Caelum Novum

Lately I've been reading a lot about grace, salvation, predestination, etc for various classes as well as social justice. Additionally, recent conversations I have had have led me to consider also whether or not ethics are sufficient for salvation or whether piety or correct worship are part and parcel as well. In the end, this has led me to consider that perhaps heaven is not what we think it is.
First of all, I should like to suggest that there are no "hell" or "purgatory" as we traditionally conceive of them. This is by no means a novel assessment of my part. In fact, many theologians have suggested this. Most recently the pastor Rob Bell became quite famous for suggesting this, but the Catholic Church itself does not teach that there is necessarily anybody in hell and other theologians have suggested (such as Ed Vacek) have suggested that since God is love, God would not allow God's children to suffer for all eternity.
I do not mean, however, that I think there will be no suffering. I think there will be no hell. I think the concept of a firey pit and lake of brimstone might be a helpful heuristic for some, the same way thinking of God as a glowing person might, but by no means do I think there will be a place where the damned are literally dipped into molten pitch. Rather, I think those who "are in hell" will endure an eternity of self-imposed suffering.
Everyone who has ever lived will be there. Everyone from our ancestors, our close loved ones, the saints, the sinners, etc. This will be the first opportunity for people to inflict on themselves their suffering. Many people who are proud, pugnacious, self-righteous or easily-offended will find it intolerable to go through eternity with some of the other people. Thus, a man like Dante Alighieri, who ascribed all of his personal enemies various torments in hell, was probably shocked to see them all in heaven, as I'm sure they were shocked to see him. Here Jesus' "hard sayings" become especially applicable. The commandments to love our enemies, to forgive others, to make up with those who wrong us, etc, become particularly relevant when they all show up at the Lord's banquet. We can think of the parable of the workers of the vineyard who complained to the master when the people who worked the least got equal pay. God will save all of us, but that's because that's what God wants to do. If we can't accept that, then the problem lies in us.
This also has applications for those who have low-self esteem. Those who have a hard time accepting or forgiving themselves may stand in disbelief when they are in heaven. Those whose lives have been scarred by abuse, whether emotional, physical, verbal or sexual, might not think they deserve heaven. In the love commandments, Jesus commands us implicitly to love ourselves. This idea often falls on deaf ears within Christianity, but it is important for us to forgive and love ourselves just as we do for others. This is where the next important part comes in. In heaven, God's grace is freely given to all people.
God's grace has the power to heal and nurture. Those whose lives are marred and whose sense of self is broken will be redeemed by God's love as it rains down freely upon all souls. Furthermore, as we are filled with God's grace and love, we will share it with others. Thus, those who have an easier time accepting their position in heaven will share God's grace with others, especially those whose image of self is damaged. As others' lift these people up in God's love, their wounds will be healed and they will find it easier to love and forgive themselves. The same is true for those who have a hard time forgiving or loving others, thought it might take longer for this to occur as we are most in touch with ourselves. Only those with the most stubborn hearts (ie, with no will to change whatsoever) will endure "hell."
Because God's grace will be freely distributed, those whose lives were devoted to acquiring fame, power, money, or other limited commodities will find themselves shocked and offended that all of their "hard work" was for nothing. On the other hand, those who strove hard just to survive will be overly gladdened to find themselves in a place where they do not have to worry about scraping by. Those who have learned to give and share in this life will also find themselves in a state of incredible joy for they will be able to give God's grace to all without worrying about running out. In short, all the limits we have in this world due to limited resources will be removed and those who found themselves happy in that scheme will be miserable while those who found themselves miserable will be happy. Hence, "the last shall be first and the first shall be last."
Concerning piety and unbelief: I imagine that all of us, to one degree or another, will find heaven to be different from what we expected. Since I am a Christian, I imagine heaven will be a place where we spend time with the God, especially Jesus. However, I assume that since we all will be there, there will necessarily be different people from different religions. I assume that they may not all see God as we do. However, keeping in the spirit of Rahner's "anonymous Christians," I think that there will be some who accept their fate more easily than others, as I expect will be the case for Christians. Personal piety might help us become more ready for the beatific vision but only inasmuch as we do not neglect our neighbors. The dual love commandments do say that we need to love God, so I think even the most virtuous atheist will find himself troubled for awhile, but I also think that those who think God has very specific favorites (eg, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses) will be shocked when they see Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, etc all in heaven.
So, to recap: I think that God will save us all. I think, however, that God will not alter our wills, or our dispositions. Those who find "happiness" in temporal things will find themselves lost. Those who think they have exclusive rights to heaven will find themselves offended. Those who cannot learn to forgive or love, will find themselves surrounded by enemies. Thus, our "works" in this life can help us prepare for heaven, but they will not "earn" heaven for us. Furthermore, our personal faith might help us prepare for being with God, but it will not determine whether or not we are. Thus, the teaching that those who are in hell choose it still follows, since those who will suffer in heaven will be those who choose to reject God's providence rather than embrace it.