Sometimes a
relationship metaphor is easier to understand in context of what
'Hell' may truly be (no, I'm not talking generically about
mother-in-laws). Try to think of time when you first fell in love with
someone. Back when just to hold this person's hand gave you a rush.
Early when all the chemical receptors in your brain were firing actively, and
you felt the sensation of extreme happiness and contentment just from 'being'
with this person. The place really didn't matter, the circumstances
really did not matter, money was not the object - time was. In this
condition of 'young love' just to be with this person was considered joy.
To be away from this person was hard. You miss them when they are not
around. You look forward to getting back with them, whether it is work
that separates you, distance, other obligations, no matter - getting back
together is again considered 'joy' - begin apart considered 'miserable'.
This is the basis for beginning to understand 'Hell'. True 'Hell' is separation from the source
of all things 'good'. It is a conscience recognition that you are forced
to be apart from the things you crave the most - joy, peace, contentment,
fulfillment, etc.. 'Hell' becomes the condition you find yourself in, as
a result of this separation. In short, Hell being the separation from all
'good' things is torture, not death. It is cruel in the sense that you
realize your state, and would be crueler still if you were unable to do
anything about it. Hell is NOT the same as non-existence.
Death has been
compared to something we understand much better, namely sleep. When you
go to sleep at night, time passes by almost immediately to your conscience
mind, and you wake up in the morning hours from when you first laid down,
without a sense of loss of the time that has passed while you slept.
Death, or non-existence, is similar in that to the conscience that is now dead,
time is irrelevant - it passes at lightning speed - though the living who are
left behind by the dead person experience time second-by-second,
minute-by-minute, etc.. To the dead conscience mind it is impossible to
determine if a minute has gone by, or an hour, or a decade, or a century, or a
trillion centuries - time becomes irrelevant. In death, you experience nothing,
much like in sleep, you are not eating, tasting, working, conversing,
etc.. Think of death, or non-existence, as deep restful sleep without dreams.
'Hell' therefore is
NOT death. Death would bring an end to 'Hell'. Death would grant
the sufferer an end to his suffering. There is no pain in death, as there
is no joy. Death is not a competition between 'good' and 'evil' it is
neither. This is according to the Bible, what God has in mind for those
who choose not to embrace His choices, but continue to choose another
way. At some point those who choose pain, become aware they have done so,
they recognize the 'Hell' they are in. To forever hold them in this
condition is NOT God's plan. The 'justice' side of God allows for the
'punishment' of the wrong-doer for a period of time, and then it ends,
permanently. 'Hell' is NOT something that lasts forever, like all things
associated with evil, 'Hell' is scheduled
to end. And what’s more, Death is scheduled to end.
People most often
associate the Biblical imagery of fire raining down from heaven and bubbling up
from the earth, at the end of time, outside the Holy City, as 'Hell'.
This is way too limited a viewpoint. You are fully capable of
experiencing 'Hell' right here on earth - no need to wait - step right up to
the front of the line - all you need to do is realize where you are. Have
you bought in to the idea that gratifying self is the only way to happiness -
if so, - welcome to 'Hell'.
The cruel truth is you will always be chasing happiness and never quite getting
there, then you will die, too bad for you. Or are you a Christian who has
decided you don't really need a God, you can do it yourself, you can by sheer
power of your good works, good worship and good intentions earn your way
to 'Heaven' - sorry, - welcome to 'Hell'. You will NEVER be good enough,
regardless of who you condemn as worse than yourself, or the number of
unselfish acts you perform, it will never be enough. Or are you a person
who does not even accept the idea of a God, content to be 'good' on your own
and find fulfillment yourself in the years you will exist - again, welcome to
'Hell'. Your quest will go without completion, your best efforts will
never be enough, you will find yourself at the end of your days, alone, miserable,
and all too ready for death much like all those who went before you who held
similar ideas. And lest anyone think just because I am the author here I
have somehow avoided a similar fate - wrong, I have been here in 'Hell' to
welcome you all. You see I realize my own separation from my Bible God
quite keenly. And although there has been a way made for us to reconcile,
it has not reached its fulfillment yet, so until it does, I live here in 'Hell'
with the rest of us.
That fiery imagery we
associate with an eternal 'Hell', paints a picture of a vindictive God, not a
benevolent one. It also makes Him a liar according to His own
words. He told Adam and Eve in the garden if they ate of the fruit they
would surely die. How can you
'surely die' if you are permitted to exist forever in a fire laden tortured
state (by the way just outside the city gates of heaven, where I am sure the
smell is quite pungent).
How can the magnitude
of the evil deeds you do here on earth ever warrant a punishment of torture
that lasts eternally? Satan, Hitler, Saddam, whoever you ascribe as an
evil person (be careful, the mirror is not far away) may have committed some
horrible atrocities that do deserve some punishment for sure, but for how
long. How long should they be tortured? When will it be enough, a year, ten years,
longer? At some point, enough becomes enough, even the victims of these
tyrants would eventually begin to have pity on them. At some point, they
have paid in full. To continue to torture them infinitely beyond that
point is NOT benevolence and therefore is NOT what God has in mind.
At some point, the
gracious condition of death, puts an end to the punishment, both of the
internal awareness of the Hell we exist in, and perhaps the very real outside
flames we picture at the end of time. And death puts its victims into a
state of eternal non-existence. And then 'Hell' exists no more. And
then 'Death' will also pass away, as it will never be required again.
What will exist at that point will be the same thing that has always existed -
perfection - a Universe united in choosing only 'good' - having the knowledge
of 'evil' without ever wanting to experience it again. Universal Unity of
all sentient beings around this singular premise, as anything else would be
destined to implode.
So then 'Hell'
represents the separation we feel
as we realize how far we live from the one we wish to be close to - namely
God. And the good news, is that we do not have to live in this condition
forever. A path towards reconciliation has been made. Seeking
perfection is not the same thing as escaping Hell. It may have that
tangible result, but understanding what has meaning is an entirely different
thing than just trying to avoid the unpleasant.
So often, Christians
have preached Hell to 'scare' non-believers into Heaven - as if that could even
work. Instead of understanding the true nature of Hell, they paint it as
a place where people go 'for doing bad things' and get tortured there by a
benevolent God forever and ever and ever. This is ridiculous and wrong
and attributes the nature of evil to God, no wonder thinking people begin to
question His existence. You do not 'go to hell' because of your misdeeds
any more than you 'go to heaven' because you’re a 'good' person. To 'go
to hell' you would have to consistently avoid reconciliation with God, despite
His best efforts to love you. It requires a GREAT deal of effort to avoid
that love He wants to show you. It requires determination, stubbornness,
and commitment to avoid God at all costs. Logically, it requires the
consistent choice of self, to the exclusion of everything else, until finally,
your time expires and your life ends. And what a life of sadness and pain
you will have achieved. You will have had a remarkable success at
avoiding anything of joy, throughout your life. Oh you may experience a
few momentary pleasures, a few feel-goods, but nothing that lasts, is real, or
is worth holding on to. 'Hell' is NOT a fun condition; it is recognition
of the state of torture you may find yourself in. And it is something you
don't have to experience.
In our next post we will begin to
finally start moving towards meaning, and begin to examine what this means on
an individual basis. Stay tuned ...
No comments:
Post a Comment