Yes, I believe in Hell....No, I don't want you going there

I am going to be upfront about my beliefs.  I am a Christian.  I believe in Christianity because I believe that it is the best explanation of the world we see at large, the nature of the universe, and because I believe it is true.  I believe that Jesus is the Messiah; that He died on a cross and rose again from the dead.  I believe that God loves His creation and wants to be in relationship with us.

I also believe in hell. 

Hell has been…well…a rather unpopular concept in the last few years.  Noted pastor and theologian Rob Bell argued against hell in his popular book, Love Wins.  Academic theologians have argued against hell and have tried to replace hell with a concept called “annihilationism,” a concept that advocates that God destroys wicked souls rather than leave them to the torment of hell for eternity.  

And unfortunately, hell has been an “all too” popular concept in many Christian circles.  Pastors gleefully announce that “sinners” will burn in hell.  Picketers with signs declare all sorts of categories of people who will burn in hell.  Others suggest that only those who say the ‘sinner’s prayer’ will be spared from the fires of hell.

I believe in hell because Jesus believes in hell.  He talks about hell…quite a bit actually.  But I think we ought to take a note from Jesus and not dwell too much on it.

Jesus teaches that there is a place of eternal punishment.

• ·         Luke 10:15, “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.”
• ·         Matthew 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
• ·         Matthew 5:22, “whoever says, ‘you fool shall be liable to the hell of fire.”

It should be noted that while Jesus teaches that hell is real…he really doesn’t describe it in detail.  Nor does any other place in the New Testament. 2 Peter 3 talks about fire and people melting, but there is nothing definitive to be found there.  Revelation talks about a “Lake of Fire,” but we should be wary about trying to extrapolate too much from a book made entirely of word pictures.

The Old Testament is even more vague about hell…or rather everything about the afterlife.  One of the few people to make an appearance from beyond the Grave, Samuel only hints that he is being “disturbed” (1 Sam 28:15).  Ecclesiastes seems to suggest that everybody’s fate is the same, righteous or unrighteous (Ecc 7:15).

What is of note is the old picture of the devil with a pitchfork running around a fiery inferno is difficult to maintain biblically.  Jesus’ conception of hell has more to do with the Kidron Valley, where the people in Jerusalem threw their trash to be burned rather than a pro-active description of hell. 

Hell is a place of God’s absence.  C.S. Lewis probably had one of the best descriptions of hell in his book The Great Divorce, albeit by way of contrast.  In the book, people from hell go on a bus trip to heaven and they are offered a chance to stay in heaven.  All but one person decide to get back on the bus to hell.  The reason for this is that they have grown accustomed to their lives in hell, and they prefer it to heaven.  In the end God gives these people what they want, in a perfect tribute to Paul’s opening to Romans, “God gave them over...”  There is a profound truth in Lewis’ work, that most people who find themselves in hell will not only have actively chosen it, but will prefer to be there.

As a Christian, I don’t believe that God wants people to go to hell.  I don’t think He is up there in heaven, scheming of new ways he can trick us into choosing hell.  I also don’t think there should be celebrating or cheering that people are “going to hell.”  I believe that is the wrong attitude to have.  If hell is real, then it pains God to send people there.  We should never rejoice in that which causes God pain.  We should never rejoice in that which causes anyone pain.

The longer I live the Christian life, the more I am aware that I am not worthy of God’s love.  I have done nothing that commends me to God, and I continue to walk in sinful patterns and selfish ways.  I continue to get angry with people about mundane and pointless reasons.  I hoard the gifts that God has given me for myself.  I am no better than anyone else…in fact I am worse than a good portion of people. 

I can truly say that I do not want anybody to go to Hell.  In my anger, I will say things, “I hope he’s burning” or “I can’t wait til they get to judgment.” But then I catch myself and I realize that I too am deserving of hell. It is only the grace of God that keeps any one of us out of the peril of hell.

For as much as I disagree with him, Rob Bell was on to something.  Our focus in the Christian Church has been too much focused on those who will be punished.  Rather we should be focusing on the positive aspect that in the gospel, Love Wins.  God’s love was meant to break down barriers between social and economic and racial classes.  God’s love was meant to prod us on to ministering to those in need among us.  God’s love was meant to spur us on to actions that would help more people choose life with God.  Rather, we have chosen to be like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal, angry and mean spirited to those we deem as unworthy.  We want to keep the fatted calf for ourselves and hope that our delinquent brother stays in the pig stys of hell.  This is not what Jesus meant when he preached on hell.  He wanted us to see the ends of death, so we may choose the path of life and not delight in the destruction of others.

Charles Spurgeon once said that we need to preach as “dying men to dying men”. The doctrine of hell was never meant to invoke glee in anyone.  It was never meant to make people guess as to was going to hell and who wasn’t.  It was always meant as a sobering realization and a way for us to better understand the love of God.

