"The
myth of Hell, invented by men and women, NOT God, has been a great
stain upon the nature and character of our Creator for thousands of
years. It has turned men and women into animals and caused them to see
the Creator as a fiend. It is time to dismantle this evil..." (Gary
Amirault, What
the Hell is Hell)
"Defame
not the good name of God with your profane Christian rantings!"
Eldridge
Kane (Irish Theologian, 1836)
Hellfire doctrine is the worse kind of spiritual
abuse. There are different ways in which people can be abused. Perhaps the less
known way is what Psychiatrists have coined as "spiritual abuse" or
"religious abuse". Over recent decades many cults and church groups have
come under public scrutiny because of spiritual abuse. We even have
professional cult-busters, Psychologists that specialise in the areas of
religious abuse. Obviously by today's more enlightened standards, most
of Church History ( Orthodox/Catholic/Protestant ), especially during
the shameful Dark Ages, would reveal many examples of spiritual abuse.
Surely churches and religious groups can be abusive. But can a doctrine
be abusive? Of course it can. In fact, just as sin is empowered by the
Law, so is spiritual abuse empowered by DOGMA. The doctrine of hellfire
has been the most powerful weapon in the hands of spiritual abusers.
The insanity of modern fundamentalism
According to Ron Henzel from the "Rest Ministries", "one of the most
insidious features of Spiritual Abuse is the state of terror in which it
leaves so many of its victims. they are terrorized by the threats of the
leadership and various members. threats of dire consequences, punishment
from God, and even eternal damnation."
He gives as an example of this the well documented fact that "members
who leave the International Churches of Christ (also known as the Boston
Movement) are told that they will be condemned to eternal torment in
Hell.". He adds: "In one form or another, to one extent or another,
spiritually abusive groups elevate affiliation with their "body of
believers" to a requirement for salvation. escaping members are often
totally defenceless when it comes to this kind of spiritual terrorism.
they frequently leave with the sincere conviction that their departure
is a sign that they are going to Hell, and they have no idea how they
are going to cope with that. For many going through the exit process,
fears of eternal damnation become a constant preoccupation. Once they
are fully out, the result is almost always severe depression, and they
are sometimes suicidal "
Ron Henzel knows what he is talking about. Before he started his
Internet ministry in helping victims of spiritual abuse he was himself
abused. This is what he went through after he left an abusive church: "I
was too afraid to commit suicide, because all my assurance of salvation
had been stripped away by my abusive group, and I didn't want to arrive
in Hell any sooner than I had to. Another woman who left our group
before me remembers drawing a deep breath and saying to herself: "Well,
this probably means I'm going to Hell ... but I can't stay!" Henzel sums
it up beautifully as he remarks: "Threat of eternal damnation is, of
course, the ultimate weapon in the spiritual abuser's arsenal. If that
doesn't work, what will? Probably nothing, and he knows it. But it is a
weapon that is not so much designed to bring you back, as it is to keep
others from leaving." ( Copyright © 1997 REST ministries, All Rights Reserved. )
Speaking of false prophets the Lord Jesus warned us that "a tree is
known by its fruit". We need not further proof of the fact that the
false doctrine of eternal hell is inspired from the pit. Think of the
horror felt by Henzel and thousands of other modern Christians in the
hands of hellfire-focused churches. Multiply by 100 and perhaps you
might get a glimpse of went on for centuries especially in the Roman
Catholic Church during the Dark Ages.
Doctrine over emotions
Here is one more way in which the doctrine of eternal hell is
spiritually abusive:
When a doctrine violates the natural emotions and affections of an
individual we have a definite case of spiritual abuse. The experienced
"cult-buster", Jan Groenveld, writes:
"The ideological myth merges with their "truth" and the resulting
deduction can be so overpowering and coercive that it simply replaces
reality. Consequently past events can be altered, rewritten or even
ignored to make them consistent with the current reality. "They demand
character and identity of a person be reshaped to fit their clone of
mentality ( Ed. the false god of hellfire? ). The individual must fit
the rigid contours of the doctrinal mould instead of developing their
own potential and personality. The underlying assumption is that the
doctrine - including its mythological elements - is ultimately more
valid, true and real than is any aspect of actual human character or
human experience. The individual under such pressure is propelled into
an intense conflict with his own sense of integrity, a struggle which
take place in relation to polarised feelings if sincerity and
insincerity. Personal feelings are suppressed and members must appear to
be contented and enthusiastic at all times." (Social Psychology And
Group Dynamics by Jan Groenveld © Cult Awareness & Information Centre,
Mansfield, Australia. Emphasis/comment mine )
Jan Groenveld was referring primarily to the mind control tactics used
by the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. But isn't the same principle also
true of churches that preach the evil doctrine of eternal hell? Of
course it is. Don't most preachers say that just because we don't like
the concept of hell we still have to promote it because it "is taught in
the Bible"?
Is this not a clear case of: "the doctrine - including its mythological
elements is ultimately more valid, true and real than is any aspect of
actual human character or human experience." ? Does not this doctrine
contradict everything noble in human character and experience? How many
Christians wish that this heinous doctrine were not true but submit to
it because they are told that it is taught in the Bible? I will tell
you. All Christians! Only a demon would honestly wish such a doctrine to
be true. This demonic doctrine actually violates the conscience of every
Christian that believes it. Of course, the dark implications of such a
doctrine are never seriously contemplated by most Christians. It is too
enormous! It has sent many Christians to mental institutions.
The doctrine causes spiritual depression and mental illness
Thomas Thayer ( THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE Doctrine of Endless
Punishment, http://www.tentmaker.org/books/OriginandHistory.html ) wrote
about the despair felt by great men of God as they meditated on what
they thought was God's truth:
"It is impossible that any one, with a human heart in him, can fully
believe this doctrine, with all the horrors it involves, with all the
accusations it brings against the divine wisdom and goodness, and not
feel that it is a terrible weight on his soul, and one from which he
would gladly be relieved... There are many shallow minds, many flippant talkers, who find no
difficulty whatever in believing, who are prompt to denounce the
slightest doubt on the subject as impiety or infidelity. There are many
small ministers, who are ready at a moment's notice to clear up all the
difficulties of the moral and scriptural arguments; who are never
embarrassed, never troubled at all in regard to the matter... But I know that the best and strongest among its believers never treat
the subject in this way. Those who have looked into it most deeply and
patiently, who are distinguished equally for their learning and piety,
confess that, seen from any side you will, it is a fearful thing, and
leads to anguish of mind, and distress of heart, and to painful
questionings which cannot be answered."
Thayer goes on to quote some distinguished Christians of his time:
"SAURIN. This celebrated divine holds the following language: "I sink! I
sink under the awful weight of my subject; and I declare, when I see my
friends, my relations, the people of my charge, this whole congregation;
when I think that I, that you, that we are all threatened with these
torments.I find in the thought a mortal poison, which diffuses itself
into every period of my life, rendering society irksome, nourishment
insipid, pleasure disgustful, and life itself a cruel bitter. I cease to
wonder that the fear of hell hath made some mad, and others melancholy."
( emphasis mine )
Thayer's remark on Saurin's testimony: "Now, can any one suppose for a
moment that a doctrine, producing such mental terror and distress as
this, can come from Him who said, so kindly and compassionately, "Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light" Matt. xi 29, 30.?"
Thayer then quotes Prof. Stuart, whom he describes as "Rev. Moses
Stuart, the late distinguished professor of Andover, equally well known
for his critical scholarship and Christian character"
This is what that eminent "orthodox" scholar wrote: "There are minds of
a very serious cast, and prone to reasoning and inquiry, that have in
some way come into such a state, that doubt on the subject of endless
punishment cannot without the greatest difficulty be removed from them...
They commence their doubts, it is probable, with some a priori
reasoning on this subject. 'God is good. His tender mercy is over all
the works of his hands. He has no pleasure in the death of the sinner.
He has power to prevent it. He knew, before he created man and made him
a free agent, that he would sin. In certain prospect of his endless
misery, therefore, his benevolence would have prevented the bringing of
him into existence. No father can bear to see his own children miserable
without end, not even when they have been ungrateful and rebellious; and
God, our heavenly Father, loves us better than an earthly parent does or
can love his children... Besides, our sins are temporary and finite; for they are committed by
temporary and finite beings, and in a world filled with enticements both
from without and from within. It is perfectly easy for Omnipotence to
limit, yea, to prevent, any mischief which sin can do; so that the
endless punishment of the wicked is unnecessary, in order to maintain
the divine government, and keep it upon a solid basis. Above all, a
punishment without end, for the sins of a few days or hours, is a
proportion of misery incompatible with justice as well as mercy. And how
can this be any longer necessary, when Christ has made atonement for
sin, and brought in everlasting redemption from its penalty?"
