Get Quoted in a Book!

I am currently trying to write a book about hell. It will discuss Christian views about hell (both ancient and modern), Bible verses that talk about hell (there isn't all that many), effects that belief in hell have on people, and Universalist theory. What's missing currently is the opinions that "regular people" (as in, those that don't write books, preach sermons or run crazy websites) have about hell. I invite anyone interested to tell me what they think of hell. Non-Christian opinions are especially welcome. I will certainly consider all opinons posted. If my "book" ever becomes an actual book (and I hope it will) you might even get quoted! The questions below are ones you might want to adress. They are not meant to be restrictive, just ideas to get you started. What is hell like? Who gets sent to hell? What is the purpose of hell? Is hell escapable? What does hell tell us about the nature of God? Or anything else of interest/value. thanks in advance!

the Nature of God

You there. Yes you! Person reading this blog! Please take my little multiple-choice quiz, by posting a comment with your answers. Feel free to justify your answers and make up your own. If you are not a Christian, you can always use option d) I don't believe in God/Christianity/the Bible.

Question 1:

Mel is gay and Christian. This makes him

a) a fraud, not a real Christian. Extra wrath for him!

b) a man struggling with the sin of homosexuality. We should pray for his healing.

c) a courageous man who happens to interpret complex scriptures differently. Welcome to our church!

Question 2: 1 Samuel 15:3... "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants.". God's motive is requesting the death of the infants is

a) Anger. The sin of the Amalekites is so vile that it infects even their babies who become guilty by association.

b) Practicality. A nation at war, like Isreal, can not reasonably adopt orphaned babies.

c) Mercy. He is welcoming the kids into heaven, rather then forcing them to grow up as desised orphans.

Question 3: The doors of hell are

a) Red hot, gleaming with the eternal wrath of God.

b) Locked from the inside, because men remain too stubborn to repent and enter heaven.

c) the gateway to salvation, after the sinner has repented and been purified.

Question 4: You are watching "The 40 year old Virgin" with Jesus. He is

a) Angry. Promisquity and cursing offends His Holy Nature.

b) Sad. Why must you waste your time on such drivel that pollutes your mind?

c) Amused. That Steve Carell is funny!

Question 5: The doctrine of double predestination is(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_predestination)

a) True and a reflection of God's Perfect Soveriegnty.

b) Biblically supportable, but morally troublesome.

c) A horrible travesty and a slur on the Love of God.

Question 6: Is AIDS God's punishment for sexual sin?

a) yes

b) no, because it also infects innocent children

c) no, because God would not cause such suffering

Question 7: At a Hindu worship ceremony, miraculous events occur. This shows that

a) the Hindus are worshipping demon-gods, which have evil powers

b) God's goodness transcends the religion of human beings

c) we should all convert to Hinduism.

Question 8: Those that never hear about Jesus are

a) all going to hell (see Romans 2)

b) saved if they respond to what little they know about God (see Romans 2)

c) as much God's beloved children as Christians

Question 9: On Judgement Day, God's response to this quiz will be:

a) Anger at such blasphemy. Less rewards for Filth-Man.

b) Sorrow at such confusion. It's all so clear in the Bible!

c) Pride at Filth-Man's honesty. Searching for truth gets you extra rewards!

I'm not a very good Christian. After 24 years at it, I still haven't figured out the fundamental spiritual question: what is the nature of God?

A very wise person once asked me "why must God be good?" I had no answer. There is no logial reason I can think of why a god couldn't be vindictive, or hateful, or capricious, or use the Earth as His personal playground. Skeptics love to argue that the God of the Bible portrays all these characteristics. (I was dicussing "Bible controversies" with a friend the other day. I mentioned eternal security, women's roles in the church, and predestination. He suggested "the Old Testament".)

I, for one, am not equipped to discuss the "goodness" of God. It is too big a topic for me, too broad, and too philosophically complex (is whatever God does "good" by definition)? But I do feel prepared to ask "does God act the way we would expect a good human being to act"? Jesus certainly did. How about now?

When C.S. Lewis choose to portray God (or Jesus, I guess) as a Lion in the Narnia books, he made a brilliant choice. Lions are awesome. Who doesn't love lions? They are beautiful, majestic, and flat-out cool. Just let one look at you though. Just let it stare at you with its dead golden eyes. If that's too much for you, look away, and notice that it's forearms and chest are massive, a perfect wrestler's build for taking down prey much bigger than you. Much as you admire the lion from a distance, get within range and you become nothing but meat, and both of you now it.

Just like lions, God scares me. I'm fascinated with, but afraid of God. I can't help wondering if the fundementalists are right, if God is just waiting to pour out his wrath and anger on a sinful, fallen world, a world that he created and is going to destroy. And even if He does, does that make Him wrong? I don't feel qualified to judge God's morality, but I do need to determine my own response. Should I worship an angry God so that He doesn't smite me? Or should I worship a gentle God, out of gratefulness that He won't? Such questions...

I think I need to decide what I believe about God's nature before I read the Bible. The Bible is just too confusing otherwise. God punishes and God rewards, God smites and God forgives, God predestines Pharoh to destruction, God calls all people to himself, and Filth-man keeps scratching his head. Wonder how we got so many denominations? Try reading the Bible... not just the parts you like, but all of it. Most Christians, I think, have a basic idea of God in their head. This idea helps them understand difficult passages ("well, we know God is loving, so there was a good reason for smiting that person") and make sense of the general mess of scripture.

I went to the Christian bookstore the other day, hoping to find a book on hell reccomended to me by my pastor. The store had one shelf of unhelpful theology books, compared to about 8 shelves of romance. (A Christian romance must be the most boring book ever written. "He looked into her eyes, and felt weak with the desire to begin a Harris-approved courtship, cumulating suprisingly quickly in a demure, alcohol-free wedding.") So it's up to you, my friends/bored people surfing the internet. Answer the questions above. Then tell me what you think about the nature of God.

