A written version–not a verbatim transcription–of my 2012 International Association for Near-Death Studies conference presentation, “Untangling Hellish Visions,” has just been added to the Articles page here. Essentially, the article, like the talk, is a quick trip through Western ideas about hell, with a very preliminary suggestion of an alternative view. Lots more to be said in blog posts to come!
The slides that went with the actual presentation were terrific, as you can sample in the article, proving yet again that human beings have no end of ways of scaring themselves blue, not to mention being unspeakably vicious to each other and then blaming it all on God. You can see them on the DVD, which is available, along with other conference talks, at the website, http://iands.org
Before you write to comment that this proves how horrible religions are, you might want to pause to consider a) the uses of secular ideologies such as Marxism and American Exceptionalism and b) what you think might encourage better behavior.
More to come. I do so appreciate your being here!