Fascinating, fascinating! The latest dust-up concerning the reality of heaven and hell, and who goes where. NYTimes article today, "Pastor Stirs Wrath With His Views on Old Questions," describes the furor over an upcoming book by Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI, holding the modest title, “A Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.” Says the writer of the article, Erik Eckholm, that Bell, "known for his provocative views and appeal among the young, describes as 'misguided and toxic' the dogma that 'a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better.'” Some will mourn this, some berate Bell for dispensing untruth, and others are already lining up scriptural "proofs" plucked from hither and yon, and massaged into a predetermined framework.
A few years ago, Dr. Martin Marty wrote in the journal, Christian Century: “I have a test, when pressed. Take the presser to dinner, see to it that a candle is lit, and ask the guest to put his or her finger in the tiny flame for ten seconds. ‘Are you crazy?’ No, just testing. Now picture your whole body in it for ten seconds[,] and then forever. If you still want to press me,” continues Dr. Marty, “I’ll say: ‘If you still believe that torment will happen to unreached Hindus and your friendly neighborhood unbeliever or lapsed Catholic, why are you so inhumane, so selfish, that you are spending an extra hour beyond necessity to eat or chat? Get out of here. Pass out tracts. Board planes to reach the heathen.’” He concludes, “Don’t tell me you have dealt with the physical pain of that hell and can keep your own sanity”(June 3, 2008, pp. 24-25).
What anyone says about Hell in particular, says more about them than about the actual "doctrine." "Hell" is wielded more often than not as a weapon to keep the kiddies' behavior in line (so to speak), than to address any meaningful realities, human or divine. Such usage reveals a "chain-of-command" mentality which even Jesus seems to have had problems with (see his remarks to his disciples -- his trainees in the ways of God, Revised Jesus Version -- found in Mark 10:42-45. James and John have just begged Jesus to get to the head of the line in glory, raising the ire of their colleagues:
"So Jesus called them and said to them, 'You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.'"
So any use of "Hell" to beat folks into compliance with a particular behavioral program seems a risky game, eternally speaking.
But wait, there's more (as the late night infomercials have it): what about the reverse appeal? I mean, the standard line urging folks to accept Jesus as their divine "get out of jail free" card, signing those "Four Spiritual Laws" cards and all that. You know, "you want to avoid hell and see all your loved ones in heaven? Just say the magic words." Seems that this use of "Hell" is also risky (quoting again from Mark, this time 8:34-35):
"He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.'"
You want to save your life? Stop worrying about Hell, and get busy acting like Jesus.
Yes, the notion appears in the Bible, true enough. So does slavery, without criticism. Yes, it seems to be a place best avoided. Yes, it does involve some sort of punitive experience. And -- yes, there are hints about the character of such a place, but found in writers separated by geography and time (Matthew [80-85, probably Syria]; Revelation [ca. 95, probably southwest coast of Asia Minor {modern Turkey}]; and so on) -- and writing with diverse purposes. So it is tenuous at best to try to patch together a comprehensive "Unified Hell Theory" of God's eternal torture-chamber.
It is theologically, though, that the notion is most problematic. Theo-logically, as in, what sort of picture of God this notion paints. At best, to be fair, the notion of Hell addresses issues of justice: if tyrants get away with their evil, why bother being good? Why bother trying at all? Why not just join the mayhem, because justice simply doesn't matter to the "Big G." Any doctrine of Hell tries in some fashion to address that issue.
But push the "doctrine" far enough, and it points to a huge flaw in the theological framework. If God requires a horrendous dungeon in order to balance the moral books, then God is a failure. Simple as that. How? If humans can defy God, and God must respond by creating an Eternal Refuse Pile for the ultimate no-goodniks, then God must not be as powerful as rumored. Humans can defy God and get away with it. Occupants of Hell can be labeled, "God's Failed Experiments."
That's what is really at stake with any serious notion of Hell. Yes, yes, there arises the lively objection that humans have free will, and so God gives us room to fail. It is our own Damn fault -- literally. But the overall design is still God's, and so is the failure. The very presence of Hell says, "somebody made in the image of God is nevertheless no good, and never can be any good. Forever." Hell = God failed.
Furthermore, anybody who does qualify for heaven, and is serious about this God-thing, and God's rep for Love, simply cannot reside happily in Heaven, knowing that even one person is wasting away in Hell. Part of the very DNA for "Christ-like-ness" is an Other-directed love which will die for the sake of the other. The permanent existence of Hell gives the lie to any claim of that sort of love. Unmasks it as demonic, truth be told.
No, if you can rest easy in Heaven whilst even a single soul resides in hellfire, you haven't earned your stripes as a Christian. Even Mark Twain got that, in the famous scene from "Huckleberry Finn," in which Huck decides he must save Jim, even if that means he will go to Hell.
Wonderful controversy, but I'll take my stand here.
Even Mark Twain got that, in the famous scene from "Huckleberry Finn," in which Huck decides he must save Jim, even if that means he will go to Hell. See also June Carter Cash, who wrote Ring of Fire describing her feeling that falling in love with Johnny Cash would literally cost her immortal soul, but she was nonetheless powerless to avoid falling in love with him.
ReplyDeleteI am a strong agnostic on afterlife. That is, I strongly believe that no one can know anything about it. I find the testament of God's people about the nature of living a faithful life to be an untrustworthy source. And even if the Bible were to be trusted, I find little in it to support the going up, going down idea that is find in Tom & Jerry cartoons or plays by Aristophanes. So much in the Bible that deals with the topic is intended as parable, yes? Job, Matthew 25, Revelation. Also, we project so much. E.g., is the table prepared for us in the 23rd Psalm in Heaven? Why can't it be a literal table?
Frankly, I'm so agnostic I get bored pretty quick even podering such things. It reminds me of discussing who would win in a battle between Superman and the Green Lantern.