Matthew 5: 21-26

I recently got to preach in church on the above-mentioned verses. While I am not taking up blogging regularly again, I decided to post the text to my sermon below. Please remember that this is a “written version” of a spoken sermon. Written language is different from natural spoken language, so if you think the writing is sub-par, I already know that. If you disagree with the content, on the other hand, I’d like to hear it. Matthew 5: 21-26 (NIV) You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. These words are spoken by Jesus as part of the “sermon on the mount”, I find this a difficult section to speak on, because it is both hard to understand and hard to accept.. Doing research into various understandings of what is going on, I found two main trains of thought on interpreting this verse, which overlap somewhat. I would like to go both. Neither are easy. One challenges our conventional theology, the other our lifestyle. The 1st school of thought says that this passage is primarily about the wages of sin and final judgement by God. Let’s go through the verses again. “You have heard it said.. “you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.” Jesus’ audience had had “heard it said” in the ten Commandments, given by God. The punishment for non-compliance was the death penalty. “Though shalt not murder” is also prominent in every legal code I have ever heard of. Every society forbids murder, and reserves the harshest penalties for those who do. Nothing new so far. “But I say to you, whoever is angry with his will be subject to judgement.” “Brother” in this case refers not simply to siblings, but to all believers, or even all of mankind. This verse was apparently controversial ever since Jesus spoke it; some ancient manuscripts add the clause “angry without cause” while others do not. “Whoever says to his brother “raca” will be subject to the Sanhedrin.” Raca is an a 1st-century insult we will discuss later. The Sanhedrin was the high Jewish counsel, a sort of Supreme Court that could sentence persons to death by stoning. “Whoever says to his brother “you fool” shall be in danger of the fire of hell…” Let us re-read… “Whoever says to his brother “YOU FOOL” shall be in danger of the FIRE OF HELL!” Which person on earth has never called another human being a fool, an idiot, stupid, or a moron? I certainly have- particularly my biological brothers. Does this mean that we are all doomed and will be sent to hell when we die? What is Jesus getting at? According to many interpretations, Jesus is preaching about the severity of sin. He’s saying in affect: “You think that you’re okay in the eyes of God as long as you don’t’ kill anyone? I tell you that even if you just insult anyone, you are sinful and excluded from God’s presence”… In this interpretation, Jesus’ speech is the first part to a textbook “turn or burn” gospel message. The message is that all human beings are doomed. Curiously, however, Jesus does not follow this up with good news about salvation, or mention that he is the cure for sin. Instead, he starts giving examples of everyday life. Let is skip ahead to the “prison” story. This story can be seen as a mini-parable on final judgement. "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. (That is, get stop sinning) Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, (the judge being God) and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." The prison is, of course, hell, so if we don’t repent we will go to hell for ever and ever… except the story doesn’t say that. The prisoner is freed once he “pays the last penny”. This is one of the genuine “problem verses” for evangelicals. Catholics who believe in purgatory (that is, a place of painful cleansing before one is pure enough to enter heaven) love to point to this verse. So are Universalists that believe that hell is temporary and, at some point, escapable. I would love to write more about the nature of hell, purgatory, and the second-chance doctrine. However, I’m not sure that’s what these verses are about at all. There’s a whole other school of thought applied to this verse… the school of thought that says this verse is less about the things God will do to us if we sin, than about the things we are doing to ourselves, more about the consequences then the punishment of sin. As Evangelicals, we are often accused of taking the Bible too literally. However, Rob Bell suggests (paraphrased) maybe we aren’t taking this verse literally enough. Rob, and others, start by pointing out that when Jesus talks about “Hell” the word he used in the original translations was “Gehenna”. Gehenna was named after the Valley of Hinnom (Gen Hinnom) a garbage dump (that is, an actual physical place) outside the city of Jerusalem. Gehenna had actual “eternal” flames, as the trash was being burned 24/7. The valley of Hinnom is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, as a place where Canaanites and backsliding Israelites sacrificed Children to Molech. This made it the place where the most grievous of sins were committed (the murder of the innocent in worship to a false God) and gave Gehenna the kind of negative, haunted connotation we might today associate with Auschwitz. At some point, “Gehenna” became a symbol for punishment after death. There is some debate as to whether Jesus’ listeners would have associated Gehenna as after-life punishment, or as the literal place. There is also debate about the nature of Gehenna- some see it as place of temporary purification (purgatory, if you will) and others as eternal damnation. What’s certain is that Gehenna was a disgusting place with connotations of evil The bodies of the criminals were sometimes burned there. This state of “Gehenna”, thinks Rob Bell, is less a symbol of God’s wrath than of our own condition if we persist in hatred. We don’t have to wait until judgment day; we can create hell right here on earth, and we do. What Jesus also does, Philip Yancey notes, is link the visible sin of murder with less obvious, internalized (or “heart” sins.. He does the same thing with lust, linking it to adultery, in Matt 27: “You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.‘ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. Anger (perhaps indulged anger or unrighteous anger i is a sin. Insulting others is a sin. Opinions vary widely as to what “Raca” meant… it may have meant “idiot” or “empty-headed”, been a sexual slur like “pansy”, or the sound of spitting at someone (ra-KAA!)… However, it is clear that it “Raca” is a harsh insult. “Fool” comes from the Greek word “moros”, from which we get the English “moron”. The word may also have meant “godless” or “heathen”. To a society (1st century Jews) which defined themselves largely by their religion and their relationship with God, calling someone godless- “without God” was surely a terrible insult.. I’m not sure the exact meaning of the words is important (Jesus uses the word “moros” himself in other speeches) as much as the attitude of the speaker… This is an attitude of contempt for others, superiority over others, and the desire to make another person feel inferior, or worthless, or evil. Such thoughts, and desires, according to Jesus, are in themselves impure. They are a sort of internal “murder” of other people and, left unchecked, the can escalate to actual murder. 1 John 3: 11-15 says: This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. I’ve recently returned from South Africa, where I spent time working in one of the most violent places on earth, the Cape Flats in South Africa. The country of South Africa is a perfect illustration of the truth in this passage. In most studies on the subject, SA ranks top 3 in all violent crime categories: murder, rape, assault, armed robbery, and so on. There are many reasons for this. The gap between the haves and have-nots is often cites, as well as incompetent policing, and an abundance of firearms. However, even though South Africa has a vastly superior infrastructure, and a wealthier populace, than other South African countries, it is much more violent. The key difference, I think, lies in the “heart sins” of South Africa, the terrible feelings human beings have for each other. The legacy of Apartheid (legalized segregation of the races, in which blacks were near-slaves without the right to vote) have left the various races in SA deeply divided, and (understandably) extremely bitter towards each other. What sparks a lot of the violence is exactly what Jesus describes… anger, spite, and hatred. I should point out here that, due to the legacy of Apartheid, South Africans see everything in terms of race. (When South Africans tell stories, they generally list the races of the characters: “this black girl was talking to a white guy…”) To talk about South Africa is to talk about race. I know race is a sensitive subject, so I ask that readers not be offended and remember that in Canada, we are privileged to live in a society where we can afford to be color-blind and see past skin color. In South Africa, having the wrong skin color in the wrong place can get you killed. One of my black roommates when I lived in South Africa was nearly assaulted by some partiers at my home because of his skin color. My grandparents know many white farmers killed by Zulus. The tension in South Africa is not just between black and whites but between various culture and it goes right back towards Jesus’ words. A society where one culture can look down on another as inferior leads to a violent society. The rich harbor distrust and contempt for the poor. The poor have loathing and anger towards the rich. Men objectify women to the degree that they will force sex upon them and give them HIV. Human beings who have failed to heed Jesus words have created “Gehenna” here on earth, a place where people are treated like trash, discarded as worthless, and innocent children are sacrificed to AIDS, crime and gangsterism. According to a recent Reader’s Digest poll, 98% of South Africans believe in “God” of some sort. 90% identify themselves as Christians, from wide variety of denominations.. Many South Africans of all races attend church regularly. This country has an incredibly high proportion of both “Christians” and violent criminals. Clearly, something is wrong, and I think again of Jesus’ words… “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Offering one’s gift at the alter refers to worship of God. In 1st century Jewish culture (as well as in 21st century evangelical culture) worship of God is one of the most noble of activities. However, according to Jesus, worship itself is less important than reconciliation with others. what good is it to do religious duties, if there is strife, anger and hatred towards your brother?” Note that Jesus doesn’t limit this to our own anger. He doesn’t say “if your brother is angry at you, and it is clearly your fault, go an apologize”. He just says “if your brother has something against you”… warranted or not, there is a problem and it must be solved. If there is strife, if there are conflict, or anger, or hatred it is our job to fix it. This takes priority even over worship. South Africa is good at worship, but poor at the “weightier matters of the law”. As a side note, this “substance before style” approach to religion, which emphasizes our duty to our fellow man before religious ceremonies, can be found throughout the Bible. A couple of examples: Isaiah 53: 6-7 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Matthew 23: 23-24, Jesus speaking again. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” The advice in Matthew 5:25-26, can also be taken completely literally, without allusions to hell. Why go to court with another person? Try to settle differences peacefully. If you go to court, you might lose. In Jesus day, if you got sued, and couldn’t pay, you went to prison and your family had to pay off your debts,. Jesus makes the point that strife, no matter who is at fault, leads to suffering. So fix problems. In South Africa, I got the chance to see a prison from the inside, doing both evangelism and skills teaching in prisons. Pollsmoor Prison, at least, could well be described as hell on earth. Freedom and food are limited, and disobedience is harshly punished. The cells are terribly overcrowded, with 50 prisoners packed into a 20-person cell. It is too hot in the summer, so prisoners bash out the windows, and they are then rained on all winter. . Prison is largely run by the “numbers” gangs, violent prison gangs that keep the population under control, provided the guards don’t interfere with their activities. Without adequate supervision from guards, newcomers “initiated” into gangs by one of two ways… stab a guard or be subject to gang rape. Fights are common, and insubordination is severely punished. Curiously, prisoners don’t seem to realize what a “Gehenna” they are in. Almost everyone re-offends. They are so poor, and their communities are so violent, that many actually prefer prison. When they do their time, they go out and commit violent crimes again. In the outside world they are so utterly despised, their communities so broken, that that their preferred “family” is the violent gang that has sodomized them. This is how far anger, contempt, and hatred go. In Canada, we live in a law-abiding country with enviable politeness, racial tolerance and lack of crime. Does this passage have nothing significant to say to us? Absolutely not… In fact, Jesus’ message is that sinning towards your neighbour is not limited to actually killing him. South Africa is a lawless society. People get away with acting on the evil in their hearts, In our society, a better justice system- and a society less tolerant of violence and overt violence- keep these behaviours in checks. “You shall not murder”- we all get that, and we all agree with it. However, Jesus reminds us, actual murder is not the only problem. How many of us nurture anger towards others? How many of us insult others, or look down on others? I’ve never met a person that doesn’t. We may not commit crimes, we may not openly insult other races but if we harbour the thoughts in our hearts, we are also guilty. During my time in South Africa, I feel I was wronged by two different Christian people I will continue to believe so to my dying day, but I can’t deny the affect this has had on me. I showed anger… I was furious, as my family and fiancé can attest to. The experience has made me more cynical towards missions, towards other Christians, towards whole other cultures, and made me focus on the negative qualities of others while ignoring the positive. It has harmed good causes, to which I might otherwise have donated money. Even on a small scale, hard feelings cause harmful consequences. What are out own “heart” sins? Whom do we trivialize, dehumanize, insult or treat like crap? For whom do we create their own personal “Gehenna” here on earth? Those of other denominations or religions? (I have an aunt who was thrown out of her congregation for being baptized as an adult. Those that sin in more obvious ways than we do? (Yancey remarks that he used to be a racist. Now he looks down on racists instead, treating them with the same contempt he once had for blacks.) Homosexuals? Native Americans? How about the ugly, the overweight, the unintelligent? These are generally considered acceptable targets for ridicule in our society (the Homer Simpsons and Peter Griffins of the world, as it were). No one I know of can claim that these verses to not apply to them. If the problem is hatred, the answer (according to Jesus) is reconciliation. He commands us to “be reconciled to your brother” in verse 24 and to “agree with him” in verse 25. As Jesus says in one of the most famous passages of Scripture: Matt 5: 43-45 (NKJV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Reconciliation is hard. It’s complex, not easy. Even the end-goals are sometimes vague. Should I continue to donate money to persons who may misuse it? Should I show my non-racism? I don't know all the answers. Not even close. Waht I do know is that the questions are vital and need to be asked. Reconciliaton needs to happen. I have spent much of this sermon using South Africa as a model of what has gone wrong. Of course, this is not the whole story; I almost feel guilty using an entire country (of which I am, after all, a citizen) as a bad example. I feel it only fair to finish my sermon with some inspiring examples of reconciliation from South Africa. In 1994 the first all-race elections were held in South Africa. Many observers feared civil war. Afrikaners threatened to create their own “Volkstaad” (people’s republic) and while apartheid-era extremists drew up plans to exterminate all blacks. Even among black communities, tensions between Zulus and Xhosas especially, were high and often became violent. The IFP (Zulu dominated) and ANC (Xhosa dominated) supporters wages bloody turf wars. Two Nobel Prize winners- Nelson Mandela and F.W. DeKlerk stepped into the mess to made a difference. DeKlerk, the last White president of South Africa, repealed his government’s racist laws, released Mandela from prison and helped institute the free votes. When Nelson Mandela was elected to the presidency (as leader of the ANC, which won a majority) he insisted that he wanted reconciliation, not revenge, with White South Africans despite past injustices. He did not take away the property or rights of white persons, but welcomed that as full citizens into the new South Africa. Remarkably, the ANC established the established the Truth and Reconciliation commission,. Wikipedia says “The mandate of the commission was to bear witness to, record and in some cases grant amnesty to the perpetrators of crimes relating to human rights violations, reparation and rehabilitation.” Apartheid-era human rights abusers were offered the chance to repent of their crimes and be forgiven by the new government. The TRC was headed by Nobel Prize Winner and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Reconciliation between races and cultural groups can also be seen at the individual level. Among younger South Africans, especially in the cosmopolitan cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg blacks, whites, Indians and coloreds form a group of best friends. I know a white entrepreneur who runs a wrestling club at a loss for hundreds of (primarily black and colored) kids as a ministry. Although still high, tensions between races are notably diminished from 10 years ago, and many of the younger generation are eager to be reconciled. Nelson Mandela deserves much of the credit for this. He was imprisoned, and often tortured, for much of his life. He himself was an inmate of Pollsmoor prison. If anyone had a right to be angry, vengeful and condescending, it was Mr. Mandela. I’m not sure if mr. Mandela is a Christian- certainly he is not an evangelical. However, he too, has grasped the significance of Jesus’ words. With Every reason to be hateful, Mandela choose reconciliation. I’d like to close with a statement from Mandela’s book “Long Walk to Freedom”. "I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness... The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity." That sound suspiciously like Jesus’ message. Jesus came, I think, to liberate us, to free us from the evil that is in our own hearts. Some day, we believe, this process will be complete, but it starts now. It starts with conscious awareness that the evil thoughts we have are real, harmful and dangerous. It starts with our desire to reconcile with each other. So I ask each reader: what heart sins do YOU have? And how can you go about the business of reconciliation? Blog posts on related subjects: Racial politics in South Africa: http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2007/05/lighter-side-of-race.html South African crime from a spiritual perspective: http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2007/03/evil-forces.html Various posts on South African problems: http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html (This was before I had a title function, so you'll have to look for an interesting one) Gehenna and the nature of hell. 6th post from the top, entitles "more hell". http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html The following sources helped me to prepare for my sermon: Bell, Chip. Bible.org, If Looks Could Kill. http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3091 Bell, Rob. Sermon on hell. The Bible: quotes from the NIV except where otherwise indicated. Bruce, FF. The Hard Sayings of Jesus. Hoke, David J. The Heart of Murder. http://www.horizonsnet.org/sermons/sm12.html Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom. Reader’s Digest, South African version. Survey on Religion on South Afrca. Trinity study center online: The Sermon on the Mount. http://www.trinitystudycenter.com/mount/matthew_5-21-26.php Wikipedia: Gehenna, Nelson Mandela, Purgatory, Sermon on the Mount, South Africa Crime Stats, Truth and Reconcilation Comission. Yancey, Philip. Soul Survivor, The Jesus I never knew, What’s so Amazing About Grace.

