In an age marked by theological softening and emotional comfort, a distorted image of God has taken root in many circles—one that portrays Him not as the just Judge of all the earth, but as a divine teddy bear: ever-loving, ever-gentle, but ultimately toothless– incapable of actively judging and condemning the unworthy. The “Teddy Bear” analogy is a metaphor introduced by this Author to highlight the distortion at hand. Nowhere is this distortion more widespread than in certain corners of modern Eastern Orthodoxy and Scientology, where the terrifying and eternal reality of hell is reimagined as little more than a vague emotional discomfort/relative suffering due to being in the presence of divine “love”.
This “Teddy Bear Gospel” denies or downplays the very reality of hell as taught by Scripture and the consensus of the Fathers. It suggests that hell is not a place of divine punishment but a subjective experience—guilt, remorse, or a psychological “sting” of being in God’s loving presence while unworthy. This view, often referred to as the “Scourge of Love,” is rooted not in the consensus of the early Orthodox Fathers, but almost exclusively in the writings of Isaac the Syrian, a known universalist. While Isaac explicitly taught that hell was a temporary purification leading to the final restoration of all, modern proponents detach his universalism from his theology. They recast hell not as a place of purification, but as the tormenting psychological experience of God’s love by those who hate Him—a subjective state rather than an objective and active punishment. The only logical conclusion of such a view is that God is a cosmic passive-aggressive Being—inflicting His eternal ‘love’ upon the wicked, knowing full well that His presence will torment them forever. Yet this is precisely what many now preach, all while claiming fidelity to Orthodoxy. Ironically, even though many of its modern proponents deny universalism, their theology of hell is itself an adaptation of universalist premises (that hell is God’s love). Proponents of this view rely heavily on metaphors about God being “passionless,” dismissing references to His wrath, judgment, and punishment as anthropomorphic fictions.
But such views are neither scriptural nor patristic. They are, in fact, dangerous heresies—elegant deceptions that deprive God of His Judicial status, indirectly removing the urgency of repentance and anesthetizing the conscience. St. Jerome condemned such views in no uncertain terms, noting that those who claim hell is merely the psychological effect of sin and guilt are peddling heresy:
“There are many who say there are no future punishments for sins nor any torments extrinsically applied, but that sin itself and the consciousness of guilt serve as punishment, while the worm in the heart does not die, and a fire is kindled in the mind, much like a fever… These arguments and fraudulent fancies are but inane and empty words having the semblance of a certain eloquence of speech but serving only to delude sinners; and if they give them credence they only add to the burden of eternal punishment which they will carry with them.”
Even more absurdly, the same theology that claims God never punishes also insists that countless souls will be tormented forever—not by God’s wrath, but by His ‘love.’ According to this passive-aggressive view of God, one must strive to avoid the eternal psychological torment of being in the presence of God’s love while hating Him. But how can God subject the wicked to His “loving” presence eternally knowing this will cause them unbearable suffering–if he were not actively punishing them? What kind of God embraces those He knows will only suffer more by being near Him? What kind of “love” is this? This contradiction exposes the incoherence of the so-called ‘Scourge of Love’ theology—an empty shell of emotional reasoning, alien to Scripture, the Orthodox Fathers, and even to common sense.
The modern “Scourge of Love” theology bears uncanny resemblance to the teachings of Christian Science. Both reduce hell to a psychological state, reinterpret divine punishment as mere perception, and empty the justice of God of any active role. Christian Science does this overtly, rejecting judgment as a divine act altogether. The Teddy Bear Gospel does it covertly—dismissing divine wrath as anthropomorphic while claiming faithfulness to tradition. Its proponents even deny that hell is a “place.” In fact, they assert that both the righteous and the wicked will share the same divine presence for eternity—the only difference being that the righteous will experience joy, while the wicked will experience torment. But this is no small detail; it effectively nullifies the doctrine of separation, clearly taught in passages like Psalm 1, which declares that “the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Heaven and hell, in this scheme, are not distinct destinies but opposite reactions to a single shared environment. The implications are staggering: there is no true reward, no real exile, and no justice that distinguishes between the sheep and the goats. But in substance, they are theologically identical: both reject a God who judges, and both offer a love that condemns no one—except through inner discomfort. That is not Orthodoxy, let alone Christianity.
A God of Love and Judgment
It is true that God is love (1 John 4:8). But Scripture never pits His love against His justice. Rather, it holds both in harmony. As Clement of Alexandria noted, God’s punishments are not born from wrathful instability but from His righteous nature: “God does not inflict punishment from wrath, but for the ends of justice… Each one of us, who sins, with his own free-will chooses punishment, and the blame lies with him who chooses.”
St. Irenaeus, writing against those who distorted God’s character, condemned those “who exaggerate the mercy of Christ, but are silent as to the Judgment.” This silence on divine justice is precisely what characterizes the Teddy Bear Gospel. It is not mercy, but a mutilation of mercy—divorced from truth and accountability.
Hell Is Not a Metaphor
Hell is not a poetic device. It is not the existential pain of missing out on divine blessings. It is not, as some suggest, a “scourge of love.” It is the righteous sentence of a holy God against sin and rebellion.
Scripture speaks with unflinching clarity:
- “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt 25:41)
- “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26–27)
- “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord.” (2 Thess 1:9)
- “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.” (Rev 14:11)
These are not the poetic sighs of spiritual malaise. They are statements of final, irrevocable judgment—of conscious torment, of separation, and of the wrath of God poured out in perfect justice.
Witness of the Fathers
The Fathers, too, are united in their testimony. While many speak eloquently about the purifying nature of divine chastisement in this life, they make a stark distinction between the remedial discipline of God now and the retributive punishment that awaits the unrepentant in eternity.
- St. Basil wrote of “inextinguishable fire” with varying intensity—lighter or fiercer—depending on one’s sins, affirming both the reality and the severity of divine punishment.
- St. John Chrysostom thundered, “If there is no judgment, then there is no God at all… For there is a Judgment, O wretched and miserable man!”
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem defended the justice of hell as necessary: “Unless there is a judgment and a retribution after this world, you charge God with unrighteousness.”
The early Christians did not cling to a sentimental notion of God as incapable of wrath. They trembled before His justice and called men to repentance with urgency.
No Repentance After Death
One of the most dangerous implications of the Teddy Bear Gospel is the denial of finality. If hell is simply an emotional experience of God’s love, then perhaps, in time, even the devil might be saved. But the Fathers are clear: there is no repentance after death. To imagine post-mortem purgation or universal salvation is not hope, but delusion. It leads souls away from the narrow path Christ Himself warned us about.
Conclusion: The Lie that Sells
The Teddy Bear Gospel is a best-seller. It draws the wounded, the weary to a distorted view of hell and God. It sounds like love. It feels like compassion. But it is a lie. Let us not follow those who preach comfort at the cost of truth. Let us instead proclaim the Gospel as Christ and His Church gave it—a Gospel of mercy, yes, but also of justice and eternal judgement for the unworthy. Anything less is not Orthodoxy.
The real Christ does not cuddle sinners into complacency. God is gentle to the repentant and severe to the rebellious. And He will judge the world in righteousness.. He warned, He wept, He offered His life as sacrifice, and He also wields the sword of judgment. The Christ who will return in glory does not sit passively upon a throne, but rides actively with sword and flame to judge the living and the dead.