Here's another interesting take on heaven and hell, one that makes more sense than the "traditional" Christian view. Of course, none of us really knows with absolute certainty what lies beyond this life, and the Bible is vague enough on that point to leave open any number of interpretations. But it does seem like it's past time to retire the originally pre-Christian (and decidedly non-Jewish) notion that a just and loving God would inflict infinite torture as punishment for a finite number of sins.
2 comments:
Eugene, check out this "brief survey and resource guide" on Hell from Christian History Magazine:
http://www.christianhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/themes/muddy/pdfs/hell.pdf
Interesting reading, though it should be expected that CHM falls on the traditional side of the issue.
John,
Very interesting overview - thanks for the link. Among other things it demonstrates that there has never been a consensus on the issue of hell and the final judgment, which in turn demonstrates how little the Bible actually says about what happens after we die. Which brings me back to my own conclusion that God apparently didn't intend for us to worry so much about it...
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