What the?!?. . .Thoughts on Hell
These are selections from one of my favorite forums at Interference, called Free Your Mind which has all kinds of discussions going on about religon, politics etc.
Below are some excerpts on the subject of hell from a discussion thread this week. If you want to read what other people (besides me!) had to say you can check it out interference.com under Forums under Lypton Village under Free Your Mind. The Thread title is "In His Image" and the discussion of hell begins on page 4. You may have to go to the second or third page of the Free Your Mind thread list because the discussion is waning.
For those readers that are Seventh-day Adventists this is not a topic we discuss very much. We just take it for granted. But I don't think we realize what a horrible doctrine this is and how much damage it can do to the Christian faith. For those who are not, I think it's important to hear a different Christian perspective on hell.
I'm a Christian but I don't believe in eternal hell.
I know there are scriptures that seem to suggest the existence of such a thing, but there are other scriptures that would argue against it. Weighing the two and factoring in my belief that God IS a God of love, I conclude that there is no everlasting torment in hell.
I can comprehend a God of love "destroying the wicked" (for to leave them to live forever apart from his goodness--per their choice-- WOULD be hell). I cannot comprehend or accept a God of love roasting people on a spit (or any other kind of suffering) for a week, or a year, or 100 much less forever. I mean when you really, really think about it that's just crazy! Sick!
The doctrine of hell is one of the worst theologies ever developed by mankind (or the devil, if you believe in such) and foisted on the world.
What bugs me about the doctrine of eternal torment is the intentionality of it. God is keeping these people alive to suffer, to what end?
Choosing the sleep of death (i.e. an unconscious state of non-existance), the "destruction", over having to live in heaven under God's law of love. Well, now that's a choice. As I understand it, God is love. God is life. Apart from God there can be no life, no love. For a created being to live apart from God would mean that God would have to "artificially" keep that person living. And to live apart from God, in an existence devoid of love. . well, that would be hell. (One could argue you that Satan and his devils live hell. . .but even for them it won't be eternal). Is it possible to have love apart from God who is the essence of love. No? So the choice is simple. Live under God's law of love or don't live at all. Because the "don't live at all" does not involve unending, psychic and physical torment, then we have an actual choice.
No one should be a Christian because they are afraid of hell. And Christians should NEVER try scare people into faith through threatening them with hell. No relationship built on fear is sound or healthy, including a relationship with God.
Later on in our discussion someone suggested that love is not so much about fire and brimstone but a life without love. This was my response.'
The absence of love is Hell. And I imagine that given the choice between living for eternity with a God they despise, living the life of torment that is life without love, or being destroyed (i.e. entering of a state of non-conscious, non-existence) most of the "wicked" would choose Option #3. And a loving God would grant them that.
Some might say that Option# 3 doesn't exist. Either live with God or live without love (i.e. live in hell). But as I"ve already said, that's not much of a choice and is such "options" are not presented by a God of love.
Hell ruins not only God's image. It also poisons the Christian faith. It makes Christians more comfortable with a kind of vindictiveness that doesn't belong in a faith supposedly rooted in love. It makes Christianity indefensible to any thinking person who is not a Christian, which in turns leads Christians not to "think too much about it."
I think if you're going to believe in eternal Hell and still believe in a loving God, you end up coming to the conclusion that God won't actually send anyone there.
Below are some excerpts on the subject of hell from a discussion thread this week. If you want to read what other people (besides me!) had to say you can check it out interference.com under Forums under Lypton Village under Free Your Mind. The Thread title is "In His Image" and the discussion of hell begins on page 4. You may have to go to the second or third page of the Free Your Mind thread list because the discussion is waning.
For those readers that are Seventh-day Adventists this is not a topic we discuss very much. We just take it for granted. But I don't think we realize what a horrible doctrine this is and how much damage it can do to the Christian faith. For those who are not, I think it's important to hear a different Christian perspective on hell.
I'm a Christian but I don't believe in eternal hell.
I know there are scriptures that seem to suggest the existence of such a thing, but there are other scriptures that would argue against it. Weighing the two and factoring in my belief that God IS a God of love, I conclude that there is no everlasting torment in hell.
I can comprehend a God of love "destroying the wicked" (for to leave them to live forever apart from his goodness--per their choice-- WOULD be hell). I cannot comprehend or accept a God of love roasting people on a spit (or any other kind of suffering) for a week, or a year, or 100 much less forever. I mean when you really, really think about it that's just crazy! Sick!
The doctrine of hell is one of the worst theologies ever developed by mankind (or the devil, if you believe in such) and foisted on the world.
What bugs me about the doctrine of eternal torment is the intentionality of it. God is keeping these people alive to suffer, to what end?
Choosing the sleep of death (i.e. an unconscious state of non-existance), the "destruction", over having to live in heaven under God's law of love. Well, now that's a choice. As I understand it, God is love. God is life. Apart from God there can be no life, no love. For a created being to live apart from God would mean that God would have to "artificially" keep that person living. And to live apart from God, in an existence devoid of love. . well, that would be hell. (One could argue you that Satan and his devils live hell. . .but even for them it won't be eternal). Is it possible to have love apart from God who is the essence of love. No? So the choice is simple. Live under God's law of love or don't live at all. Because the "don't live at all" does not involve unending, psychic and physical torment, then we have an actual choice.
No one should be a Christian because they are afraid of hell. And Christians should NEVER try scare people into faith through threatening them with hell. No relationship built on fear is sound or healthy, including a relationship with God.
Later on in our discussion someone suggested that love is not so much about fire and brimstone but a life without love. This was my response.'
The absence of love is Hell. And I imagine that given the choice between living for eternity with a God they despise, living the life of torment that is life without love, or being destroyed (i.e. entering of a state of non-conscious, non-existence) most of the "wicked" would choose Option #3. And a loving God would grant them that.
Some might say that Option# 3 doesn't exist. Either live with God or live without love (i.e. live in hell). But as I"ve already said, that's not much of a choice and is such "options" are not presented by a God of love.
Hell ruins not only God's image. It also poisons the Christian faith. It makes Christians more comfortable with a kind of vindictiveness that doesn't belong in a faith supposedly rooted in love. It makes Christianity indefensible to any thinking person who is not a Christian, which in turns leads Christians not to "think too much about it."
I think if you're going to believe in eternal Hell and still believe in a loving God, you end up coming to the conclusion that God won't actually send anyone there.
posted by Sean at 2:44 AM
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