A Practical Look at HEAVEN & HELL

Part 1: the Hereafter

Well, the Westboro Baptist Church is at it again; this time condemning a young girl who was selling lemonade to support Equality House — the rainbow-colored dwelling that serves as the headquarters for Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization that campaigns for human rights, gay rights and anti-bullying efforts.

Now I am not about to condemn the WBC for voicing their opinion. Personally, I believe that we don’t need anti-hate-speech laws as much as we need folks to stand up (firmly yet compassionately) to all those uttering such vile & fear-filled ignorance.

That having been said, I do want to take issue with the words the WBC used to make their point, namely: “Fags & enablers all burn in Hell … Lemonade won’t cool any tongues.”

So here we are, faced with it once again: Christians professing the eternal torment of Hell for all “non-believers” …  Frankly, if this was simply an isolated judgment made by only a few radical members of the Christian religion, then it would be easier for all of us “sinners” to simply shrug our shoulders, forgive them their trespass against us, and get on with our lives.

AND YET this is not the case.

As uncomfortable a Truth as it may be, being sent to Hell for refusing to worship Jesus Christ as one’s “only Lord & Savior” is one of the central tenants of the Christian religion — a religion whose members currently comprise almost one third of the entire population of planet Earth; a religion whose members fill well over 90% of all government offices & judicial positions in the United States of America.

Most non-Christians blandly dismiss such condemnation as “childish” or “primitive” or even “ignorant”, preferring to bury their heads in the sand rather than become informed enough to face the wave of bigotry & intolerance that steadily approaches their society’s shores.

And yet, I would like to discuss an obvious problem that almost all non-Christians, and even most Christians, consistently refuse to consider: WHAT IF CHRISTIANS ARE RIGHT?

What then?

If you are a non-Christian and truly want to be as “advanced” & as “enlightened” as you like to think you are, then it is necessary for you to set aside your arrogance for a few moments and face the (admittedly seemingly extremely slim) possibility that your unconditional acceptance of all your human brothers & sisters will indeed be punished by a celestial tyrant that would rather have you cowering before his wrath than reaching out to Care-fully respect the followers of other faiths.

If you are a Christian and truly want to be as “devout” & as “faithful” as you claim to be, then it is necessary for you to set aside your piousness for a few moments and see your God for exactly who He is, and then thereafter consciously come to grips with worshiping such a God anyway.

And the funny thing is — and here’s the truly Good News for all non-Christians, by the way — in the conservative Christian scenario, Hell is not such a bad place after all.

And, on a slightly less amusing note – especially for Christians, IF such a spiritual “pruning” does indeed take place at some point; IF Jesus does indeed someday swoop down and angrily sort the sinners from the saved, allowing only the latter to rise up to spend eternity with their all-powerful God, such a “Paradise” is really not going to be such a pleasurable place to be.

Allow me to briefly explain …

First, FOR THE DAMNED (i.e. all non-Christians), it is important to remember the simple fact that in order for you to truly suffer at all — even in this life, it is necessary to be conscious of your existence; it is necessary to focus on yourself & your current predicaments, whatever they might be. Thus, in order for any of us to suffer in Hell, we must maintain a conscious recognition of our individual identities.

Of course, if we remain conscious in this manner, then we also remain able to choose how we respond to whatever is happening to us.

Non-biased pain-studies have consistently shown that over 90% of all perceived pain does not come from the external trauma that originally stimulated it (e.g. the needle poking into our finger, or the fiery lake into which we are cast), but rather our internal resistance to that trauma (i.e. our fear that the needle will remain there, or our fear that we will never be freed from our fiery torment). It is also quite logical (and has been repeatedly verified) that anytime one focuses on the well-being of another, he or she cannot also be resisting his or her own pain. Thus, it follows (and is empirically true) that in all our moments of discomfort — be they in this life or in the hereafter — purposefully caring for others in pain almost completely eliminates all our personal suffering.

