, but because they have exhausted all false sources of meaning and are left with nothing (Proverbs 14:12).
History remembers great sinners not for their brilliance but for their failures, making their stories ultimately uninspiring. The world may be fascinated by figures of great power and destruction, but their legacies are hollow. The lives of those who pursued domination, violence, and selfish ambition are ultimately tedious and uninspiring, their impact marked only by suffering rather than true greatness. The only reason they are studied is to serve as a warning—an example of the cost of rejecting love and pursuing power for its own sake. Their names are remembered, but not with admiration, only with regret and a sense of wasted potential (Matthew 16:26).
The mark of a saint is peace with all creation, a reflection of deep spiritual alignment. Those who are truly united with God’s love find themselves at peace not only with people but with all of creation. The Desert Fathers believed that holiness brought harmony even with wild animals, because the saint, having surrendered all selfishness, no longer posed a threat to anything around him. This deep alignment with the divine order stands in stark contrast to the chaos of the selfish heart, which experiences the world as hostile. Those who live in love and humility are no longer at war with creation but move through life with a profound sense of peace and belonging (Isaiah 11:6-9).
[1] Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation