While I respect much of what Bishop Robert Baron in the Catholic church says and writes, he has a perspective on Hell that is somewhat troubling. In his book on the Nicene Creed (Light From Light; A Theological Reflection on the Nicene Creed), he declares that one can hold a “reasonable hope” that Hell will be empty. Baron is not affirming universalism since he clearly believes in the existence of Hell. But he seems to be flirting with it. Yes, we can pray and “hope” for the salvation of people, but should we hold a “reasonable hope” that Hell will be empty because everyone will ultimately be swayed by the love of Christ?

Trent Horn is an apologist for the Catholic Church and takes issue here with Baron’s position which he labels the “dare we hope view”, particularly his affirmation that we can hold a “reasonable hope” that all will be saved.

Horn writes, “The problem is that if this view becomes a serious part of one’s worldview and not just a passing hope, then it can be spiritually damaging to a person’s soul and the souls of others. I would treat the dare we hope view like we treat Powerball or any lottery whose odds of winning or something like 80 million to one. There’s nothing wrong with hoping you win the lottery. If you can spend the money wisely, that would be a great blessing. You don’t have a reasonable hope of winning the lottery because of the long odds, but I would say you can have a rational hope because winning the lottery is not impossible, even though it’s highly, highly improbable . . . Look, if it makes you feel better to think about winning every now and then before you go back to the hard work of making a living, that’s fine. But it’s not fine if you stop focusing on making a living because you think you have a reasonable hope you will win the lottery. It’s possible, but only a fool would make major life plans based on such a fantastically small probability. The same is true of the dare we hope view.“

Horn correctly concludes, “given the sheer weight and common sense understanding of what Jesus and the apostles said about hell, as well as the church fathers, the saints and the magisterium, it would be equally reckless, negligent, and lazy to forego our duty to evangelize those who have rejected God in his church based on the thinnest hope that they don’t need saving.“

Amen.