"The social sympathies, too, of some men are often deeply concerned with
the formation of their religious opinions. They have lost a near and
dear friend and relative by death; one who never made any profession of
religion, or gave good reason to suppose that his mind was particularly
occupied with it. What will they think of his case? Can they believe
that one so dear to them has become eternally wretched - an outcast
forever from God? Can they endure the thought that they are never to see
or associate with him any more? Can heaven itself be a place of
happiness for them, while they are conscious that a husband or a wife, a
son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, is plunged into a lake of fire
from which there is no escape? 'It is impossible,' they aver, 'to
overcome such sympathies as these. It would be unnatural and even
monstrous to suppress them.' They are, therefore, as they view the case,
constrained to doubt whether the miseries of a future world can be
endless."(emphasis mine)
"If there are any whose breasts are strangers to such difficulties as
these, they are to be congratulated on having made attainments almost
beyond the reach of humanity in the present world; or else to be pitied
for ignorance, or the want of a sympathy which seems to be among the
first elements of our social nature. With the great mass of thinking
Christians, I am sure such thoughts as these must, unhappily for them,
be acquaintances too familiar. That they agitate our breasts as the
storms do the mighty deep, will be testified by every man of a tender
heart, and who has a deep concern in the present and future welfare of
those whom he loves." ( emphasis Thayer's )
Thayer's comment on Prof. Stuart's testimony: "Such a frank and full
confession of the difficulties of this question, from such a man, ought
to lead all believers to ask, seriously, if it is reasonable to suppose
that any doctrine coming from God would lay such a burthen of doubt and
suffering on the pious heart and honest mind, or so stand in the way of
the perfect trust and love which He requires of us."
The above testimonies are powerful evidence that the Holy Spirit in
every believer grieves beyond words about such a blasphemous doctrine.
Dear reader if you are still in doubt about this please read on. This is
what Rev. Albert Barnes "a man of thought and of sincere piety" wrote (
again the quote is from Thayer ). Please read it carefully and
prayerfully reflect on what Barnes testified: "That any should suffer forever, - lingering on in hopeless despair, and
rolling amidst infinite torments without the possibility of alleviation,
and without end. That since God can save men, and will save a part, he
has not purposed to save all; that, on the supposition that the
atonement is ample, and that the blood of Christ can cleanse from all
and every sin, it is not in fact applied to all. That, in a word, a God
who claims to be worthy of the confidence of the universe, and to be a
being of infinite benevolence, should make such a world as this, full of
sinners and sufferers; and that when an atonement had been made, he did
not save all the race, and put an end to sin and woe forever... These, and kindred difficulties, meet the mind when we think on this
great subject; and they meet us when we endeavor to urge our
fellow-sinners to be reconciled to God, and to put confidence in him. On
this ground they hesitate. These are real, not imaginary difficulties.
They are probably felt by every mind that ever reflected on the subject;
and they are unexplained, unmitigated, unremoved. I confess, for one,
that I feel them, and feel them more sensibly and powerfully the more I
look at them, and the longer I live. I do not understand these facts;
and I make no advances towards understanding them. I do not know that I
have a ray of light on this subject, which I had not when the subject
first flashed across my soul. I have read, to some extent, what wise and
good men have written. I have looked at their theories and explanations.
I have endeavoured to weigh their arguments, for my whole soul pants for
light and relief on these questions. But I get neither; and, in the
distress and anguish of my own spirit, I confess that I see no light
whatever. I see not one ray to disclose to me the reason why sin came
into the world; why the earth is strewed with the dying and the dead,
and why man must suffer to all eternity... I have never seen a particle of light thrown on these subjects, that
has given a moment's ease to my tortured mind; nor have I an explanation
to offer, or a thought to suggest, which would be of relief to you. I
trust other men - as they profess to do - understand this better than I
do, and that they have not the anguish of spirit which I have; but I
confess, when I look on a world of sinners and of sufferers; upon
death-beds and grave-yards; upon the world of woe, filled with hosts to
suffer forever; when I see my friends, my parents, my family, my people,
my fellow-citizens; when I look upon a whole race, all involved in this
sin and danger, and when I see the great mass of them wholly
unconcerned, and when I feel that God only can save them, and yet he
does not do it, I am struck dumb. It is all dark, dark, dark to my soul,
and I cannot disguise it." ( emphasis mine )
I cannot comment better than Thayer on the above testimony: "O, can it
be that this "tortured mind," this "distress and anguish of spirit,"
this impenetrable gloom, this wild wail of sorrow, are the natural
fruits of faith in God, in Christ, in the Bible? Can it be that a
doctrine producing such dreadful effects on the mind and heart of the
believer makes a part of the message of the blessed Savior, whose birth
was announced by angels as "good tidings of great joy, which shall be
unto all people," bringing "peace on earth, and good will toward men"?
