Augustine's Certainty in Speaking About Hell and His Reserve In

Chapter 2 Augustine’s Certainty in Speaking about Hell and His Reserve in Explaining Christ’s Descent into Hell

Paul J. J. van Geest

1 Introduction

About two years after Augustine was ordained to the priesthood – in 391, when he was 37 years old – a controversy arose surrounding Origen, one of the most admired and authoritative Christian authors in those days.1 Origen was ac- cused of denying that punishment in hell is for all eternity. We may deduce just from the titles of the works that Augustine wrote before or around this time, such as De ordine, De beata vita, Contra Academicos or a volume of De libero arbitrio, that he was not particularly interested in this matter. It was not until his ordination as a bishop, in 395, that Augustine began to formulate thoughts on hell and Christ’s descent there. At this time the subdeacon Asterius and the deacon Presidius, who acted as Jerome’s messengers, explained to him the ob- jectionable nature of Origen’s points of view.2 Then Augustine asked Jerome, in Epistula 40, to send him a list of Origen’s ‘errors’.3 By reading Contra Rufinum, Augustine subsequently learned that Jerome considered Origen’s ideas on the restoration of everything and everyone (ἀποκατάστασις) to be incompatible with the apostolic faith in hell and its eternal pain. It turned out that Jerome thought that this was the onset of heresy (haec maxime haeretica).4

1 Cf. L. Clark, The Origen Controversy: The Cultural Construction of an Early Christian Debate (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992), passim. He points out that Origen contradicts himself because, on the one hand, he confirms that all created intelligence will be restored to God at the end of time, but on the other hand, he states that only souls who choose God and practise the virtues that God demands, will come to rest in heaven. Cf. footnote 60. Cf. also for instance F. W. Norris, “Apokatastasis,” in The Westminster Handbook to Origen (ed. by J. A. McGuckin: Westminster 2004), 59–62. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. H. van Loon, Dr. A. J. Simonis and especially Dr. N. Stienstra † for their valuable sugges- tions on this study and their help in producing the final text. 2 Cf. Epistula 39.1. 3 Epistula 40.9. 4 Jerome, Contra Rufinum II, 12.

As forms of ‘origenism’ reached North Africa by way of Spain, through Priscillianism, at the beginning of the fifth century, Augustine also felt obliged to occupy himself with the problem of the existence of hell.5 It transpires that Jerome’s firm opinion permanently influenced the bishop of Hippo. Around 415 he indicated that he thought Origen was overindulgent with respect to the maligni, because Origen thought even the devil and his angels would be re- united with those who had persevered in saintliness.6 A long letter to his old bosom friend Evodius, in answer to the latter’s questions on this topic, shows that Augustine was very interested indeed in hell and Christ’s descent into hell at this time (Epistula 164). This contribution will investigate the way in which Augustine speaks about hell and Christ’s descent into hell. It will also examine the way in which he neutralises a pericope regarded as important evidence for the descent into hell, so as to ensure that it can no longer be used to underpin a dogma which he – paradoxically – does endorse himself. He is as certain about hell as he is reticent about the way Christ’s descent into hell must be underpinned.

2 Dogmatic Assertions in Speaking about Hell

Although Augustine is reticent in working out the punitive procedure that awaits people in hell, he does make rather a lot of affirmative pronouncements about the fate of the damned and the eternal character of their punishments.7 These must not simply be reduced to a mystagogical attempt to intensify salu- tary fear in his audience by reminding it of hell. They are also based on his striving for hermeneutical consistency. This becomes obvious around the year 400, when Augustine shows that he does not share the popular origenistic sen- timent, and even attempts to combat it. In a sermon from this year on Psalm 94, he states plainly that it is not logical to suppose that God will keep His promises when He speaks about heavenly bliss, but is unlikely to mete out the punishments He has announced:

5 Cf. Ad Orosium contra Priscillianistas et Origenistas 8.10–9.13. 6 De Civitate Dei 21.17. 7 For the way in which Augustine’s concept of hell (gehenna) is connected with the New Testament’s use of the term, and for his interpretation of purifying and final punishment, as well as for relevant literature, see A. Wlosok, “Gehenna,” in Augustinus-Lexikon 3 (2005), col. 100–105.