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Thursday, March 11, 2010

(Probably) Controversial Musings...

A few things need to be clarified before I get to my most recent musing:

I've always viewed heaven as the place where God is and hell as the place where He is not. In that sense, Got is with those who want to be with Him for all of eternity (thus, heaven). Conversely, He does not force people to spend eternity with Him if they do not want to (thus, hell). He does not force people to accept Jesus' payment, because He allows them to choose their destiny. He is just (thus the required payment for sins), but He believes in free choice (thus the lack of forcing us to spend eternity with Him, which, in its own way, would be a form of "hell").

Since God is Love and all things good, heaven must be all of those things. The beautiful imagery of pearly gates, streets of gold, etc, could be ways people try to capture the sheer AWESOMENESS of God's presence. Conversely, the lack of beauty, love, peace, forgiveness, etc, would be painful--like a burning lake of fire or many of the other colorful descriptors we've all heard about hell.

I am not God, and I will never say I know who will and will not get into heaven. Yes, Jesus' death pays for sins, and it is a free gift that must be accepted. But what about that proverbial person on an island who never hears the story of Jesus? Would a gracious, loving God condemn that person to death simply because they didn't know the right words? I don't think He could, because if that person wants to be with God, then God would be reminding me of a petty politician arguing semantics if he turned this person away for not having the right phrasing. Or the completely correct religious doctrine.

Extrapolate that out a little bit: If a person's soul, their essence, the core of their very being, wants to be with God, wouldn't LOVE suggest that God would let that person be with Him? That's what the island metaphor and God's character suggest to me.
Since that's the case, let's take it a little further. What if a man is born into a different religion, searches for God, follows "God" as best as he can, and dies without ever hearing the name of Jesus. Would God condemn that searching man to an eternity without Him simply because another human being didn't have a "mission trip" to his land? That would be a pretty petty God, and that's not the God that I know.
Finally, I believe that every person is wired with a need for God. A "God-shaped hole" is in everyone, if you will. If you strip away the scars life has given everyone, I believe that in the purest form, we were made to be with God and our souls desire it. That would suggest that every person is like our theorhetical man who never saw a missionary.

I know that this logic seems to imply that everyone would go to Heaven, including Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden, and Hussein. It would also say that Ghandi, Confuscious, the Dalai Lhama, Mother Theresa and Billy Graham would be there. That might seem unfair, but if the people in the first list or the "unsaved" ones in the second had realized their soul's desire moments before their deaths, they could've gone to Heaven. Why would a good God deny their souls' true desire simply because they did not realize it until it was "too late"?

This seems to imply zero need for a hell. I remember one of my pastor's sermons where he was telling the story of Jesus' death and descent into Hell. On the third day, Jesus broke open the gates to Hell and said "buh-bye! I'm taking they KEYS with me!", according to Pastor Dave. That image stuck with me. Why couldn't Jesus have broken open the gates for everyone?

I know, I know. It's controversial, and it says there is no need for Hell. I'm working on that. but everything except the final conclusion seems to make sense to me, and it's simply my most recent musing.