Luke ii Who can believe this? Who can fail to see the direct opposition
in spirit and fact?"
The much honoured "orthodox" preacher Henry Ward Beecher hit the nail on
the head when he wrote about having to preach about hell: "It goes to my
heart to say these things. This is not the side that I seem to myself
called to preach. Yet it is there; and, if I am faithful to my whole
duty, I must preach it. As a surgeon does things that are most
uncongenial to himself, so sometimes I do. And I do this with tears and
with sorrow. It makes me sick.
"The eternity of punishment, when any thing like a conception of its
signification and meaning seizes the mind, seems to paralyse many with
grief. The eternity of future punishment is the point where almost all
agonizing doubts and struggles of Christian theologians have arisen. And
of what are called the insoluble mysteries of divine government, it
seems to me, that, if the doctrine of the eternity of punishment were
removed, nine out of ten would disappear of themselves; for I believe
that they result simply from that one term, 'suffering eternity.'"
Pardon me for being carried away with these testimonies by orthodox
Christian men. These testimonies speak directly to the heart. Please
allow me to add yet one more example from Thayer's work before I proceed
with more modern testimonies.
The orthodox scholar Dr. Putton as quoted by Thayer: "Do you imagine that only Universalists shudder at the idea of eternal
ruin of lost souls? All thoughtful men share your dread of the fact, and
would gladly reject the doctrine if they honestly could. Nothing
prevents me personally from welcoming the doctrine that all will finally
be saved, but the want of evidence for it. The Orthodox generally have
the same feeling. It pains us to think so many of our fellow-men are
living in sin, and dying without hope... We have had neighbours, friends, and dear relatives, who have died,
giving no evidence of Christian character, but of quite the opposite;
and we should be overjoyed, that at last we should all meet above, holy
and happy. I frankly acknowledge that it would lift a dark cloud from
the world and a heavy load from my heart, could I believe the doctrine...
The thought is attractive to our reason, that the universe will be in
complete harmony with itself; that God will use methods, in the lapse of
ages, by which sin and misery shall be terminated, and holiness and
happiness characterize all his rational creatures. We can hardly
conceive that a good man should be without sympathy with such longings
and hopes...Not a few Christians lean decidedly towards this belief.
John Frederic Oberlin and John Foster entertained it, after an
examination of the subject in the light of reason and the Word of God;
while the contrary view is accepted by others only with painful doubt
and a sense of conflict."
In reply to Dr. Patton's "dark cloud", Thayer simply quotes the prophet
Isaiah:
"And in this mountain (the gospel) shall the Lord make unto all people a
feast of fat things;...and he will destroy in this mountain (through the
gospel) the covering cast over the face of all people, and the veil that
is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the
Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his
people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath
spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we
have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have
waited for him, we will be glad, and rejoice in his salvation" (Isaiah
25: 6-9).
Today the situation is no different. Christians are more ashamed and
horrified about the doctrine of eternal hell than ever. Well meaning
evangelist and author Ajith Fernando laments at the rising trend of
"closet Universalists in evangelical churches today". He calls them:
"people who believe that all will be saved, but are afraid of being
public about this belief as it is considered a heresy in orthodox
Christian circles". Fernando then complains about "evangelicals who are
ashamed of hell. They are bound to believe everything that the Bible
explicitly teaches, so they believe in an eternal hell. But they wish
that they did not have to believe it. If they speak about the topic,
which is not very often, they do so with a sense of shame, as if it were
something very unjust, and they keep saying that they wish it were not
true". ( emphasis mine ) ( Crucial Questions about Hell, by Ajith
Fernando, p.22, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1991).
It seems Fernando's concerns about "the decline of Hell" are well
founded. If it wasn't for the indoctrination taking place in the
so-called Bible Colleges, the majority of Christian Pastors and
preachers would by now have gladly dropped the shameful doctrine of
eternal hell. That many great men of God feel ashamed of this doctrine
is a clear testimony to the fact that the Holy Spirit rejects it.
