The Trouble with Hell...
The Hell Doctrine......you know.....the belief that if you don't accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are destined and doomed to an eternity writhing in the fires of Hell? This is one of the most foundational doctrines in all of Christianity and like it or not, it has profoundly sculpted the ways and reasons in which Christianity is presented.
In recent years there has been some different interpretations in regard to what Hell is and how it works but the intention of this writing is not to enter that debate. The purpose of this post is simply to examine the effects of our current beliefs on Hell and how they might influence how Christianity looks today.
What would be the highest priorities for a follower of a faith system that believed all who fail to accept it are doomed to Hell? After all the champion Bible verse of Christianity claims "whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
As a good person if you believe other people are going to Hell because they don't "believe" something, then wouldn't your highest priority be to get them to believe that very thing? And when we boil it all down, "believing" isn't much more that what you think about something right? I think Jesus was the Son of God and that He died for my sins, therefore it could be said that I "believe." If I don't think those things then it would be said that I don't "believe." And according to the traditional Christian beliefs that is what basically determines who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. Essentially, do I think the right way.
So if that is the basic premise, then one would think the natural direction followers of such a religion might take would be to try to convince as many people as possible to "think" a certain way as quickly as possible so as to save their souls. They might conduct activities designed to draw as many people as possible to attempt to convince as many as they can to think in a different way; to think in a way that can be defined as "believing." That would have to be the highest priority, as anything else would be irresponsible. Get them "saved" first and we can work on the rest later. In doing so we create environments in which we try desperately to convince people by any means, be it by emotion or fear or euphoria, to change the way they think. We create faith factories that attempt to churn out as many "believers" as possible. Which by the way, is a lot like what modern Christianity does in fact look like today.
But, what might Christianity look like if the Hell Doctrine wasn't so prevalent? What might it look like if the fear of Hell wasn't such a driving force?
Jesus stressed that we were to "love" God and love our neighbors, and love our enemies, and to do things like make "disciples," all of which are things that take time. And time is something we don't have much of when we are in a race against it to save the soul of the lost. With a fate as terrible as Hell, the focus becomes much more about quickly saving people from something dreadful rather than patiently trying to show them the better way of love.
All this to say that interpretation of the Scriptures can create vastly different Christian experiences. Is our faith fear and dread based at its absolute core leading to a frantic breakneck race to save as many as possible? Or does it provide us the time needed to properly cultivate the friendships and relationships of which love requires? Perhaps it's a bit of both, but in the end it seems like the highest priority for Jesus was love over faith, I just hope we are giving ourselves enough time to make that our reality.
In recent years there has been some different interpretations in regard to what Hell is and how it works but the intention of this writing is not to enter that debate. The purpose of this post is simply to examine the effects of our current beliefs on Hell and how they might influence how Christianity looks today.
What would be the highest priorities for a follower of a faith system that believed all who fail to accept it are doomed to Hell? After all the champion Bible verse of Christianity claims "whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
As a good person if you believe other people are going to Hell because they don't "believe" something, then wouldn't your highest priority be to get them to believe that very thing? And when we boil it all down, "believing" isn't much more that what you think about something right? I think Jesus was the Son of God and that He died for my sins, therefore it could be said that I "believe." If I don't think those things then it would be said that I don't "believe." And according to the traditional Christian beliefs that is what basically determines who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. Essentially, do I think the right way.
So if that is the basic premise, then one would think the natural direction followers of such a religion might take would be to try to convince as many people as possible to "think" a certain way as quickly as possible so as to save their souls. They might conduct activities designed to draw as many people as possible to attempt to convince as many as they can to think in a different way; to think in a way that can be defined as "believing." That would have to be the highest priority, as anything else would be irresponsible. Get them "saved" first and we can work on the rest later. In doing so we create environments in which we try desperately to convince people by any means, be it by emotion or fear or euphoria, to change the way they think. We create faith factories that attempt to churn out as many "believers" as possible. Which by the way, is a lot like what modern Christianity does in fact look like today.
But, what might Christianity look like if the Hell Doctrine wasn't so prevalent? What might it look like if the fear of Hell wasn't such a driving force?
Jesus stressed that we were to "love" God and love our neighbors, and love our enemies, and to do things like make "disciples," all of which are things that take time. And time is something we don't have much of when we are in a race against it to save the soul of the lost. With a fate as terrible as Hell, the focus becomes much more about quickly saving people from something dreadful rather than patiently trying to show them the better way of love.
All this to say that interpretation of the Scriptures can create vastly different Christian experiences. Is our faith fear and dread based at its absolute core leading to a frantic breakneck race to save as many as possible? Or does it provide us the time needed to properly cultivate the friendships and relationships of which love requires? Perhaps it's a bit of both, but in the end it seems like the highest priority for Jesus was love over faith, I just hope we are giving ourselves enough time to make that our reality.
Thanks for a thoughtful post about a topic few discuss or that many ignore except the atheists who are particularly scathing of it. I think some of them have a point. I have over many years come to a different conclusion than what the conventional view is. I believe it is scripturally and historically sound and certainly puts to rest what does not appear to characterise a loving merciful God when the majority of mankind supposedly is tormented forever if people do not believe. I do agree with your emphasis on love but the truth of how God judges and treats humanity cannot be hidden from view, and I believe needs to be re-examined and re-evaluated amongst Christians. You are right there are a number of inconsistencies when it comes to witnessing. If the view of hell is true, then we should be crying out and doing everything possible to save souls, something which in the majority of Christians is just not the case. That in itself is an anomaly. It makes you wonder either of the authenticity of many Christians or just how serious they take the doctrine, indeed whether it is true. For me, I love God and people and strive to be a follower of the King and his Kingdom. God will judge man’s response to Jesus Christ and whether they surrender to him or not. Sin, its negative everyday effects and penalty of death (literal) without Christ are the consequences and punishment of not being in Christ. God is love, he is compassionate, just and merciful, holy, righteous and powerful, faithful and patient. He offers life, abundant life, eternal life. To choose otherwise is darkness, ultimate accountability and judgment to death, not eternal life in torment. The most common verse John 3:16,17 says it succinctly. ‘’For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who soever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’’
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