Part 2: Talking About Hell Without Coming Off Like A Fundamentalist

December 8, 2014 | by | Being "Missional", Vineyard

I still have some burning questions about hell such as… Where is it located? and What is it like? I question the traditional view of hell. I don’t believe it’s the eternal torture chamber depicted in Dante’s Inferno. But nevertheless, based on the sober warnings of judgment by Jesus’ and other New Testament writers, I believe hell is a reality and that it’s bad! Still there a lot I find puzzling about it. I know I’m not alone on this. But despite all that, when questioned about hell I believe we can talk about it in a helpful way without coming off like a raging fundamentalists.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject that you may or may not agree with but might fire up your thinking as you wrestle with how to talk about this very difficult, and emotionally charged subject…

Rather than being a hindrance, I’ve found that acknowledging I don’t have all the answers when it comes to judgment and hell helpful. Admitting I have questions has actually enhanced my credibility. Most people find that type of honesty refreshing and keeps a difficult conversation from turning into an argument…

I try never to begin faith conversations talking about judgment and hell. When it’s brought up I try to first steer the conversation to a good God’s response to evil…

I can’t talk about judgment and hell without first talking about the nature of sin. Rather than a list of misbehaviors I present sin as being a fatal spiritual condition, the result of evil that’s like a deadly virus we’re all infected with that attacks and defaces God’s image in us, sabotaging our ability to live right. As this sin-disease runs its course we become less and less the amazing humans God created us to be causing us to live in ways that lead us away from God and his life-giving presence. Separating us from God, bringing spiritual, physical and eventually eternal death. This final condition, I believe, is hell. I believe the existence of evil makes judgment a necessary part of the solution. That’s why the cross is the only antidote…

Hell is what happens when humans say “no” to a good Creator God, which ultimately means saying, “no” to being human. It’s dehumanization. So I imagine hell to be the final state of being when sin has run its full course: The progressive shrinking of a human life. A horrible state of eternal unlife that’s the opposite of blissful eternal life, which apparently, from the way Jesus referred to it, is a horrible condition…

This also means that human choice really matters. Hell is self-inflicted. God doesn’t send people to hell. C.S. Lewis wrote, “The doors of Hell are locked from the inside.” People freely choose to reject God’s gift of life. In fact God is incredibly patient and has done everything in his power – even giving his beloved Son – to ensure no one has to end up there…

Even though I believe that there is a hell of some sort I don’t believe God is a monster who is determined to fry as many people forever. The God Jesus made known is actually crazy-generous, over-the-top loving and super caring…

I don’t like the idea of hell or the thought of people I care about being eternally separated from God. I’d rather avoid the topic altogether. But nevertheless I believe in hell because Jesus believed in it and was motivated big time by it. So that being the case I have to get past whatever discomfort, distress or embarrassment issues I have and do whatever possible to be on mission with Jesus who said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10), which includes finding honest and intelligent ways of talking about the possibility of final judgment without coming off like a raging fundamentalist when the subject comes up.

I still have some burning questions about hell such as… Where is it located? and What is it like? I question the traditional view of hell. I don’t believe it’s the eternal torture chamber depicted in Dante’s Inferno. But nevertheless, based on the sober warnings of judgment by Jesus’ and other New Testament writers, I believe hell is a reality and that it’s bad! Still there a lot I find puzzling about it. I know I’m not alone on this. But despite all that, when questioned about hell I believe we can talk about it in a helpful way without coming off like a raging fundamentalists.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject that you may or may not agree with but might fire up your thinking as you wrestle with how to talk about this very difficult, and emotionally charged subject…

Rather than being a hindrance, I’ve found that acknowledging I don’t have all the answers when it comes to judgment and hell helpful. Admitting I have questions has actually enhanced my credibility. Most people find that type of honesty refreshing and keeps a difficult conversation from turning into an argument…

I try never to begin faith conversations talking about judgment and hell. When it’s brought up I try to first steer the conversation to a good God’s response to evil…

I can’t talk about judgment and hell without first talking about the nature of sin. Rather than a list of misbehaviors I present sin as being a fatal spiritual condition, the result of evil that’s like a deadly virus we’re all infected with that attacks and defaces God’s image in us, sabotaging our ability to live right. As this sin-disease runs its course we become less and less the amazing humans God created us to be causing us to live in ways that lead us away from God and his life-giving presence. Separating us from God, bringing spiritual, physical and eventually eternal death. This final condition, I believe, is hell. I believe the existence of evil makes judgment a necessary part of the solution. That’s why the cross is the only antidote…

Hell is what happens when humans say “no” to a good Creator God, which ultimately means saying, “no” to being human. It’s dehumanization. So I imagine hell to be the final state of being when sin has run its full course: The progressive shrinking of a human life. A horrible state of eternal unlife that’s the opposite of blissful eternal life, which apparently, from the way Jesus referred to it, is a horrible condition…

This also means that human choice really matters. Hell is self-inflicted. God doesn’t send people to hell. C.S. Lewis wrote, “The doors of Hell are locked from the inside.” People freely choose to reject God’s gift of life. In fact God is incredibly patient and has done everything in his power – even giving his beloved Son – to ensure no one has to end up there…

Even though I believe that there is a hell of some sort I don’t believe God is a monster who is determined to fry as many people forever. The God Jesus made known is actually crazy-generous, over-the-top loving and super caring…

I don’t like the idea of hell or the thought of people I care about being eternally separated from God. I’d rather avoid the topic altogether. But nevertheless I believe in hell because Jesus believed in it and was motivated big time by it. So that being the case I have to get past whatever discomfort, distress or embarrassment issues I have and do whatever possible to be on mission with Jesus who said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10), which includes finding honest and intelligent ways of talking about the possibility of final judgment without coming off like a raging fundamentalist when the subject comes up.