These men would die ( and have died ) for Jesus. Paul was able to say
that the Holy Spirit confirmed in his spirit the truth of God's message
of hope.
This is not the case with the doctrine of eternal hell. The only teaching in the Bible that
really distresses Christians, and even drives some to suicide is that of
eternal hell. Why is this so? It is because the evil doctrine is not
taught in the Bible! It is only taught in various translations of the
Bible. Because these particular translations are promoted by the Church
leaders, they inevitably become popular and sell millions of copies. An
excellent article on this very important topic plus much more relevant
information and links may be found at www.tentmaker.org (see "Bible
Translations That Do Not Teach Eternal Torment", By Gary Amirault. The
article may be found in the section: Topical Index, Translating the
Bible ).
Because the leaders of Churches generally studied and got their degrees
in Bible Colleges that teach the blasphemous doctrine, they adopt the
theological models that incorporate it like Arminianism and Calvinism.
The most popular Bible translations and Commentaries are heavily biased
by such models. For example, the best selling New International Version
is strongly Arminian. As we shall see throughout this book, both these
models of Scripture interpretation are full of theological holes and
absurdities. As a result of these theological biases, every Biblical
reference to Judgment is automatically interpreted to mean eternal hell.
Every time DEATH is mentioned as a punishment of sin it is reinterpreted
to mean "eternal death" and that in turn becomes "eternal hell". Even
passages that clearly refer to temporal and earthly judgements, like all
those under the Mosaic dispensation, are reinterpreted to mean eternal
hell. The word "judgement" is always reinterpreted and many times even
mistranslated to mean "damnation". So conditioned are most Christians
from the eternal hell paradigm that no wonder they think the Bible
teaches it.
Spiritual depression, conflict and doubts are inevitable for those who
believe in doctrines like that of HELL and the only way to deal with such violation of
conscience is to mentally back-file the implications of such a doctrine.
The damage done though is severe. Although these Christians push what
they perceive as the dark side of God at the back of their minds, it
always lingers on the subconscious, undermining their ability to fully
love and trust God. The result is devastating. Fear replaces faith and
human effort replaces grace, for who can truly trust a God who is
willing to throw you in hell forever if you don't measure up to His
standards? Scriptures that were "designed" to challenge Christians for
further spiritual growth suddenly become venomous snakes that bite at
every failure. If hell is real, who can truly be sure of his salvation?
Thus they fall prey into the hands of the ever power hungry leaders and
clergy. Obedience to man is more tangible than obedience to God. Thus
the phenomenon of spiritual abuse. Thus the phenomenon of Christians
escaping the claws of one cult only to fall into the claws of another.
Another well meaning author, Douglas J. Rumford, in a book defending the
doctrine of eternal hell acknowledges that a lot of people find the
doctrine offensive and he confesses: "I must admit that I don't like
hell either. I preach and write about it primarily out of obedience and
faithfulness, like the doctor who has to tell a patient bad news". (
emphasis mine ) ( What about Heaven & Hell? by Douglas J. Rumford,
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton Illinois, 2000, p.63 )
Rumford would make a bad doctor. He reminds me of the joke where after
an operation the surgeon comes out and announces to the patient's
family: "The operation was successful but the patient passed away".
Guess what dear brother Douglas, according to the Bible you honour so
much, the True Doctor, Jesus Christ has no
bad news to tell the patients of sin. Like a master surgeon ( and High
Priest ) that He is, He will cut with the double edged sword of His Word
deep down all the way to the dividing of every man's soul and spirit (
see Hebrews 4:12 ) until He can cut out ( Greek: kolasis=pruning/cutting
off/chastisement - Matt.26:46 ) all the "cancer". He will then offer
every man as an acceptable sacrifice to His Father so God may be ALL IN
ALL. The surgery will hurt some ( actually most. ), and for many it will
last whole ages that may seem like an eternity, but the GOOD NEWS is
that all the patients will finally live. "For just as in Adam all men
die so in Christ shall all men become alive"
That the doctrine of eternal hell causes spiritual depression and mental
illness is evident by the scores of abused victims produced by Christian
fundamentalist sects that place emphasis on hellfire doctrine.
