In my experience there are four broad views – held by people who claim to be Christians – about hell. The whole subject is problematical, particularly for the second and third groups. The first and fourth categories have more clear-cut positions.

But first, here’s one statement of the problem, in the preface to Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, chapter 8: ‘What’s wrong with religion? Why be so hostile?’ (p. 279).

“Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man – living in the sky – who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time… But he loves you!” (George Carlin).

1. Some *sectarians* I’ve met actually believe that only they – or perhaps one or two other groups very much like them – will go to heaven. The majority of the human race will suffer eternal torment – including babies, mad people, and those who’ve never heard of Christ. These people preach about hell ‘without tears in their voice’, and even with hatred, seeming to give the impression they’re happy these other infidels – including many who call themselves Christians, but are apostate – will spend eternity in hell, without reprieve.

2. The second group – *conservative* or evangelical Christians – believe the majority of the human race is destined for hell, but may take seriously the Romans 2:15 suggestion that some who follow the law (‘written on their hearts/conscience’) will ‘perhaps be excused’ on the day of judgment – together with young children, mad people, and maybe others totally ignorant of the Christian gospel. There is another significant sub-group who believe in some form of ‘conditional immortality’ or ‘annihilationism’: the souls of those who resist God actually ‘perish’, cease to exist in the after-life. My hunch is that this doctrine is partly driven by the horrible notion of everlasting torment or torture being incompatible with the will of a loving God. John Stott belongs there somewhere.

3. The third group – I’ll call them *progressive* Christians – believe that yes, there is a hell, but we mustn’t take literalistic black and white (or cold/hot) categories of existence into the spirit-world. Hell and heaven are an eternal experiencing of the attitudes we’ve cultivated in this life. Richard Rohr (‘Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality’)

seems to hold a view roughly like this.

4. *Universalists* believe God’s love and grace can’t be finally conquered by unbelief or rebellion. All will be saved. ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive’ (1 Corinthians 15:22) is their text. Every human dies; every human is loved unconditionally by God and will experience bliss forever. (However, moving to an ‘ultra-liberal’ extreme, I know a Christian minister who doesn’t believe in the after-life; I know another who affirms reincarnation).

Now, they’re very broad categories, and there are more sub-categories within each than I’ve mentioned.

But that’ll do for now… I’ll be back when fewer people demand my time with problems!!! —

Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher

http://jmm.org.au/