A Waste of Life?

This will be my 2nd last post. I plan to write one more, after some potentially life changing (in a positive way) events have sorted themselves out, but that'll be it... I'm now back in Edmonton for the forseeable future, which is just not exciting enough (canoeing in thunderstorms notwithstanding) to warrant writing stuff people might want to read. Perhaps some day I'll have more adventures, and then I'll start filth-man up again.

I've been struggling to come to a conclusion about what, if anything, I learned in South Africa that is applicable to everyday life. (Something deep or spiritual, as opposed to factual.) And it wasn't until I was listening to a sermon by Rob Bell on my computer (thanks Jacob from http://www.twentyfeet.blogspot.com/) where he alluded to something that Jesus said, something I found chillingly applicable...

Jesus tells a story... (Luke 12)
The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, "What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops." Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.

Unfortuately for my attempts to understand theology, this story does NOT explain how exactly God speaks to the man, nor comments on this man's salvation or lack thereof... what it does do, however, is offer a chilling perspective on THIS life. The "rich man" seems to be doing exactly what he should be, after all... "Gee, I'm sucessful!Let me invest capital now, in order to keep all of my gains and secure a happy, comfortable life for myself!" What a loser, didn't he realise... no wait, isn't that exactly what must of US want out of life? Sucess, enjoyment, lack of hardship?

Then, of course, the man dies. The story doesn't say (as Rob suggests) if God kills the man because of his greed, or why he dies, but either way, what good has the stuff done him? He who dies with the most toys does not win, it seems, unless he is also "rich towards God."

I read a chapter in a book once, where the writer argued that Christians should not have ANY material goods beyond the basic food, clothing, and shelter (and perhaps a car to drive the rest of their stuff to the food bank.) He argued that it it, in fact, immoral for Christ's followers to be rich. I was immediately and loudly offended- like HELL poor people are getting my fishing rod and box of DVD's- but the thought continues to haunt me. I'm not too worried about God's wrath at my wealth (though perhaps I should be... "how terrible for you rich", says Jesus, and we're all richer than most everyone in Jesus' day) but I wonder what would happen if all Christians did, indeed, give all their unnecessary posessions away. Think of the suffering that we could remove if we worked and gained income for the sole purspose of using it to help others!

"Thankfully" for a Westernized (read filthy, filthy rich to those in Mitchell's Plain or Vijayawada or most of the planet) person who rather likes his posessions, the Bible isn't that straightforward... the famous "heroes of faith" passage in Hebrews lists several rich people among God's favorites. God often rewards people with stuff in the Old Testament. Think of Joseph's advice to Pharoh in Genesis 41: "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food." Maybe the Rich Man in Jesus' story was a fan of Joseph?

I think Jesus had another message in mind for this story, beyond the perils of having too much stuff (a message, by the way, that Jesus harps on repeatedly.) I think he's worried about a wasted life. In my vast pile of books I brought to South Africa to help me survive the boring flights, I had one called "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. Unfortunately, the book was itself boring, and could be summed up very completely with the title. However, that doesn't mean he wasn't onto something. Jesus, like Piper, reminded his listeners that we all die. Someday. Hopefully not soon. Hopefully not painfully. But someday. (Sucks, don't it?)

In South Africa, that reality was never far from me. I wish I could say that I lived in constant threat of death and survived only due to my cunning, because that would be really cool, but it would not be true. I did not. I did, however, live in a country with close to the highest homocide rate in the world, and with road fatalities not far behind. A place where you a red light becomes a stop sign after dark so you don' that to sit there vulnerably, where there are shark-watchers on the beaches and many of the people you see are already infected with HIV. (Of course, HIV+ people are no threat whatsover to your health unless you choose to have sex with them, but they do remind you that life is terminal.)

I was robbed at knife-point and had a security guard point a shotgun at me. I captured thrashing, jabbing wildlife with a man whose head is scarred from a giraffe-kick. I worked in a prison filled with murderers without security present. Please don't misunderstand.. I was careful, and relatively safe, for most of the time, but the awareness that "if this goes wrong it could kill you" was never far away. In much of South Africa, you can sense the tension; it never really leaves. I imagine a person living in Hanover Park feels much like an Impala in Kruger; they must be on guard ALL the time. People look over their shoulders when they go for walks, and they lock their car 3 times just to be sure. It sucks.

In Edmonton, things aren't nearly so dangerous (thankfully), but the same principle applies, the principle I think Jesus was getting at. "Some time your life will end. What will you have to show for it?" Stuff, unless it's used to fulfil a larger purpose, is useless in and of itself. So what counts? Memories, perhaps? Historic Achievements? Good deeds? Relationships? Religious stuff?