A divine revelation of a troubled soul
If you are still not convinced about the demonic nature of this doctrine
and its damaging psychological effects please read the following
descriptions by a very popular "Spirit-filled" Christian author who was
commanded by some Jesus entity to write down as a "warning" for the
Church a vision he gave her about hell. Read and reflect carefully on
what this poor soul felt as she was escorted to hell by "Jesus". After
this Jesus abandoned this woman in hell for a short time so that she can
experience first hand what awaits all sinners, she was "rescued" and
returned home. She then writes: "I was so sad and so tired. I collapsed
in the arms of Jesus. And even though He restored me whole, I wanted to
go far, far away-from Jesus, from my family, from everyone. During the
following days at home I was very sick. My soul was so sad, and the
horrors of hell were ever before my eyes"( A Divine Revelation of Hell,
by Mary K. Baxter, Whitaker House, Copyright 1993 by Dr. T.L. Lowery,
p.113 )
I feel nausea as I am reading Mary K. Baxter's second abandonment in
hell by her "Jesus" and her feelings afterwards. Please, read on to see
the effects of this doctrine in the subconscious of Christians. These
are the hallucinations of a believer in eternal hell: "And then I felt
my flesh and skin begin to fall off my bones! I screamed and screamed in
abject horror. 'O Jesus,' I called out, 'where are you?'. I cried out,
'Oh, no! I am in hell forever! Oh, no!'. I began to feel the worms
inside me. I tried to pull them off me, but more came to fill the place.
I screamed, 'Where are you Jesus?'. Was I really in hell? Had I
committed some great sin against God and lost my salvation? Did I sin
against the Holy Ghost? I cried and repented a thousand times for my
sins. Yes, I thought of many things I could have done to lead others to
Christ. Each time the jaws ( of hell ) opened they dumped another load
of lost humanity into hell, I wondered if anyone I knew was among them.
Would they bring my husband here?" ( ibid, pp.176-183 )
Finally the hallucinations ended as "Jesus" saved her again from hell
and left her sick for days: "For days I relived the horrors of hell and
its torment. At night I would wake up screaming and saying there were
worms crawling in me. I was afraid of hell. I had to have the lights
left on when I slept. I needed the Bible with me at times, and I read it
constantly. My soul was in severe shock. Jesus would say, 'Peace, be
still,' and peace would flood my soul. But a few minutes later I would
wake up screaming, hysterical with fear. I was so afraid of having to go
back to hell that I was fearful to even have Jesus near me sometimes." (
ibid, pp. 184-185 ).
I am no Psychiatrist but I am certain that this Christian lady has
fallen victim of severe spiritual abuse by those who taught her the
doctrine of eternal hell. Deep in her unconscious is always the fear of
abandonment and she can never fully trust Jesus ( not to mention God the
Father who is always distant ). Though she works hard in her Christian
ministry and she has "saved" dozens of souls, she never seems to satisfy
the demands of the god in her head. The Pharaoh-Jesus she serves always
increases the quota. She dreads the thought of loosing her loved ones in
hell forever. If she can't measure up with all that hard work, how can
they have any hope? The hell she visited is heavily populated by
Christians that "failed" in their walk. I believe that. Many Christians
that have been brainwashed with the eternal hell doctrine live in a
hell. Always fearing, always anxious, always uncertain, etc. They sing
about the "unconditional" love of Jesus but in their hearts they believe
the opposite. It is no wonder that the author of "A Divine Revelation of
Hell" is even frightened of the obvious ambivalent figure of "Jesus".
She claims that later she was thoroughly healed by Jesus from the
sickness caused by these "visions". The saddest part of the above
example is that this book is recommended by many churches and has sold
by the thousands. The stated purpose of the book is to frighten
Christians and non-Christians into accepting an intensive religious life
in order to escape such horrors. She writes: "What you are about to read
will frighten you. I pray it will frighten you enough to make you a
believer. If you are a Christian and you are reading this, be sure of
your salvation. Be ready to meet the Lord at all times, for sometimes
there is no time to repent." ( ibid 174-175 )
The recommendations for this book by Christian authority figures are
even more indicative of the culture of fear and spiritual abuse that is
rampant among Christian fundamentalist circles. Writes David Yonggi Cho
from Seoul, Korea: "I have read this book, trembling in my heart". A
Pastor writes about the author's ministry: "many have gotten saved and
delivered and a great number of backsliders have rededicated their lives
back to God."