So yes, as a Christian, I believe in hell.  I do not dwell on this question or spend too much time trying to figure out who might need to go there.  As a preacher, I want to spur us all on to the paths of life.  So while I may believe in hell, I don’t want you to go there.

Forgive and Forget?

Here is a tale of two ways.

The first way is described at the beginning of Dexter Filkin’s book The Forever War.  A group of people have come to witness a trial and sentencing of a murderer.  Under Islamic law, the accused could go free if the victim’s father will forgive the murderer.  While the accused’ s father begs for his sons life, the victim’s father is unmoved.  “I am not able to forgive him.”  With that, the sentence is handed out and the accused murder is beheaded.

On Oct 6, 2006 a horrific event happened in Nickel Mines, PA.  A lone gunman entered a one room Amish school house and shot 10 girls and killed five, the worse shooting in the town’s history. But what happened next amazed the world: the families of the girls who were shot came to the shooter’s house and forgave his family.  

This illustrates two ways: the way of justice and the way of forgiveness. This is not an indictment of one culture and praise of another, because justice and forgiveness belong to all cultures.  Rather, this reminds us of the important tension that exists in our world whenever tragedy happens and whenever bad things happen in our lives. 

This week we are reminded again of this tension and provided with a choice of which path we should take.  The bombings in Boston and the actions of Dr. Gosnell are just two examples of the horror that exists in our world.  In both events, innocent people were brutally murdered, lives were irrevocably changed and the world again tasted the horror that undergirds much of our daily existence.

Already the internet is cluttered with calls for these men’s blood.  These are echoes and reminders of calls to war from the recent past and throughout human history.  Can society heal

The question at the heart of this, is can we and should we practice forgiveness? Can we forgive the Boston Bombers for their actions that took the lives of three people and injured close to two hundred? Can we forgive Dr. Gosnell for the brutal murder of innocent children? Or on a closer level: can we forgive those that have wronged us today? Can we forgive our wives and our husbands for the things they do to us? Can we forgive bosses and co-workers for being insensitive? Can we live on the path of forgiveness?

To suggest that we should does not negate the justice question in anyway. The surviving Boston bomber must be put on trial and sentenced.  Dr. Gosnell must own up to his crimes.  Each of these must pay the consequences for their actions.  Forgiveness is not about ‘forgetting’ that a crime happened, or letting someone ‘off the hook,’ and to look the other way.  It is not about ignoring the consequences of behavior, but rather dealing with the consequences in a healthy and positive way.

While forgiveness may not be a uniquely Christian grace, it is a central one.  Forgiveness has played an important role in the Christian faith from the beginning. It may not have always been practiced as much as it should have been, but it is at the heart of the Christian life. 

Jesus taught the path of forgiveness.  In the heart of the Lord’s Prayer, we read, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt 6:12). When Peter asks how many times he should forgive someone, Jesus responds, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22). He reiterates to his disciples, “forgive and you will be forgiven.”  And most importantly of all, in the face of even his own death, Jesus not only taught the path of forgiveness, he lived it, for as he was being crucified, he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).

The Amish believe that forgiveness should be practiced as much as possible. They understand that their forgiveness is bound up with the forgiveness that we display to others.  They understand that if they do not forgive, God will not forgive them. While this may and does seem self-serving the other side of this is that if they truly forgive a person, then God will forgive that person as well (Matt 18:18).  In other words, they believe that there is a real correlation between the forgiveness we practice here on earth and the forgiveness that God grants in heaven. For an unbeliever, this may seem an inconsequential thing, but for believers, this is extremely significant. This is where we put our lives to the test and allow forgiveness to rule in our hearts.

If we do not allow ourselves to forgive, then unforgiveness and the sin of others will rule our lives.  When we forgive, we free ourselves from the sins of other people.

When we forgive someone, we acknowledge that there was a wrong done and hurt was the result.  With forgiveness, we restore the relationship we had, but in the light of the hurt.  We can’t pretend or ignore the events, but nor should we dwell on them. 

This may seem easy when the infractions are less serious, when a person has missed a date or misplaced some important information.  But what about when we are talking about serious offenses, like murder, terrorism and acts of violence.  Can we forgive then? Should we forgive then?

I am not directly related to either of these events, nor directly involved with the major tragedies of our day.  I do not, for a second, want to minimize or trivialize anybody’s pain.  I do not want to say that I have experienced similar things, because I haven’t.  I do not want to say that I can even imagine the level of suffering that has been present in people’s lives.  I do not want to gloss over their pain and their suffering. 

But at the same time, I have been the object and victim of cruel things.  I have been betrayed, I have been rejected, I have been abandoned.  I understand pain and the desire for revenge.  On the other hand, I have betrayed, I have rejected and I have abandoned, and I recognize the desire to be forgiven.  I stand as one who has betrayed God, abandoned God, forsaken God, and yet at the same time has been forgiven by God, welcomed by God, loved by God and accepted by God.