Jesus and I are hardly the only ones to realize that people don't live forever here on earth. (After all, it's fairly obvious.) The Warrior Achillies in the movie "Troy" says it this way to a Trojan Priestess: "I'll tell you a secret. Something they don't teach you in your temple. The Gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again. " Achilles hopes to attain immortality through his deeds, which will long outlive him.

As a Christian, who believes that we DO get to live forever, that we become more beautiful, more lovely, more happy after we die, things are a little bit brighter, but the pressure doesn't go away. We only have one life. What will we do with it? If the story Jesus tells is any indication, God is not too impressed with the "good job, nice house, fun times" American-dream life, and neither should we be. In fact, I'm not too sure how we should spend our life, though Achillies may be onto something... we want to aim high. Killing people with broadswords may not be the calling for most of us (though, for some Biblical characters, it was!). Instead why not try to solve world hunger, cure cancer, slow, put an end to all wars, clean up India, make Mitchell's Plain safe, fix Zimbabwe (ok, so this one might be stretching it) and maybe even do some evangelism? Or at least put a dent in the aforementioned problems? What is to stop us... Lack of comfort? after seeing Indian children sleep happily on concrete, you realize that comfort is relative. Danger? The most certain reality of all is that we will die some day anyway. Poverty? Jesus, at least, thinks that "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

I'll be the first to admit that I'm afraid of death. Very afraid... though I believe in an afterlife, I haven't actually seen it. I'm not too worried about the propect of God being mad at me and restricting my heavenly rewards or sending me to hell, though perhaps I should be. (If there is ONE thing worth worrying about, this one might be it, and it's not something people seem to consider outside of fundementalist churches.) I am, however, worried- deeply worried- about leading an insignificant life. A boring, regular, pointless life in which I have a bit of fun, make a bit of money, get old and fat and accomplish nothing of value at all. Wouldn't that suck?

I'm reminded again of my favorite movie, Gladiator. If you haven't seen it, do so now... , I'm constantly struck by the moral questions asked by the action thriller, and by the intelligent portrayal of an afterlife SO glaringly absent in most of Hollywood. (Oh, and a man fights tigers... very cool!) In the opening schene Maximus, the hero, gives a great motivational speech before his troops go into battle.

"Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium (heaven), and you're already dead! Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity."

I love the two thoughts Maximum passes on to his men before they risk their lives. One is that what they do is important. Not just here, not just now.. but what we do in life, echoes in Eternity! The second is that, if that even if they die, so what?. If the worst that can happen is death, and death is the gateway to endless joy, what reason can their be to fear? May as well go out in a blaze of glory, trying to do something meaningful. William Wallace's line in Braveheart, my other favorite movie, comes to mind... "Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"

As a Christian uncomfortable with the concept of hell (as extensively explored in these posts http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-hell-sweet-moses-i-loathe-africa.html and http://filth-man.blogspot.com/2006/12/problem-of-hell-since-i-am-going-to-be.html) I feel obliged to point out that many religions, including mine, do not promise that everyone will have a pleasant afterlife. I don't feel ready to tell other people where they are or are not going when they die, and what they should do to change it... However, many, many people are ready to do just that. I would, however point out that making one's peace with God, getting a so-called ticket to heaven, is really important... but it doesn't end there. As Maximus says, what we do in life, echoes in Eternity... If we accept this as true, this makes the important things even more crucial, and the insignificant things even more pointless.

Philip Yancey lists several characterists he would expect from a society with no belief in an afterlife. (Obsession with youth, concealment of the old and the sick, research into extending life, emphasis on physical safety, avoiding discussing death whenever possible, a hedonistic life style where "we eat and drink, for tomorrow we die). He then points out that this mirrors OUR society. If we believe, really believe, that what we do in life echoes in eternity, that meaningful things really do last for ever and meaningless ones do us absolutely no good in the long run, what impact should this have on us? How should we live our lives?

I'm not sure I have the answers. Not sure at all. But I do feel, for once, that I'm asking the right questions.

Almost Stabbed.. and pictures!

Pictures (in reverse chronological order, beacause they're easier to upload this way)
1) Ex-President's R80 million home/waste, Windhoek
2) Loading oryx, Namibian farmland

3) Stubborn oryx, Namibian farmland

4) Dune, near Swakopmund
5) Unloading springbok, Namibian farmland

6) the glorious Kathryn and her filthy boyfriend, Mark's Camp

7) Wild Dog, Kapana breeding center

8) Giraffes, Tremisani Reserve

9) Elephant, Kruger Park

10) Tsessebe, Itala Reserve

11) the glorious Kathryn with penguins, Boulder's Beach

12) Lion, Addo Park


So, I am back in Cape Town. I was going to write a long, sappy post about all the things I will miss in beautiful South Africa... then some a-hole robbed me with a knife on Long Street. It was all very low key...

"Give me money!"
"No."
"Give me money or I'll stab you!"
"Oh..."

I think he was as nervous mugging as I was being mugged... I gave him R40 and he ran off, leaving R100, my wallet, my cell phone and my camera but not my pride. I was, and still am, quite upset with myself for not just punching him in the face.

Anyway, my sister bought my (somewhat sarcastically named) Uno of Joy off me... she wisely took it into the mechanics, who less wisely decided to screw up the steering. Maybe I won't miss Africa so much after all...

I also went to the Christain book store today, trying to find reading material for the flight back, reminding me again that I hate Christian bookstores. After wading through the piles of "Battle" books, one for each gender and age-group (the Battle is, of course, against even thinking about sex, and features stories about brave heroes driving with their eyes half shut so they won't be tempted to check out the joggers) I found some theology. I learned that...

"We must always take the Bible completely literally, unless God tells us to take it figuratively". This doesn't apply just to the creation-evolution debate but to, say, the book of Revelation. No word on "our God is a consuming fire" and what that means.

Not only are the heathens all going to hell, but most of us Christians are as well (salvation by faith alone does not cut it), unless, of course, we live really good, God serving lives as detailed by several hundred pages of book. Or, alternatively, we can say the short prayer written in the last chapter and it will all work out.

Ingnorance of the Bible, whether due to lack of acess to said Bible or lack of correct understanding, is no excuse. Luckily for us, we have writer X who has been endowed by God's spirit with the gift of flawless interpretation.

The "best" book title of them all was "Read the Bible for a Change"... Anyway, if someone knows of some good Christian books or writers, I would love some suggestions.

This may be my last post before flying back to Canada on June the 8th, arriving June 9th. I look forward to seeing everyone back home again.

PAINT PICS

The first picture is from the funniest, most graphic sex-ed session I have ever attended, facilitated by students themselves (with help from my partner.) The pointy finger symbolizes EXACTLY what you think it does!

What a school left negleted for months, a phenomenal group of students- mostly girls- did in a matter of hours yesterday. After several rooms were broken into through the roof (seems to happen every long weekend) the school had simply locked them, not bothering to clean up fibreglass, broken bottles, old textbooks and human pee. Thanks to the students of Groenvlei high school, who totally blew me away with their work ethic, two rooms were cleaned and one was painted. Next one gets painted Tuesday (hope you're up for it Kathryn). Great job kids, you rock!!! Your worth ethic, enthusiasm and desire to help make me believe in you.

Finally, a little reader's quiz: that means you, reading this blog, get to say what you think! I've had several discussions with people in both medical and religious fields on the subject of miraculous healings; that is, people cured of ilness or injury through supernatural power. I'm interested to see what you guys think (Christians and non-Christians, perspectives from other religions might be especially interesting). Do you think miraculous healings:

A) Do not occur. Supposed healings are either fake or occur due to a placebo effect. If God exists, he does not heal people physically.

B) May occur, but only in the realm of the improbable, not the impossible. Impossiblilites such as healed paralysis don't occur; however, God might give a person the strength to overcome, say, cancer or serious injury.

C) Occur, but very rarely and unpredictable. God can, and has, work clear-cut miracles to heal people. However, it is vastly more likely that a person, Christian or not, will not be healed miraculouly from ilness.

D) Occur frequently, among people "tapped in" to God's healing power. God wants to heal us, and will do so provided we approach him the right way (be it prayer, healing services, enough faith, or whatever.)

My personal beliefs hover between "B" and "C." If anyone has a cool healing story I'd also LOVE to hear it!

Role Models

Personal notes:
1) In less than a month, my girlfriend Kathryn will be gracing SA with her glorious presence!
2) This weekend my sister and I plan to grace Addo Elephant Park with our presence.
3) I won the Western Province Open... see comment on previous post for scores.

anyway...

You must be the change you wish to see in the World- Mahatma Ghandi

I've decided to be a role model. Not because I'm a terrific human being, which I am not. Nor because I think everyone else should be like me. Just because I can't do a whole lot else. I have discovered that I am unable to save Africa. (I know, I was suprised as well.) Nor am I able to do a huge amount of good while I am here. I like to think the repairs we instituted will help out one school , the motley group of prisoners take my words to heart and the kids I coach will stop getting pinned in a quarter nelson. However, with only 1 month left in my work, I'm not here nearly long enough to start any large-scale humanitarian project and I don't have enough faith to evangelize. So I've decided to be a role model, hoping desperately that when I leave Africa the good (but not the bad) parts of my character and knowledge and goals remain behind, transferred to a larger number of people with the ability to make a lasting difference.

