A Fresh Perspective - 06/27/08
This is my final article on the subject of hell. Apart from the vindictive elements in the Gospel of Matthew and the book of Revelation the biblical support for the conventional doctrine of hell is scant to nonexistent. (See my previous columns).
What kind of God would create such a place? What kind of justice would send a person there? Sometimes I hear, "God does not send people to hell; people send themselves." This, however, is simply not true. If there is a literal hell it is because God created it. To say that God is obligated by God's justice or holiness to consign persons to hell makes God enslaved to a law of justice that is not justice at all, but injustice. How could a lifetime of sin merit an eternity of torment and suffering? No wonder so many modern day thinking people find this sort of God repulsive.
We might imagine a tyrant, an egotistical dictator with a depraved sense of justice wishing this upon his enemies, but the God who has revealed God's self in Jesus? Jesus said to love your enemies and so reflect the character of God. Jesus prayed for his tormentors, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Would the God whom Jesus represents and incarnates turn around and confine even the most evil of God's creation to eternal suffering? Hardly.
If hell is literal then God is worse than an abusive parent. Any time a parent punishes a child in excess, we call that abuse. A literal hell would be abuse by any standard. What parent would wish this upon their child?
The idea of a place of eternal suffering is simply incompatible with the idea of a God of love. The two beliefs cannot occupy the same space.
Though at one time I believed in the conventional doctrine of hell as a literal place of eternal suffering, at this stage in my faith journey I could no longer be a Christian if it required me to accept this teaching. Fortunately, I don't have to. I have discovered a healthier and more wholesome Christian perspective and faith.
And because I am a preacher and teacher of the Christian way I preach and teach a different version of the God that was passed down to me as a conservative evangelical Christian. Some think I'm heretical, others courageous; still others are not sure what to think.
To you I am writing - to get you TO THINK- rather than accept something simply because it's what your parents believed or your church teaches.
I have church members who are thrilled to be liberated to think creatively about these things; they encourage me. And I have a few members whom I love dearly who are upset with me. Every conservative evangelical who starts thinking for himself or herself will face the same sort of response from the people around them. If you have been in a conservative evangelical church for a long time, then you will likely experience a lot more criticism and rejection than encouragement.
I have a notion that there are more progressive thinkers in such congregations than people realize and that their pastors would admit. They simply keep quiet so as to not rock the boat. They don't want to lose their friendships and connections.