Christ calls us to forgive one another and the way of peace is the way of forgiveness. Imagine if we could, on an individual level, forgive those who have wronged us.  Imagine if we would heed the prayer that we pray every week and ‘forgive our debtors.’ Imagine what good could happen in this world if we could do this.    Imagine, if we could, as a country, and as a culture embrace the grace of forgiveness.

I am not a ‘pie in the sky’ idealist. Countries have interests to protect…namely their people.  And while the State must do what it needs to do, the people who make up the state can practice the art of forgiveness.

The work begins, as always, with us, with individuals. We must work to cultivate forgiveness in our lives.  When people wrong us, especially in the small and ordinary things in our lives, we must work to overcome our pride and forgive them. This leads us to be able to forgive people for bigger crimes against us.  Most of us will never deal with the events like the tragedies we have mentioned, but if we forgive for smaller things, we can work at forgiving the bigger ‘stuff.’

Forgiveness is a path that we can walk.  We might not be able or ready to forgive people for everything right away.  But with time, we can work at it and to forgive people as Christ as forgiven us. 

The Road to the Cross: Falling Down

*The Road to the Cross*" is a series of thoughts for the Lent season. These convey some of my hopes, prayers, and even fears as we traverse this season and prepare for the celebration of Easter.

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Robert Oppenheimer

Dr. Oppenheimer uttered these words in response to the Atomic Bomb, which he helped create.  He understood, perhaps better than anyone, the magnitude of the destruction that could now be wrought on the planet and on his fellow man.  The gravity of that understanding must have weighed heavily on Dr. Oppenheimer, especially in the moments after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  

"Now I am become death...." 

AS I look up on my life and the course it is has taken over these past many years, I realize I am but a shadow of this statement.  

I, of course, have not caused the destruction of cities, nor burned a building to the ground, nor killed a single human life....but I am still a force of destruction that has wrought its ugly head upon the world....my family and friends, churches I have served and people I have known.  The truth is, no matter how much I want to deny it...that I am Vishnu, destroyer of worlds.

Oppenheimer did not start out to create a weapon to destroy cities and people.  Rather, he wanted to harness the power of the Atom to help create energy in order to sustain life.  Circumstances got rather out of his control and he saw his theories and his work used to destroy men and women and children. 

The power of destruction is a deadly force that is unleashed in many different ways.  I have seen it done in the emotional abuse of a spouse, the manipulation of systems to gain a personal goal and a thousand other ways.  I have done these and similar things to those closest to me.  We do this enough and our lives...our relationships bear a great resemblance to the remains of Hiroshima. Our worlds crumble away from our hatred, lies, pride and lust to reveal a broken and shattered world beneath us that bears the scars of our actions and reminds us of what used to be.

The older I get, the more sensitive I become to the hurt I've caused.  While I may not always show it on my face, the pain is real and it hides in my heart.  I look down history's corridors and the people I've hurt and the destruction I've brought and I can only agree with the statement, "I am become Death, destroyer of worlds...."

This brings us to Lent...to the very heart of the season.  Lent is the time of year when we reflect greatly on the destruction we have wrought in our own lives and in the lives of others.  We acknowledge the pain, hurt, confusion, and brokenness of our lives and we turn to God in sackcloth and ashes. 

In the midst of the ruin of our lives, we are surprised to see the Savior standing there.  Jesus has that knack of showing up in the least expected places and some of our hearts are the least likely of all. 

Think of the people Jesus decided to hang around in his life.  Matthew...a tax collector....how much ruin did he bring to people's lives? Zaccheaus...another tax collector? The woman at the well...how many families did she ruin? 

But the truth about Jesus is that he is life.  John begins his Gospel by retelling the story of creation and we read, "in him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).  It is no accident that John begins his account with creation, because in a world full of death and destruction, God is about creation, recreation and life. 

Jesus gives life to those who have none.  He demonstrated this physically by waking people like Lazarus from the dead. "I am the resurrection and the life" Jesus tells in John 11:25.  Jesus offers a second chance to sinners who do not deserve a second chance.  In John's gospel again we read of a woman who was convicted of adultery.  Instead of judging her, he saves her and offers her a new chance at life, a wonderful new start to a ruined life.

Jesus' ministry continues today as well.  People who have ruined their lives, caused destruction in havoc through drugs, sex, lies, money and power are given a new lease in life--a new start.  

The understanding at Lent is that we live in the darkness of the valley of the shadow of death.  It's power is real and we feel it all around us.  We cause it, we are complicit in it and we at times even desire and delight in it.

Today I acknowledge the pain and suffering I have caused in my life and in the lives of others.  I say, fully, that "I AM VISHNU, DESTROYER OF ALL WORLDS"

But Jesus responds with loving kindness and says, "I am the creator of all things, and I give my light and my life to you.