My sister and I have decided that many of South Africa's problems can be traced back to a harmful attitude: South Africans want to live a Western life style of materialism, sexual freedom and wealth, without following the "western" strategies of safe sex, years of education and long hours of work. (Yes, this is a massive over-generalization... and also to blame are the already rich whites, who don't want to share with their former subjects.)

Inefficiency, slopiness and corner-cutting are absolutely rampant (see most of the posts on this blog.) You'll have to ask me for specific stories in person, they are many and fill us with "permafrustration". I'll only share one... a senior member of a humanitarian association recently asked me what country I was from, then proceeded to tell me in detail that a) the Canadian flag is hideous, pointless and stupid and b) I am a racist. He didn't stop until I snapped and threatened to hit him... who does that? Who goes out of their way to piss off people trying to make a difference for free? I wish this were an isolated story but it's merely the strangest one.

As a "real" westerner, I- we- can be role models by mere nature of our upbringing. The thought of my modelling order, work ethic, time management, organization or efficiency would be downright comical in Canada (I bet my parents are laughing as they read this.) In South Africa, I can. In SA I can be shocked about racist comments, question the need to bring a gun to a bar fight, tell students that a 60% fail rate is NOT normal for high school, and that the crime is the worst on FRIGGIN' EARTH and should never, ever be accepted as normal. It's hard, really it is, to convey the attitudes of apathy and ineffectiveness that one encounters here. It is, perhaps, impossible to convey them without sounding like an arrogant prick; if so, I appologize. However, after much thought, I have decided what South Africa needs is not so much my "life skills" teaching, or even my money, as my willingness to paint a school of my own initaitive, my desire to question why a car must only take R30 at once, my ability to befriend people of all races, my need to argue that volunteers need to be treated well so more of them will come. (This is a real problem; both missions and the places they work at, schools and prisons and churches, don't know how to handle help.) More importantly, SA needs full time South Africans to do those things more often.

On a more philosophical/religous note, shouldn't we all be role models? Certainly, all of us who call ourselves Christians- "like Christ"- should be. Imagine, for a moment, if all of us made the following pledge: I will inspire others to improve our world by my example. I wish I myself could honestly say that. The Apostle Paul asks us to "imitate us as I imitate Christ!" Wouldn't it be cool to be able to say that?

Each of us is good at something. My personal talent at the moment seems to be complaining. But who is to say that God, in His wisdom, did not place me among people who frustrate me- who could be doing so much MORE good if they did things more efficiently- for that very purpose? Perhaps God can use me to help others do their work better, to provide alternate viewpoints and to suggest ways of changing procedures? Perhaps this is my calling.

I started my post on a pretty cocky note ("I've decided to be a role model") precicely because I thought it might raise some eyebrows. But the more I think about it, the more I wish that all of us would say that. Our world is a hell of a mess (not just South Africa) and not-giving-a-crap is a major reason why. I know; I don't usually give a crap either. Perhaps that has to change. Perhaps I need to start to care; not once in a while, when I get to go to an exotic country to try to help out, but all the time. Few of us are going to be Ghandi or Mother Theresa or Nelson Mandela, though it doesn't hurt to try. All of us, though, can try to do something- can try to do a lot- to help improve our world. And if we were all role models, if we all tried to model "caring", I have to believe that even if our own efforts were futile, the ripple effect could lead to something big.

Role modelling is, after all (for Christians, and probably other religouns too) one of our core spiritual disciplines. Jesus calls us the "Light of the world"; the Kingdom of God is within us and is shown through us, apparently. We are the hands of Christ. God (and I'm not sure why, because we suck at it) has chosen us to be his hands. When Christ was on Earth, his hands healed. His hands comforted. His hands worked. His hands were tirelessly involved in the helping of, and the eventual sacrifice for, his fellow human beings. Why can't I be more like that? Christian living is- should be- so much more than avoiding drugs and sex and the f-word. We should- we must- be the change we wish to see in the world.

This post would not be complete without listing a few of my role models, people who have, and are, working their rear ends off to improve the lives of others. They are, in many ways, my inspiration. Many are Christians, many are South Africans, and all of them do amazing things...

They include a group of coaches putting together the largest wrestling club in the country to offer low-income students a chance at sucess; a businessman who finances the project, helps out his athletes financially and gives me a place to stay for free; my co-workers at the YMCA, willing to forgo a higher salary and put up with danger and hassle to help others; my uncle who gave up a lucrative medical practice to work amongst the poor and lobby the government for better AIDS care; my grandfather, who gave up a lucrative building contracting business to evangelize the Zulus in the hills of Natal; my parents, who support their kids financially and emotionally even when we leave them and do stupid, dangerous things; my sister, the most ethical person I know, who runs a project to feed a homeless shelter while studying medicine, and finally my girlfriend Kathryn, a constant source of support and encouragement even when we are far apart. You guys ARE the light of the world. May there be many more like you.

Evil Forces

"Every two weeks, I pick a man and I make him a woman. He washes my clothes, and brings me food, and I have sex with him. If he refuses I kill him."- General of the "28s" gang, Pollsmore prison.

"I left my gun on the table when my son was two. It was loaded. He shot himself through the chest, and died in my arms on the way to the hospital. I trust in God that, one day, I will see him again." Leader of the "Americans" gang, Mennenberg.

These two quotes (and to be honest, I paraphrased) are from a video discussing gang activity in South Africa. The first gangster, imprisoned for life in Pollsmore, has so much power he rapes people weekly, and has killed several, on the inside without reprocussion. The guards fear and respect him, and the entire prison population jumps at his command. He is a king in prison, ruling the fortress that should be punishing him by fear.

The 2nd gangster leads the most-feared street gang in South Africa (which is currently battling the 28s for drug turf.) Haunted by his past, inspired by his firm religous beliefs which make it crystal clear that his lifestyle as atrocious, he still has no intention of quitting his life of crime. The money made from tik (crystal meth) is just too good. The entire justice system is so corrupt- cops, judges, prison guards- that the crooks at the top can brag about their crimes on television and still get away with it.

Hearing such statements, and talking with members of their gangs in prison, I find it easy to believe in the Devil. In Evil, real and living and active, twisting ordinary human beings to do horrible things. When heterosexual men gang-rape boys for the fun of it, when devout Christians live lives that cry out "don't do this- ever!" something is seriously wrong. We can try to explain such behavior, I'm sure, citing psychology and sociology and pharmacy and historical factors. We might even explain it well. However, behind it all I see the hand of an evil mastermind, a spiritual being dedicated to screwing up the world as most it can.

Christians (and some other religons) call this being Satan, of course. In churches back home we believe in Satan- the Bible mentions him after all- but we don't think about him that much. Mostly, he seems to make people tired at prayer meetings and cranky at staff meetings at camp. In South Africa, theologans analyze the Bible regarding Satan to a ridiculous degree. They come up with highly inventive and shockingly specific explanations about Satan's past, his future, his present powers, the ranks and names of his evil minions, and even his appearance. While I find the theology fanciful, I now understand the emphasis: in Africa, the hard work of Evil Beings is easy to see, and people gleefully hop on board.

Consider, finally, what I consider the most depressing- and fascinating- part of the Bible:

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
Revelation 20

For those not familiar with the book of Revelation, this event takes place after Satan has been in prison for 1000 years and God rules the earth. Basically, people have been living in heaven-on-earth while Satan has long hours to think about not pissing God off anymore. However, Satan is (apparently) so evil that, knowing full well he will get his butt kicked again, he rushes off to cause more misery (much like many of Pollsmore's prisoners, who spend their whole lives in-and-out of jail.) And human beings, having lived in heavenly conditions for 1000 years, decide to fight for Evil. What could compel one to do such a thing? (Don't tell me they are innocently misled. They have 1000 years to see what is right, they can see God face-to-face and ask Him if they have questions, they even have the book of Revelation before them to explain what's going on.) Evil beckons and human beings willingly follow, spitting in the face of what could have been. We do not, today, have the ablility to see God face-to-face. Few of us will ever join a street gang. We may never even shoplift instead of working. However, I wonder how often we- myself included- do the exact same thing on a different scale. Knowing exactly, without a doubt, that something is wrong, we shrug our shoulders and do it anyway.

I hate to end this post on such a miserable note, but I feel that if I make it longer it will start to look dumb. I will mention, however, a glimmer of hope, perhaps the only hope against supernatural evil: supernatural good. My faith may tell about the devil, but it also says that no human being, no matter how messed up, is beyond redemption. In a subsequent post, which will require a lot of thought (and thus might take a while) I want to explore the possibility of human beings choosing to side with supernatural Good (and after all, many do... in Revelation, countless human beings do NOT follow Satan), what that looks like, and the results it has.

