The Deets

So recently I was on a hike (on The Bruce) with a new friend. We got to talking about the pop-Christian publications out there and got onto the topic of Rob Bell which obviously led to the topic of hell (You know, it would probably be weird knowing that a lot of people think about you and hell in the same train of thought. Gnome sayin?). We started discussing the recent release of Love Wins and the backlash and the threats and the condemnation that Rob has received (mostly from Christians), and we also talked about the new Francis Chan book Erasing Hell. Now we wrestled with the concept of hell and the minimal theological understanding we both have about hell, and I personally felt like I was beginning to lose a debate which had surfaced. Now the debate was not whether or not hell exists but it was more or less about whether or not our “understanding” of hell affects our understanding of Christ.

I was of the persuasion that it did, a lot! Whereas my friend was not so much in that camp. This got me thinking, do the details really matter? I mean, in all honesty, I have no clue what hell is like, but I still love Jesus. I still desire to know him more fully. I suppose if you asked me what hell is like I might say it’s hot, and painful, and dark, and devoid of any hint of the Father…I guess. But even in that, my friend put forth that the Bible describes hell as full of fire and darkness…hmm. Are fire and darkness metaphors, perhaps even similes? Is the Bible %100 literal all the time? Honestly, I don’t know. Does it shake my faith? Honestly, no.

Does God love me?

Does he even like me?

Yes!

Did Jesus die for my sins and cancel my debt of death?

Yes!

Does God pursue me and seek communion with me?

Yes!

Is the of Christ the best way?

Yes!

Is there a purpose for my life?

Yes!

Is hell a place of eternal suffering for all who are not “saved”, “born again”, or “liberal”?

I have no friggin clue! But after the first five questions are answered, do the details of hell really matter? Honestly? Because I can say that I am definitely not sure what I believe hell to be like and yet I still stand firm in Christ.

I believe we are called to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. These are the most important pieces to Christianity. Love God and love people.

Back to Bell for a minute. I know the dude gets flak from people because he can come across as indecisive for (apparently) the sake of not offending people, but I’m starting to see it more as a bit of honesty. I don’t think he knows what happens when we die…and I think he knows that. Does that make him or anyone else in the same boat a heretic or an antichrist? I guess that depends who you ask.

But honestly can anyone give me a straight answer as to what happens when we die?
What happens at the moment of death? Is it like a cut scene where we are instantly in the arms of Christ? Is there a check in time or a line up?
Are we judged at the exact moment of death?
Are we instantly taking part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb or do we chill until a later time that God has already prepared for us? Because if that’s the case, we’ve applied a framework of time to something most would claim is outside of time...
If hell is a place of literal suffering, is heaven a place of literal peace? If so, is that peace only peace because of the references we’ve gained from our “past life”?
What happens to babies when they die?
What happens when a toddler dies?
What’s the age where people are held accountable for their actions by a righteous God?
If hell is a literal place of pain and suffering, how would that be translated through a lens of eternity?
What happens to people who have never heard the name of Jesus by the time they die?

We can’t even comprehend eternity and I think it’s easy to get caught up on eternal matters! Why? Is our doctrine our salvation?

Now, FYI, I have not read either of these books and I think the only reason I might is to say I have and thus remain in the loop of pop Christianity. I have been reading the Bible quite a bit though and I am learning that God is a giant mystery! There are things he does and things he says that blow my mind. Things that make no sense to me! The things I know I have already said and they are that God loves me and his plan for me is to reflect that love into the world and to live a free life in him. Those things are clear.

I hope I have been clear in saying that I am not all that clear on a lot. But the bottom line is that we need to focus on that which has been revealed to us. It is not for man to determine the things of eternity and it is not for us to build our theology around such things. Our theology is Christ. Our hope is in Christ. Worry about living how you know you are supposed to.

Love God

Love people

Love Well

Xoxo

Zach