HELL RAISER
Brian D. McLaren, an "emergent church" guru/speaker/author/pastor, has written A trilogy about becoming a new kind of Christian. The third book in the series, called "The Last Word and The Word After That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity", uses dialogue to examine how our changing view of hell impacts our view of God and then life itself.
One character in the book says, "Millions of people, young and old, have given up on Christianity because our way of talking about hell sounds absolutely wacky. 'God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,' we say, 'and he'll fry your butt in hell forever unless you do or believe the right thing'... No wonder Christianity -- or that version of it -- is a dying religion in so many places in the world."
We once talked a great deal about hell:
"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire." (Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, 1741.)
But now it's a word I've dropped from my vocabulary altogether and until today, when reading excerpts from this book, I never even noticed. And according to McLaren I'm not alone. In his opinion it's not a word or place more than a few pastors and Christians care to talk about. As he quotes Martin Marty, "Hell has disappeared and no one noticed."( U.S. News and World Report, January 31, 2000, p 44.) And this, he says, shapes the way we live out our faith, how we view God.
Most of us avoid Hell talk because we don't like the judgmental killjoy God who would allow such a pit of despair to exist. So, running from an overly maniacal view of God we run the risk of swinging the other way, towards a Buddy Jesus, an elderly doting smiley grandfather figure who's day and eternity revolves around making us happy.
Which is He? Some of both? All of one? The question of who God is, what He's like, matters. William Temple once said that if your concept of God is radically false, the more devoted you are, the worse off you will be. So what is the right concept of God? I'm reading this book to hear one man's answer to that question, but if this is a typical McClaren book, instead of answers to our questions we'll probably just walk away with better questions.
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posted by Shaun Groves @ 5/10/2005
5 comments
5 Comments:
the more devoted you are, the worse off you will be......
True to those words. The more devoted and the more you seek the word of God in your life, the more questions and concerns you have. It's like getting into the fine print on a contract. Most of the time it boils down to your faith and where and how strong it's grounded. It's hard to stay true to your Christianity views without being judgmental, but still possible.
Hey Shaun, i love what Frank Sheed says about Hell:
"If we face the truth of this squarely (hell), there is a real nightmare in it-a sense of horror that mans's will can pervert itself so utterly. If we see it only superficially, there is illusion of nightmare-asense of horror that God can treat man so cruelly. We should know that this is illusion, if only because the fact of hell is taught us by Our Lord, who whowed His love for mankind as no one else has ever shown it. If Christ teaches Hell, then hell is no contradiction of love. So much we should be able to glimplse why. It is the will of man that makes the choice. Given that man can, freely, choose love of self and hatred of God, the rest follows. In all reverence we can say that God, respecting the will's freedom, can do nothing about it. He does not thrust devils or men into hell: they go there because that is their place. Accordingly, Scripture tells us in so many words of Judas: he died "and went to his own place". It is a spiritual natue finding its place, womewhat as a material thing finds its place by the law of gravity: so Our Lord could say, "I saw Satan, like lightning, falling from heaven". -Theology and Sanity
ok, this is the third time today i have read about this book. i think it is just a huge marketing machine that i am not privy to...
what's hell?? you mean earth??
I agree with the second "anonymous" comment. God does not banish people to hell or send them there because He desires. It is man's choice for his rejection of Christ as Saviour. Hell is eternal separation from God. Man chooses to take that path. God doesn't send him down it. As Christians, if we spent more time LIVING a life of worship, rather than just talking about it, more people would respond to the tug of the Holy Spirit on their hearts.
Groves Fan
Theology and Sanity, is absolutely my favorite theology book of all time. Sheed takes the confessions of Augustine, the Logic of Aquinas, the humor of Chestoreton and the history of Christianity, and makes it as understandable (and i hate to say it more meaty than) as C.S. Lewis. His chapters on the trinity are the most powerful and understandable explanations ever published. i would reccomend this book to anyone. In an age where it is hip to be post-modern this book stands as a tribute to the truth that has endured through the blood of the saints, the universal Church for which the gates of hell will not prevail, and the living and furious truth over and over finding its way to bring the church together into unity.
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