Issues with God

Lately it seems that I have issues with everyone. I always thought I was easy-going and could get along with everyone, but apparently not. I have issues with my former landlords over money matters, issues with my “employers” over communication and issues with school and prison officials over (their) laziness. Some of this is no doubt entirely my fault, but it still leaves me frustrated…

So anyway, I can just hear a bunch of Christians reading this and saying, “it’s okay. Just turn to God. He’ll take care of you.” And with that, we come to the reason for this post: my issues with God, whose help I would greatly appreciate to resolve my issues with people. Whatever it means to be connected to God, I’m not. Like a billion married couples in the world, we have bad communication. I struggle to understand God’s presence, and actions, in this world. The claim that the God of the universe gives a crap about what happens to us is rather presumptuous, but it’s one of the cornerstones of religion, and Christian thought in particular. God apparently talks to us, or at least to millions of other Christians. Since I have never heard a voice booming from heaven, and my dreams tend to involve my fighting animals and not spiritual guidance, I have asked a bunch of other Christians, especially Charismatic ones that emphasise such things, how God speaks to us.

Through the Bible…
The Bible is great for learning about morality and useful for understanding theology. (In fact, I should probably go research the Biblical principles of God-communication). I don’t know how much it helps personal communication though. The Bible doesn’t tell me if I should quit my job, start a project, lend a friend R5000, or drop a weight class. The Bible seems to suggest that the Spirit of God takes care of these things. Does the Spirit work together with the Bible? When I actually read the Bible (instead of reading about it) I get really confused. It's not made clear to me at all. I’ve even tried the “open the Bible” trick, where you throw open the Bible and trust that God wanted you to read the verse that appears. Sometimes it actually works… unfortunately, “God” tends to tell different people different things... For example, the last time I tried this trick, struggling to understand the conept of hell, I landed on a very Universalist chapter. I doubt a lot of charismatics have had the Spirit tell them that hell is temporary.

It's sometimes argued that, the closer you are to God, the more correct your understanding of Scripture. Works great in theory, but in practice? Billy Graham and Mother Theresa, two of the most “godly” people of recent times, have vastly different understandings of theology. And even if God does give some people flawless Bible understanding, how do the rest of us know who they are?

Other Christians tell me that, while they might not understand the theology of the Bible, certain verses speak into certain people’s lives. For example, the story of the ungrateful servant convinced me to indeed lend a friend R5000, but I’m still unsure about whether I heard from God, or just put myself on a guilt trip. Personal interpretation is not always benign either; the Dutch Reform church in South Africa decided that the story of Joshua spoke to them in a special way, which meant white people were the chosen race and black people the evil Caananites. I’m pretty sure that one wasn’t from God.

Through the emotions. You “feel the presence of God”. Maybe I’m the wrong person for this one, as I am not in touch with my feelings (my most emotional moments usually involve sports) and very cynical. In fact, this might be one of my barriers to experiencing God. At a worship session I want to make sure that I REALLY feel God moving, instead of just enjoying the music. (Usually I do neither, I’m just bored.) Nor do I especially crave “feeling” God, I just want Him to tell me stuff. I’m not totally immune to Spiritual experiences, though: I once spoke in tongues. It was very unexpected and very strange. I even tried to swear in tongues. Surely, I thought, the Spirit won’t allow this, and sure enough I could not swear. This very cool experience helps remind me of God’s existence, but is singularly unhelpful for planning my life now. If God communicates through feelings, does that mean I should trust my emotions? I thought that was the cornerstone of irresponsible living.

Through that “still small voice”. This is the one that honestly confuses me, and I’ve tried to get definite answers from many different people. How does God talk to us? Do we “hear a voice” in our brain, or feel a conviction, or assume that when another person gives adive it is coming from God? How does this one work? (I really want to know. Tell me.) A charismatic pastor explained to me that there are 3 “voices” we hear: God’s, Satan’s (or that of demons) and our own. It's almost like that cartoon with the angel on one shoulder adn the devil on another. A sceptic would assume that most thoughts, good or bad, come into my head without any supernatural voice … but let’s work with the “two voices” idea.

Some thoughts act loving, speak the truth, help another person) can be safely assumed to be from God, or at least agree with what God would say. Others (watch that pornography, tell that lie, punch that guy in the face) can be assumed to be evil, even if Satan himself didn’t actually say it. The problem is, there is a bunch of grey area. This encompasses both morally confusing areas (do I turn the other cheek or stand up for my rights? Can I teach kids a lesson I disagree with?) and practical, morally neutral ones (where do I live? What job do I do?). It seems that God would be giving the good, or correct, ideas, whereas Satan would imput the bad ones to screw up my life and make me unhappy... but how do I tell them apart? Is it God’s will, or the Devil’s, that I am in South Africa now?

Biblically, Satan seems to be pretty good at what he does. If Satan is speaking into my head, how dare I trust any thought at all? (I’ve been told he can fake near death experiences, so that unsaved people think they aren’t going to hell, which leads to a nasty shock when they actually do die. That takes a lot of power.) I’m not sure I believe this, but still… How can I possibly have faith in a voice that I presume to come from God when it might come from Satan? If Satan can decieve most of the world, why am I immune?

Even more troublesome, does God really want me to do what’s good for me? For all of the apostles, God’s will seemed to be torturous death. How can I trust that God wants something else for me? Perhaps, even if I find His will it will suck beyond all imagining. Perhaps God’s will is for sinful Africa to die of AIDS and crime, a plague of sorts. Where would this leave my peer education group and myself? Opposing God? The truth is I haven’t the foggiest idea what God wants for a bunch of things, so I have no reference point for deciding if in idea might be from Him.


Through circumstances.
Some Christains tell me that “there are no co-incidences” and that everything happens for a reason. I seriously doubt that, but I can believe that SOME things happen for a reason. ("You said 'shutout'? Of course the other team will score now.") More seriously, in my family, there have been numerous occasions of “opened doors” (as the Sound of Music would say) which seem to be signs from God. However, just like God’s voice, His signs aren’t always clear to me, nor do they unequivocally point in one direction. For example, does all the frustration I feel about Prison Work show that God is slamming a door in my face so I will move elsewhere? Or am I experiencing the “adversity from Satan” I hear so much about, and does God want me to fight it and persevere? Or perhaps God and Satan are both sitting there amazed at what a naïve fool I was to think I could do things in Africa without struggling all the tine. How do I know? Perhaps if I pray a lot, God will tell me.. probably through a feeling or a still small voice. Wow, I better stop typing before I say something really sacreligous.

Total surrender.
This one, I haven’t tried. I can’t even bring myself to sing “I surrender all” in church because I’d be lying. (Nor, for that matter, is Jesus everything I want.)According to many, this is the key to effective communication with God, so it may well be the reason I struggle so much. For me it’s like a big catch-22. I don't have faith without experiences, and maybe I can't get experiences without faith.

If God’s plan for me is to die under torture, like the apostle Peter, well maybe I’d rather live I’m not sure why, but I have trouble accepting that God really is, well, nice. I always picture him as more of a traffic cop. in my own will and accept less heavenly rewards. I’ve always distrusted God. “Okay, one lie… two lustful looks, and you said the F-word.. I’m gonna break your starter.” (In fact, the most supernatural force at work in my life seems to be bad karma. My pride AWAYS comes before a fall.) Clearly, God and I have problems beyond bad communication, but since communication is the one that seems to destroy early relationships, maybe I should work on that one.

Anyway, I always ask for comments on my blog, mostly because they make me feel important. This time, when I ask for comments, I have a purer motive. I really would appreaciate advice, or anwers. I’ll even take sympathy.

Bible Stories

My Car is Registered!!!!!!!!!

And, until I have actual experiences in schools and prisons, a little story about theology:

Everyone agreed it was a tragedy. At 6:45 pm, a bomb exploded at the hotel where the Summit of Christian leaders was held.. Five men were killed, respected leaders all: a Catholic Bishop, an Evangelical Pastor who specialized in End-Times, a Televangelist who followed the teachings of Calvin, a Liberal Christian writer and a Jehovah's witness who had somehow been invited. Why they had been murdered was soon determined by police. Why, in the deeper meaning of the word, this tragedy had happened was discussed for years to come. Perhaps Satan, fearing unity amongst his greatest foes, had goaded the bombers on. Perhaps there was no underlying reason, and things had just turned out this way because some people are psychos. Perhaps God, in his infinite Wisdom, had deemed it time to call them home. Or perhaps, he was simply sick of their bickering.

The five men's eyes slowly opened, or more accurately re-appeared, for their faces has been melted by the heat of the blast. When they saw again, however, their bodies were whole. The writer, whose hours hunched over a screen had not been kind to his vision, suddenly saw clearly, without glasses. They looked around in wonder. They stood on some surface- solid, by the feel of it, but it was unseen in the mist. The mist was thick below at ground level, but as you looked up it faded to a sky of brightest blue. Music, beautiful and bizarre, reached their ears, and a lovely smell- one that can not be described in words- reached their nostrils; or perhaps, their sense of smell itself had been heightened, like that of a wolf.