And in Hell, at least according to Christian mathematicians, there will literally be billions of other Souls nearby, most of them in states of immense pain. As a purely practical matter, this means lots of ready opportunities for each of us to reach out and ease the burdens of a brother or sister, which will eliminate almost all of our own  pain in all the moments we choose to do so.

Even in the worst case scenario, where God is over-the-top Machiavellian and places us each in eternal solitary confinement while being tortured, nothing can stop us from openly & compassionately forgiving God for His unjustified malice — nothing can stop us from Caring for God; for reminding Him of the pure LOVE that He has so obviously forgotten.

And in all the moments we choose to do so, our personal suffering will dissipate just as thoroughly.

Now I’d call that a pretty good gig … all things considered.

Next, FOR THE SAVED (i.e. in this scenario, all Christians) — for all of you who will be residing in Heaven, things actually won’t be so rosy.  You see, the same psychological realities will apply to you as well — namely, that in order for you to truly revel in your salvation, in order for you to experience the eternal Bliss & Joy of residing with your God forever, you too must remain conscious of your individual existence. And as such, both your innate moral foundation (a.k.a. your conscience — the “Advocate within” of John 14 & 15) as well as all your memories of your life on Earth “amongst sinners” must remain intact.

And here is where things get problematic …

You see, as much as you might rail against this premise, every one of you has a fundamental understanding of Fairness & Justice & Kindness & compassion. Every one of you understands the very real & dramatic difference between a LOVE that is truly unconditional and a “love” that is based on satisfying a set of demands.

And every one of you “up there” in Heaven will know very well that your God – either directly by actively condemning sinners or indirectly by passive allowing them to be so condemned — has sentenced billions of mostly Good Souls to an eternity of torment, most of them merely for committing the relatively innocent “crime” of refusing to believe a religion that is based in having devout faith in the existence of a God for whom there is absolutely no concrete evidence whatsoever.

Is this a mistake – even a “sin”?  Maybe so …  Is this a mistake worthy of eternal punishment; a “sin” worthy of eternal torture & suffering?  Of course not!

And here’s the kicker: as one of the “saved”, you are required to be required to spend forever not only hanging out with such an unjust & cruel dictator, you are going to have to be actively worshiping Him while you do so.

That means that while Gandhi & Thich Nhat Hanh & Peace Pilgrim & the Dalai Lama & Krishnamurti & Rabindranath Tagore & Rumi & so many more brilliantly Kind human Souls are writhing in Hell, you are going to be joyously praising the God that condemned them to that despicable travesty.

And you better believe that your conscience is not going to let you enjoy yourself while you are doing so — not for one minute.

You see, you are a Good Soul as well, not because you happened to “win the spiritual lottery” by guessing right about Jesus Christ, but rather because you too are Kind, you too are Caring, and you too are Just; because when you see a brother or a sister suffering, you too — just like all those “sinners” — long to ease their pain, and it is not possible for you rest easily until you do so.

As such, IF the Christian doctrine proves to be true, then the Heaven you inherit will for you become simply another version of Hell.

And yet FEAR NOT, for you too will have an alternative — you too will have a choice. For you will still be conscious, and thus will still have free will. Just like all the brave men & women throughout history who have challenged despots & dictators, you too will be able to stand before God and Peace-fully protest His callous cruelty.

We in Hell might not be able to escape our torment, but you can set us free. You can be the ones who remind God of the latent perfection of His Loving Grace. You can remind Him what it is to be Kind to the ignorant & what it is to Forgive those who trespass.

In essence, my Christian Friends, YOU can be our Salvation.

Personally, I have faith in a very different God — a God who is not nearly as personal and therefore not nearly as petty.

And yet if I am wrong, I have even more Faith in the innate Goodness of Christians — I have even more Faith in the courageous many who will to go up to Heaven and make things Right again.

Amen … Let it be so.

Filed under: A few favorite Religionators by Scaughdt