Back in June of 2013, the Westboro Baptist Church struck 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 primitive opinions.   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.”  I take issue with these words for their hateful content, and I take issue with them because they are just the latest example of the disturbing trend of conservative Christians professing – nay, almost exalting – an eternal torment in Hell for all “non-believers” …

Frankly, if this was simply an isolated judgment made by only a few extremist 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 sadly not at all the case.

 

Indeed, as uncomfortable as it might sound to many, being sent to Hell merely for refusing to worship Jesus Christ as humanity’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 currently comprise almost 75% of the citizenry of the United States, and a religion whose members fill well over 90% of all government offices & judicial positions in that country.

Most non-Christians seem to blandly dismiss Christianity’s condemnations – shrugging them off 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 invades their society’s shores … Such a passive dismissal of such a powerful cultural force is a problem unto itself; allowing the highly judgmental and patently intolerant Christian dogma to steadily infiltrate our world’s laws, influence our communities’ leaders & even invade our private lives.

 

And yet, today I would like to avoid the fruitlessness of any typical religious debate.  Instead, today I would like to discuss the obvious problem that almost all non-Christians (and even most Christians) consistently refuse to consider: namely, What if fundamentalist Christians are right? … What then?

Indeed, if you are a non-Christian and truly want to be as “advanced” & as “enlightened” as you might 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 soon be harshly punished by a celestial tyrant – a divine dictator that would rather have you cowering before his wrath than reaching out to humbly & Care-fully respect the followers of other faiths …

And on the other hand, if you are a Christian and are truly as “devout” & as “faithful” as you claim to be, then it is possible for you as well to set aside your piousness for a few moments and see your God as the often unjust despot that He himself says He is — and then thereafter somehow consciously come to grips with continuing to worship and adore Him anyway …

Now I realize that sincerely thinking about God & life & death in this way can be a bit disconcerting for all of us, and yet I do have some Good News.  You see, when we non-Christians (i.e. “the damned”) take a step back and objectively examine the conservative Christian scenario, we come to understand a most amusing Truth: namely, that the Christian version of Hell is not such a bad place after all – that if such a punishment does indeed come to pass, that it can actually prove to be an eternity filled with moments of deep Meaning & great Purpose …

 

And for all Christians, on a slightly less amusing note, taking the same humble & earnest glance at your religion allows you to realize that if a Rapture-like spiritual “pruning” does indeed take place at some point in the future; that if Jesus Christ does indeed someday swoop down and angrily sort the sinners from the saved, — allowing only the latter to rise up to spend eternity with an all-powerful God while casting the rest into the eternal torment of Revelation’s “fiery lake”, then that “Paradise” is actually not going to be such a pleasurable place to remain after all – that if such a blessing does indeed come only to you and those who believe as you do, that this salvation will actually prove to be an eternity filled with moments of profound guilt, deep-seated regret and abject shame.

 

Allow me to briefly explain …

Filed under: Preserving Paradise by Scaughdt