Hell is a complete myth to the mind of a modernist. Presumption of salvation for all!
In contemporary theological thought, one of the most debated and challenged issues by progressive theologians is the traditional notion of hell as eternal punishment. Within this movement, Andrés Torres Queiruga, one of the most influential theologians in the Hispanic world, maintains a position that breaks with centuries of classical doctrine: God cannot eternally condemn any of his children. This affirmation is not simply an emotional desire or a moral intuition; it is based on a profound reflection on the nature of God as unconditional Love.
Torres Queiruga recounts an anecdote that illustrates his conviction in a moving and accessible way. On one occasion, a nun told one of her students that if she misbehaved, God would take her to hell. In response, Torres Queiruga asked the nun:
"Do you think your mother can put you in an oven and burn you alive?"
"Not my mother!" she responded, scandalized. —Then God can't do it either, because God is much more of a mother than your mother.
"For Torres Queiruga, the concept of hell understood as a place of eternal and irreversible punishment contradicts the core of the Christian message."
Unconditional Love - Emoconciencia
This example, which may seem childish or naive, contains a profound theological truth: if we, imperfect human beings, would not eternally condemn a loved one, how can we think that a perfectly good and loving God would do so?
For Torres Queiruga, the concept of hell understood as a place of eternal and irreversible punishment contradicts the core of the Christian message: universal salvation and divine mercy. In his work and thought, the Galician theologian insists that an image of God that acts worse than the worst of men cannot be sustained. The doctrine of eternal hell, as it has been taught for centuries, stems more from fear than from the Gospel, more from an authoritarian vision of God than from a God who “does not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live” (Ezek 18:23).
Other progressive theologians, such as Xavier Pikaza, also agree with this view. He has pointed out that hell “is a religious myth that has served for centuries to maintain social and ecclesiastical order through fear.” For Pikaza, hell is not a reality created by God, but rather a human possibility of closing one's heart to love. But even so, God would never cease to offer salvation.
Instead of understanding hell as a physical place with real fire and eternal torment, many contemporary liberal theologians interpret it as a metaphor for voluntary estrangement from God. From this perspective, hell would not be a punishment imposed from outside, but a condition that human beings can experience when they reject goodness, love, and truth. But even in this case, the possibility of redemption never disappears. Hell, according to this more open theology, is not eternal because God's love is not exhausted either. As the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, close to the progressives on this point although not strictly one of them, writes: "One can reasonably expect that hell will be empty." This hope is based not on a naive vision of humanity, but on a radical understanding of God's grace as universal, persevering, and redemptive.
On a more technical level, progressive theologians insist that many biblical expressions about hell—such as "eternal fire" or "the worm that never dies"—must be understood in their apocalyptic and literary context, not as literal descriptions of the afterlife. Modern exegesis, supported by historical and literary criticism, emphasizes that these images were common in Second Temple Jewish literature and had an exhortative, not dogmatic, character.
Does Hell Exist? Jose Mª Castillo
"The descriptions of hell respond more to the religious pedagogy of the time than to a definitive theological reality."
Torres Queiruga applies here a hermeneutic consistent with his vision of revelation: God does not impose definitive doctrines, but rather manifests Himself in history through symbols, metaphors, and human processes. In this framework, the descriptions of hell respond more to the religious pedagogy of the time than to a definitive theological reality.
Defenders of the existence of eternal hell often cite passages from the Gospel where Jesus speaks of "unquenchable fire" or "weeping and gnashing of teeth." However, Torres Queiruga and other progressive theologians remind us that these passages must be read in a symbolic and eschatological key, not a literal one. Jesus spoke in parables, in striking images, not to describe the geography of the afterlife, but to urge a conversion of heart in the present.
Furthermore, if the affirmation “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8) is taken seriously, the entire Christian message shifts its focus. It is no longer about obeying out of fear of punishment, but about living open to Love, trusting that this Love is stronger than sin, stronger than death, and certainly stronger than any hell.
The theology of eternal hell has shaped the Christian imagination for centuries, producing guilt, anguish, and fear. Today, many believers—inspired by voices like those of Torres Queiruga, Pikaza, Balthasar, and so many others—are rediscovering a more evangelical image of God, who does not punish eternally, but waits eternally.
In the words of Torres Queiruga himself: “If hell were eternal, God's forgiveness would be limited, and then He would not be God. Because love cannot have limits, and God is love.”
The Italian-German theologian Romano Guardini, from a different but compatible perspective, also recognized that hell cannot be thought of as a simple external punishment, but as the ultimate consequence of a free and personal rejection. For him, the tragedy of hell is not condemnation, but the denial of the encounter with God, the fruit of a misused freedom. However, even in this extreme, Guardini retains the hope that the mystery of grace can, in some way, reach even the most hardened soul, for God never tires of calling.
In times when many consciences remain marked by fear, guilt, or a punitive image of God, the figure of Andrés Torres Queiruga stands as a prophetic and liberating voice, deeply rooted in the Gospel. His theology is not a break with faith, but a return to its most genuine center: the God of Jesus, who is Father, Mother, and unconditional Love.
"If hell were eternal, God's forgiveness would be limited, and then he wouldn't be God. Because love cannot have limits, and God is love."
With luminous intelligence, uncommon courage, and a radically hopeful faith, Torres Queiruga has been able to translate Christian tradition into the key aspects of the contemporary world without renouncing depth or rigor. Where others see condemnation, he proposes hope. Where others raise hell, he draws horizons of redemption. Thanks to his thought, many believers have regained faith in a God truly worthy of being loved, not feared. A God who does not burn his children, but embraces them until their last breath.
Therefore, his theology should not only be read: it should be gratefully received. Because, like all authentic prophecy, it does not cry out from ideology, but from love. And that—in these times of such religious darkness—is already a luminous form of salvation.
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