Follow-up question from Shannon: "so do you believe in hell? the whole question of salvation really intrigues me."
If God is all-powerful and just, then people who do bad things will have to be punished--which is what hell is about. (Of course, all of us do bad things, so I'm not rooting for that one, personally) On the other hand, if God is totally merciful, then some people will get away with horrible crimes scot-free, which would not be fair to the people who try really hard to be good.
Of course, this assumes that "being good" doesn't have any intrinsic rewards, and that we're all basically in it for the life of luxury after death, or else to avoid the fiery hell full of demons with hot pokers.
My take on it is this: developing a relationship with God, and experiencing the eternal life God offers are rewards in and of themselves. Prolonged exposure to God changes our perspective so that we want to be loving, good people, and we will be transformed by gratitude and joy, rather than fear or greed.
So to answer Shannon's question: I say no. I think that the price of disconnection from God is death, which is to say, ceasing to exist, not going to a place subject to torment by demons. If you don’t have eternal life, there is nothing that will continue after you die. People who focus on the material things of this world—power, money, etc.—and don’t develop a relationship with God will lose everything they worked so hard for. As one T-shirt I've seen says, “whoever dies with the most toys, still dies.”
While it means your life didn't have a larger purpose, I think ceasing to exist at death would be a demonstration of God’s mercy compared to other options. Without life, there is no suffering, even though there is also no joy. And you're not forced into a relationship that you didn't choose.
Heaven, on the other hand, is full communion with God, which begins in this life and continues into the next. By valuing who and what God values, by taking time to expose ourselves to God through spiritual disciplines like prayer and study, and by allowing God's Spirit of love and generosity to invade us, we can have heaven on earth.
3 comments:
Amy, this is the clearest explanation I've ever heard. It makes so much sense to me. Thanks.
Amy - while I think that your explanation is cogent and logically fulfills the needs to have a belief system with a system of reward and punishment (a dichotomy that humans are especially attuned to), I think it is a flawed perception to recognize that people can only be loving, good people through god, and in that way, make their heaven on earth. I think there are plenty of people who strive toward being loving and good in their everyday life, without any belief in god, or any hope of eternal reward for it. Is it so much less to want to be good and loving for good and loving's sake, rather than for eternal life or out of fear of hell and damnation? Does that mean that one's life has less of a purpose than one who finds goodness and grace through god?
So there is no Hell? Hell is ceasing to exist?
Personal opinion or supported by scripture?
Post a Comment