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.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
(Probably) Controversial Musings...
Posted by Carrie Anne Johansen at 5:16 PM
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7 comments:
So, how about instead of wasting time pondering these things, you just use logic and realize none of it exists in the first place and that all notions of the afterlife are merely constructs of primitive human minds and the fear of death. We all die, and our life ends; deal with it.
First, I'd like to point out that while I'm attaching my name to what I say, by being anonymous you are cutting down your cridibility from the beginning.
Second, there is too much that is unexplainable without higher power. That's a separate post, and I'm not getting into it here.
Third, instead of condemning curious thought, how about you encourage an open mind? Because by saying I need to "use logic", you're implying that I'm NOT using logic. That doesn't present your view in a very appealing light.
http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html
The thin charade perpetrated by skeptics and atheists is losing all credibility as we continue to discover and catalog the genius that surrounds us. In light of this ever growing library of exquisite and functional design, it's becoming more difficult to regard atheism's recalcitrance and willful rejection of what is plain to something more than an increasingly thin charade foisted upon the gullible in a pathetic attempt to obviate their obligation to God and man. They know that if Jesus is Lord, EVERYTHING must change.
"In the view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support for such views.". (The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, p. 214)
“Christianity, as Jesus taught it, is a teaching capable of curing all the social ills of humanity. It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can. If he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and trampled under foot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the community to which he belongs lucky." -The World as I See It (1935) - Albert Einstein
Lord Irwin asked Gandhi what he thought would solve the problems between Great Britain and India. Gandhi picked up a Bible and opened it to the fifth chapter of Matthew and said: "When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world." -Gandhi
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. –Napoleon
Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, elucidate God's judgment as highly complex and not the binary cartoon antagonists and Scriptural ingenues make it out to be. A quick review can be had reading Malachi and working backwards through the latter prophets. Some things may seem obtuse initially, but armed with a little commitment and New Testament familiarity, within the described next age one finds a rich spectrum of stations occupied by those who reject or accept God, defying simplistic depictions of Heaven and Hell.
This variety includes scenarios wherein the wicked are loathsome to those in whom God's glory is now demonstrably manifest, vignettes of some longing to enter God's city but having to make due with weeping and gnashing of teeth instead while at other times a Christian is surrounded by the formerly wicked, each asking him to vouch for them. The many parables Jesus told of virgins, tenant farmers and stewards include endings reminiscent of Noah and the flood: former mockers wishing they had listened and now that it's too late, pleading to be let into God's haven, the one he earlier begged them with blood, sweat and tears to enter.
On thing is certain: Jesus' words are not hollow. Eternal life in unimaginable sublimity greets the faithful while regret, sorrow and suffering awaits those who suppress the truth God makes plain to all:
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
@ Rockford:
Thanks for your response, but it doesn't really relate to what I was saying or engage me in discussion in any way. I am not doubting the validity of the Bible or the explicitness of its commands. I am simply thinking and searching for a little intelligent and open discussion. I love the Bible. I love Jesus. And I think He loves everyone.
I have long thought hell was a needless place for an all-loving God. My interpretation is that it was perpetrated by Kings and Popes to control and manipulate political power.
It is a good thing to think critically about all we think we know, or all we believe we ought to know.
Keep questioning.
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