“Where are we?” the writer said. It was a simple enough question. They tried to think things through. A clap of sound, a flash of sudden light, unbearable heat- and then this. It was all very strange. For many moments, they stood and wondered.

“Heaven”, suggested the Calvinist. It was a good answer, he thought.
“Can't be”, the preacher scolded. “That can't possibly have been the rapture. We won't get to see heaven until the Second Coming of Christ.”
“Oh, you end-timers” scoffed the Calvinist. “You obsess about the obscure and disregard clear doctrine. Did not Jesus say 'today you will be in paradise with me'?”
“If we're in heaven, why is the Cultist here?”snapped the preacher, pointing at the Jehovah's witness, who was still a little stunned by the turn of events.

“A Jew of Jesus' time” offered the writer “would say we are in Sheol, the world of the dead, awaiting the final judgment..”
“At which time he-” the preacher pointed at the Witness again “will be cast into the :Lake of Fire!”
“What'd I do?” the man wanted to know.
“You rejected the free gift of Christ on the cross, you are not 'washed in the blood', you did not accept Jesus as your personal Saviour!”
“Yes, we ALL know that's how Jesus put it!” the Witness snarled back, dripping sarcasm. “How narrow can your mind get? Fool...”
“Watch it! Now you're really on the brink of hellfire!”

“If this is purgatory”, the priest wanted to know, “why is there no pain?”
“It's Sheol, not Purgatory! Purgatory is an invention of your church. You Catholics are all alike. Just wait until your share of plagues is added to you.”
The priest shook his head. “How you Protestants pretend to understand Scripture, while rejecting our Lord's explanations through the church will never cease to amaze me.”
“When I read, the Spirit tells me what it means!”
“The Spirit tells ME that you're an idiot!”
““You're a false teacher with a false gospel. Christ will tell you he never even knew you!”
The Calvinist chucked and shook his head. “Why God chose you lot before the beginning of the Earth I'll never know.”

That set off a whole new chorus of yells, which might have continued for ages of the ages, had not a pair of stronger, louder voices silenced them. There was shouting, load and raucous, but strangely joyous, mixed with the sound of cheering, grunting, and heavy thuds.They walked towards the sound, quiet and a little scared, and the backs of a multitude came into focus, standing in a ring, observing something in the center from which the shouting came.

“Father of many nations, is it? You'll soon see who your daddy is!
“You don't scare me, wait until I get a hold of your hair!”
“I killed thousands with a jawbone. You were scared of your brother!”

Squeezing themselves into the ring, overcome with curiosity, they saw two men, stripped to the waist. Both were wearing gloves, those small fighting gloves which protect your hand but don't pad your blows, as they rolled over and over on the ground, hitting and kicking and grappling, smiling all the while.

“You think you can take me? You could barely build an altar. I pulled down a temple.”
“You used the Lord's Spirit, that doesn't count. I wrestled against Him! Don't forget, I pinned the spirit of the Lord!”
“His angel...” muttered the preacher.

Apparently the hearing of the men was heavenly t0o, for the smaller one stopped- though his head was locked in a pair of monstrous arms- and tried to look up. “Let go for a sec, Samson... Sorry, what was that?”
“Don't you mean, you fought the ANGEL of the Lord? It said so in the Bible...”
“Oh, does it?” Jacob wasn't even breathing hard. Apparently fighting didn't make you tired in wherever-this-was. “the Bible didn't exist in my time, I haven't really read it. Guess I should though, wonder how I came off looking in there.”

“Never read the Bible?” all of them were aghast. “The Bible is the Word of God! His Revelation to Mankind! His one trusted source of Truth!”
“Oh, sorry, man.. Up here, it doesn't seem necessary.”
“You're telling me...” the preacher was still amazed... “that in four thousand years, you've never even bothered to look?”
He was a little sheepish. “To be honest, we keep pretty busy up here. Lately, we've been having a tournament of champions. Took me 3 weeks just to tap out David, you'd never guess how slick you get wrestling bears.”
“You know”, Samson put in, wiping a lock of hair from his face, “we've been getting a lot of Bible questions lately. Everyone who comes here talks about it. “
“Well, I'm sorry, God didn't give us lion-ripping power, he gave us his inspired Word!” more sarcasm. Samson just laughed. “Fair enough. I'll go see if Paul is busy. I understand he wrote the parts you guys read most.”

It took a while- or not, time didn't really exist for them- until Samson returned, bringing a man with him. This one didn't look like he would last long in the tournament of champions. He was short lean and slender like a runner, and his back was covered in scars. Each one shone a little, and you could tell he wore them proudly. He shook each of their hands in turn. “I'm Paul”, he said. “Pleased to meet you.”
“The APOSTLE Paul?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. What can I do for you guys?”

They had to think about it for a second. “Where are we?” asked the writer. It was, after all, the original question.

“In heaven, of course..”
“In the Kingdom of Heaven- you know, the one that starts on earth, or in Heaven Heaven, the new Jerusalem?”
“Do you SEE a new Jerusalem?” scoffed the end-times preacher.

Paul laughed. “John, John, John. I told him not to use those metaphors. People won't understand, I said. They take everything literally, I said. But no, John says, I just write down what I saw. Do you think I knew what the crazy creatures in Revelation stood for?”
The writer was used to being misquoted. “Poor guy.”

“Oh, I wouldn't feel too sorry for him”, Paul laughed. “You should have seen John tear into Matthew when he read his Gospel. 'How can you leave out the Entire salvation-through-faith part? You made it look like Jesus was all about good deeds! Heaven and hell based on feeding your neighbor, without a word about the prayer of salvation? John went on and on. Man, he's lucky Matt turned the other cheek!” Paul laughed. “All us Bible-writers get it sometimes. I get off easy, I think, I guess a “#1 Evangelist all-time” Crown of Righteousness makes people lay off a bit. Just James won't shut up. 'Don't forget works. You keep leaving out works. Faith without works is dead'.”

If they were aghast before, they were flabbergasted now. “You ARGUED? You guys disagreed?”
“Well, we were all inspired to God to write, but yeah, we all had our viewpoints, emphasised different things...”

The writer had been wondering for years. “Can you explain how the Bible was Inspired, please? I've always wondered. Did God dictate to you?”
“Of course he did, or the Bible would be just another book!”
“Inspired doesn't mean infallible!”
“Oh, wow, you really are a heathen!”
“Pull the log out of your own eye, buddy!”
“How about the other writers? Leviticus doesn't seem too special! And Song of Songs- are you kidding me, inspired erotica?”
“You ARE going to hell-” “I'm saved by faith, you dolt!” “You can lose your salvation, you know” “No, you can't” “Heresy, absolute heresy!”

Then they began to pepper Paul with questions.
“Did creation take place in 6 days?” “Is Evolution from Satan?” “Why were others punished for David's sins?” “Does hell have real flames?” “What's the unpardonable sin?” “Did you ever baptist infants?” “Why is gayness an abomination?” “Why couldn't the Jews eat pork?” “Does the rapture happen BEFORE or AFTER the millennium?” “Can women preach in church?” “What if they cover their heads?” “Why Must Catholics be so stupid?” “Is Jsus really the Saviour of ALL, or did you just kinda throw that in there?”

Paul sighed. A deep, heavy sigh. He raised his hands until they calmed down.

“I'll try my best to answer all your questions. Really, I will. But first, let me explain a few things.”
They were all ears. On earth, a Bible lesson from the Apostle Paul would have been a dream come true. What's more, they were all certain they would be proven right.

“In my time on Earth, I had many of the same problems you did. I was a Pharisee. An expert. I, too, struggled to understand my Scriptures. Songs of Songs? I didn't like that one much. Psalms? David praises the Lord for his protection in one, and cries out in fear the next. And the Prophets... ahh, yes, the Prophets. They were all over the place, stuff that happened lifetime, stuff fulfilled in Christ, stuff about the second coming. I knew the Prophets back-to-front, but I needed a voice from heaven to see they pointed to Jesus. Imagine that!”

“Of course, God gave me incredible knowledge afterwards, showed me the heavens and all that, taught me great mysteries so I could preach to the nations. That was my primary calling, after all. Those Books I wrote... letters, really... “Romans” to the church in Rome, “Corinthians” to those in Corinth, “Galatians”, ah yes, to those foolish Galatians. Still trying to do under their own power what God has already done. I was confident in my writing, of course, but I had no idea that God would use it shape our faith two thousand years later.”

He sighed again. “You guys realize that I wrote in Greek, right? We all have the gift of tongues now, of course, but if I gave you originals of my letters when you were still alive, you wouldn't understand a word. I tried- oh, wow, did a try- to put the unfathomable mysteries of God down in words people back then could understand. Frankly, I'm always amazed at how well you guys do now. Faith? Hope? Love? Eternity? Justice? Two thousand years of culture, two thousand years of evolving language, even those concepts don't mean quite what they used to in my time. If I was writing letters to the church in, say, New York, you bet I'd phrase things differently. I mean... how was I supposed to anticipate the Internet... man, would that have made my job easier. TV? Movies? Nuclear Bombs? Dating? Feminism? Hinduism? Liberalism? Even the Son was misunderstood, by His own friends, in His own time. What chance do I have?” He took a deep breath.

