Christian or not, we’ve all heard the ‘hell story.’ The question is, is it true? And if so, which version of it? …Evildoers may get away with murder in this life. But in the life to come, there’ll be hell to pay.
The words are from the website of the forthcoming movie Hellbound, due in theaters this September. And in case you’re rolling your eyes, it’s not what you might think.
The website commentary continues:
But the traditional view of hell also presents us with a dilemma: Of course we all want to see the scales of justice balanced. But if God is our pure, all-loving Creator, can he really allow (presumably) billions of people to suffer in hell for eternity? Evil is evil, but doesn’t the traditional view of hell tip the scales too far the other way? To many people, it seems like we can have a good God or we can have the traditional view of hell, but we can’t have both…
The concept of hell is so ancient–and so troubling, and enduring–that we can’t in all honesty ignore it, no matter how postmodern our philosophies.
From the website, this looks like a fascinating exploration. Sorry I couldn’t just embed the trailer for you here; you’ll have to go to the website. Never mind; it’s worth the trip, also. Take a look at the trailer. It may keep you awake until September.
My favorite quote from the trailer: “Our whole theological system has been boiled down to a hell-avoidance plan.”
This looks like a documentary that is intended to get a national, even international street-level theological conversation going. We need it. Hopefully it does well, as that could do wonders for the Christian faith, as well as awareness of Dancing With the Dark.
Mmm…well, I did just sort of mention that there was this blog and a forthcoming book that might be helpful…
The main reason I have such (and I’ll say it) such contempt for bible thumping organized religion is their fear mongering concept of Hell, used to coerce people
However, I have to admit that I myself have used it. When my angry wife would say to me “YOU GO RIGHT STRAIGHT TO HELL!!!! I’d answer ……………….yuh” mean this isn’t it??
Another response to a bible thump er who said “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SAVE YOUR SOUL? DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HELL!!!??, was this. “Well,…. I tried walking on just my heels, but I couldn’t keep it up for any more than 10 feet.
You’re certainly not alone in that! Love the “heels” response.
I don’t expect this reply to make it into the blog, but here goes.
The Sanitation Departments Concept of HELL
Hell is a shallow lake of excrement. Everyone is standing on their tippy toes, faces tipped back, keeping them just above the surface. Every half hour the Devil comes through in a speed boat. A mournful chant is heard 24/7. “don’t make waves! Don’t make waves!………..There… I said it and I’m glad.
Glad you liked the walking on one’s heels response
Here’s a spin off riddle on that.
What religious sect believes in spiritual redemption more than any other?
Answer,
The shoe repair men. Only they hold the unshakable belief that
today’s heel is tomorrow’s sole
Here’s another one.
Someone says to you, “if THAT’S what you think, you can go Right Straight TO HELL!!!…………Response….. well now that I’ve arrived is there a guided tour?
This is a very interesting topic indeed, and i do not have the time for an extensive replay. I’ll just say that the concept of hell as an ETERNAL place of suffering for some mistake we might make in this life is laughable and horrendous at the same time.
And it is used to keep people in fear and submissive.
That being said, there is a question that often roams my mind: how many people need this type of fear to restrain them from committing crimes?
This is just a question…. and i have not answers for that.
A bit of slightly irreverent Hell-humor (safe for the office) 🙂
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mysticpolitics/6323254374/
“you are a spider, and God is hold you over a fire, and God is angry at you…”
Wow. I’m not sure if that guy was being a little sarcastic or not, but that’s pretty right on the money, isn’t it? I used to think that way. I used to think that God loves everybody, even those people who were suffering in Hell for ‘eternity’.
But that definitely didn’t help my ability to forgive people or want to reconcile, especially if they didn’t ‘repent’ first!
Such a good point! That attitude (‘God is angry at you’) poisons how we respond to everything else.