Modern Concepts Of Heaven and Hell
This video introduces a key question at the intersection of basic Christian doctrine and the larger secular/ecumenical world. This question centers around the ancient belief that the nature and quality of one’s existence after death depends upon belonging to the right religion during life. In other words, this is the idea that your eternal destiny after death depends on the faith decisions you make while you are here on earth. I believe it is fairly obvious that there are some serious rational, and ethical questions that need to be raised about this ancient doctrine.
Certainly the Bible is full of passages that offer judgement and condemnation for those who are “others” who belong to cultures that differ from the culture a given Biblical author may be coming from. We should remember here that Biblical texts were composed during periods of intense and violent conflict, from the Bronze Age down to the Roman Empire. A common characteristic of human conflict is our tendency to wish those who oppose us for whatever reason would simply “go to hell.” This common tendency of ours came to be enshrined in doctrine and dogma, as conflict led to conflict through the evolution of Western Civilization.
What I have done here, in this short video is to examine I Peter 3:18-20, a passage which led to the idea that Jesus “descended into hell” during and after the crucifixion. This led in turn to an idea known as “the harrowing of hell.” In love based Christian teaching, the idea is that he tore the gates of hell off their hinges and left the whole place wide open, so anyone in that space is free to walk right out without conditions. This is also known as unconditional love.
Hell remains though, as an aspect of the human condition here on earth. Anyone who has ever spent time in a war zone, a refugee camp, a homeless shelter, or a burn unit knows this by lived experience. On this basis I define “hell” as the space we are in when it is impossible for us to accept the conditions of our lives and also impossible to change them. Hell is a word we use to describe human misery in the here and now. This is why all of us are called to do our best to improve the living conditions of those we encounter in life. Regardless of who we are, where we are, or what we are, our task is to improve the condition of the “least” of these our sisters and brothers. (See Matthew 25:31 and following.) Small improvements add up. They enable a person facing terrible, intractable circumstances to be strengthened and encouraged so that they can find the way to change what they are able to change, and to accept what they are unable to change. Change and acceptance can go a long way, but people in deep discomfort need care and nurture in order to find their way back to a comfort zone. Those of us who are in our comfort zone need to reach out and do what we can to help the rest of humanity!
Blessings and Peace!
Pastor Steve
Watch Pastor Steve’s accompanying video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mUe6EVEm_Xw