“I'm sorry, guys. You want Scripture? You want understanding? This is what I wrote: For now we see in a mirror, dimly, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully.

The Bible on Hell

Sweet moses, I loathe Africa time. I truly and utterly despise it. Nothing works. Everything takes forever. "Quick" meetings take two hours (in Afrikaans, of course), 9 AM means 12:30, and "we'll get your car ready" means "we'll tell the mechanic to start working on it, and we couldn't possibly get it registered before he's done." I've decided the problem in this country isn't racism or poverty, it's boredom. I mean, if you had absolutely nothing to do for your ENTIRE LIFE, wouldn't you be tempted to do drugs or have casual sex or join a gang? On top of that, if it's possible to get too much "God" I'm all over that. Comes from staying with charismatics, I guess, but in between gospel music, long Afrikaans church services, Christian radio and discussions on the Bible (not to mention truly loathsome Christian television) I'm really Spiritual-ed out.


Anyway, speaking of endless misery and the Bible, I finally found a computer where I can upload my study on hell in the Bible. It may not interest everyone. Here it is...


THE BIBLE ON HELL

What is not hell?

Most of the Bible does not mention hell. We might think of faith as mostly “escaping hell” but the Bible doesn't seem to. The “wrathful” Old Testament does not clearly mention hell. The afterworld in Old Testament thought, “Sheol”(Hades in Greek) is a shadowy place, which may not be consciously experienced at all. It is described by Ecclesiastes: “the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered..” Old Bibles mistranslate Sheol/Hades as “hell”. In one surprising parable in Luke, much beloved by hellfire preachers, a rich man IS tormented by flame in Hades. Was Jesus trying to change beliefs about what Hades is really like? Was he accommodating emerging Jewish ideas (which evolved in the time between the 2 Testaments) about the afterlife into a story about something else altogether? I’m not sure. In any case, Hades/Sheol is a temporary before-judgment holding place destroyed in Revelation.

Paul and John, the big New Testament theologians, don’t talk about hell (except in Revelation) and always present the Gospel as a glorious new plan, not as fire insurance to escape a horrible fate. Christians who grew up believing in hell can read it into a lot of scripture where first-century Jew or Pagan would not do so. When Paul writes he often sounds downright Universalist. This lack of hell in most of the Bible leads me to think hell is a sad backup plan, perhaps banishment for those who refuse to enjoy God’s grace, not a default torture chamber for all who don’t understand theology the right way. Perhaps, if we want to please God, the afterlife will take care of itself.

The most graphic and scary images of hell are presented by Jesus in the synoptic Gospels. He gave them for a reason, and we must not take them lightly. At the same time we should remember that Jesus, our final judge, welcomed sinners who showed the least spark of repentance, promised eternal life to criminals, and forgave soldiers even as they nailed him onto a cross. He also mixes hell warnings with those about the fiery destruction of Jerusalem (which happened 69 AD,I think), so sometimes it’s hard to tell what he’s talking about and how it applies to us.

It is argued by some that the word “hell” should not appear in Scripture at all. When English Bibles say :”hell” Jesus really said “Gehenna”. Gehenna was a disgusting garbage dump in Israel where Pagans had once sacrificed children, a symbol of shame and defilement. Garbage was burned there constantly. Was Jesus speaking about after-death punishment at all in when alluding to Gehenna, or earthy disgrace, or a literal death in the garbage dump upon Jerusalem’s fiery destruction? In some instances he does seem to be speaking of the afterlife, but other “Gehenna” teachings make more sense if they mean “you will be a moral garbage dump” (does anyone really think calling someone a fool will get you thrown into hell?) Interestingly, later Jewish teachings do equate “Gehenna” with after-death punishment, but only for a limited time.

What is hell?

Most “hell” teachings in the Bible are found in the first 3 Gospels, as warnings and parables of Jesus, and in Revelation. Neither parables nor Revelation lead to easy, clear theology. It might be heretical to suggest that different New Testament writers had different ideas about hell, but they certainly expressed them differently. To summarize…

Hell is where the “damned” go after final judgment by Jesus at the end of time, the “Lake of Fire” and “second death” in Revelation The verses that speak of the post-judgment situation are generally found in parables or apocalyptic literature, so it is hard to tell where (if ever) metaphor ends and tangible reality begins. Flame, darkness, eternal death and total destruction are often described, and may be metaphorical because they are somewhat mutually exclusive. All of them suggest hell is very unpleasant place.. Hell is frequently described as exclusion from, and contrasted with, God’s presence, people and rewards.

While some people do believe in a literal hell of fire, some theologians argue the exclusion from God’s goodness causes emotional pain graphically symbolized by flames. After all, when condemning child sacrifice, the Old Testament says that it “never entered God’s mind” to burn children in fire.

People are sad and angry in hell, weeping and gnashing their teeth People feel shamed in hell, and some feel tormented. Satan and his demons are fellow prisoners, not rulers. The punishment of hell is proportional to the evil a person has committed, and the amount of truth they rejected. Hell is not an either-or, one-size-fits-all punishment. Some theologians believe that this is a natural outcome; the more you love evil and reject God, the more miserable you must naturally be if God is in charge. Others believe that God directly administers punishment.

Who goes there?

Those who consciously reject God’s truth and choose evil instead. I was surprised at how clear the Bible is on “conscious rejection”, as shown by an unwillingness to repent and a desire to do evil. Once in hell, they try to argue their case instead of pleading for mercy. The parts of the Bible that stress salvation by “faith” and “belief” in Christ (Paul’s and John’s writing) don’t describe after-death punishments for the "unsaved".. Jesus threatens after-death punishment (and Gehenna) for the willfully disobedient. His strongest threats are to the biggest “conscious rejecters” in history- the Pharisees, who see Jesus’ miracles in person, and chose to crucify instead of believe Him! Jesus warns those who refuse to do good (especially helping the less fortunate) and in Revelation the condemned are defined by their evil deeds.

Belief in Jesus allows one to face final judgment without fear (though his followers still need to give account of themselves), but “faith” is often described in terms of love for God resulting in good deeds, not in the neat "say the prayer of salvation" package usually presented by churches. A person with “faith” who that does not show it in some way has no real faith, and one with little knowledge of Jesus can still show faith. The Bible is unapologetically vague about who goes to hell among those to who have little opportunity to become Christians (especially those who are loving people, which the Bible says comes only from God). However, it is clear that punishment is directly proportional to what was revealed and entrusted to a person. Surprisingly, people who are not conventionally “Christian” are referred to as believers, (in one case, Paul meets some “believers” and then tells them about Jesus!) having faith, pleasing God, and even accusing the more religious but less godly on judgment day.

Is Hell Permanent?

I was unable to get a consistent answer from Scripture, so the best I can do is present evidence for several viewpoints.

Eternal Hell: The majority viewpoint in most Christian groups. Hell lasts forever, and once you are there you are stuck. A believer in this view would point out that hell is sometimes described as “eternal fire” or punishment, and often contrasted with “eternal life”. The flames are “unquenchable” and there is no clear doctrine of escaping hell after death in the Bible. Once the door is closed, the gap can not be crossed, and you are separate from God forever.

Annihilationist: The punishment of hell ends with total destruction, without consciousness (or the damned are simply not resurrected). A believer in annihilation argues that Adam’s sin, and the wages of sin in general, are said to lead to “death”, not eternal punishment. Jesus was killed, not eternally punished, to pay the price for sin. The metaphors describing hell often refer to total destruction, and the burning up of sticks or chaff. “Eternal” refers to the permanency of annihilation, not conscious suffering.

Eventual Universalism: The belief that everyone is eventually saved. A Universalist sites the many verses proclaiming Jesus as the Savior of “all men” and “the world” and glorious prophecies about everyone worshiping God at the end. They also claim that the Greek words calling hell “eternal punishment” are better translated as “age-long correction”, a miserable but temporary condition meant to bring forth repentance and eventual salvation. (The Greek word, “aion” is often used Biblically to describe non-permanent things). In some parables on judgement, people are punished for a set number of blows or until their debt is paid, not forever. Peter talks about people being saved “through the fire” and Paul’s discussion in Romans on the big conscious rejecters of the time, Israel, ends with all of Israel being saved. Revelation can be interpreted as saying that people are excluded from heaven as long as they want to be evildoers instead of “washing their robes” so they can “drink from he river of life”. In the end, death is destroyed and suffering ends. Could this include the “second death?”

References (sort of)

I can’t find all the websites I used but Wikipedia and saviorofall.com’s links were common. Works by C.S. Lewis, J.P. Moreland and Rob Bell and others, as well as discussions with many of my friends, were helpful. Thanks, guys.

I used a “New Living Translation” Bible, but read other versions for some of the verses. It’s daunting to realize how much the theology of the translator shapes what our Bibles say.