These are all well meaning people who genuinely believe at the pagan
myth of eternal hell. The Church of Christ has been reduced to a system
of paranoia and fear. The good news it carries into the world are no
good news at all because they reveal a god who is intending to torture
the majority of his creatures.
Contrast: The Apostles never preached about hell!
Compare all the above enormities to the joyful message of the Apostles.
Scan the pages of the Acts of the Apostles and you will never see such
blasphemies preached to the people. St. Paul preached to the heathen
time and again but he never even mentioned hell. He only preached the
GOOD NEWS of Christ's victory over sin and death and God's invitation to
all men to reject evil and sin and to enter into the realm of light by
accepting the Lordship of Jesus. No wonder the result of the Apostolic
evangelism always produced "unspeakable joy". When St. Paul spoke to the
idolatrous Athenians about the true God he didn't say anything about the
eternal hell they were all too familiar with. He didn't try "to scare
them into the Kingdom". Nor did he rubbish their religion. He praised
them for being religious and then went on to show them the "better way".
He definitely assured them that they were God's children. Paul said to
them: "For in Him ( God ) we live and move and have our being, as some
of your own poets have said, 'we are His offspring'." ( Acts 17:28 )
If eternal hell was true, St. Paul would had sternly warned them there
and then like the good "fundamentalist" Christian that he was. He would
have said to them that the eternal hell they already believed in as
pagans was not only true but even worse than what their "poets" said.
Instead of that, Paul simply taught them about the love of God: "Paul
was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection" ( Acts
17:18 ). The pagans according to Paul were not children of the devil
destined to spend eternity in hell. They were all God's children that
were stained with the sin and mortality of Adam, a condition that God
had promised to undo through the resurrection. Based on the reality of
God's universal fatherhood Paul encouraged the Athenians to obey God's
command to repent from idolatry and sin and to accept the gospel. He
told the pagan Athenians: "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we
should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-
an image made by man's design and skill" ( Acts 17:29 ).
Paul would have said the same to modern Christians who think that the
divine being is made in man's image, full of cruelty and indifference
for the wellbeing of others. Paul announced to the Athenians the GOOD
NEWS of Christ's resurrection and assured them that Jesus was appointed
by God to judge one day all men "with justice". Paul preached no
hellfire and brimstone, no torture chambers, nor anything vile like
that. Of course, the "Scripture Twisters" would interpret the word
"judgment" as hell but that is definitely not the way it was understood
by St. Paul. You see, the great apostle actually hoped in the
resurrection of judgment as something good for those who died in their
sins. To his fellow unbelieving Jews Paul said: " I stand on trial
because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead" ( Acts 23:6 ) and to
the governor Felix he clarified: " I have the same hope in God as these
men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the
wicked" ( Acts 24:15 ). If St. Paul believed that the wicked would be
resurrected, in order to be tormented forever, he would not have said
that he hoped for their resurrection.
St. Paul's God is "the Saviour of all men". He is a "Saviour who wants (
is willing ) all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the
truth" ( 1 Timothy 2:4 ). His will shall be done!
The phoney god of Mary K. Baxter ( and all like-minded believers ) does
not want all men to be saved and when in the tortures of hell the
sinners "come to a knowledge of the truth" and repent asking him to save
them, he simply replies: "It's too late". I prefer St. Paul's God.
I think I have presented enough evidence to the fact that the doctrine
of eternal hell is evil, cruel and demonic. I think it is evident that
such a belief system is abusive in nature and that it damages the
spiritual life of believers. It causes shame, doubts, depression,
anxiety, nightmares and fear of rejection. It maligns God's character in
the worse possible way. I challenge anyone to come up with a concept
more blasphemous than that of eternal hell. What worse could even a
demon do? Can there be anything worse than being tormented forever by a
furious Almighty Being? This concept is not of God nor did it ever enter
His mind. True, He is holy and He will consume all evil. But this is
good! Who would want to be polluted by evil forever? Just like the
prodigal son "came to his senses" when he found himself in a situation
"like hell" so will all men one day finally "come to a knowledge of the
truth" and decide to return to their true home and to their Father who
is always ready to forgive them. Will the Father of all Creation then
tell them "too late", or, like the parable of the prodigal son, will He
run to meet the repentant children "half way"? Is that parable limited
to this life only? Does love fail after death? I don't think so. LOVE
NEVER FAILS. I only wonder, will some of those already in the Kingdom
complain about God's goodness when He finally destroys the sin in every
man becoming thus ALL IN ALL?
