Here’s a snippet of the Time magazine story inspired by a controversial new book by Pastor Rob Bell:
So begins Bell’s controversial new best seller, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. Works by Evangelical Christian pastors tend to be pious or at least on theological message. The standard Christian view of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is summed up in the Gospel of John, which promises “eternal life” to “whosoever believeth in Him.” Traditionally, the key is the acknowledgment that Jesus is the Son of God, who, in the words of the ancient creed, “for us and for our salvation came down from heaven … and was made man.” In the Evangelical ethos, one either accepts this and goes to heaven or refuses and goes to hell.
Bell, a tall, 40-year-old son of a Michigan federal judge, begs to differ. He suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal — meaning that, as his book’s subtitle puts it, “every person who ever lived” could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be.
You believe in the concept of heaven and hell?
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Yup…. we’re living in hell
I’ve been thinking more and more about that. And I kinda feel guilty because I think all those pastors, priests and everyone in between are lying. I really don’t think there is a Hell. How can they say God loves us in one breath and in the next breath say God would send his children to Hell for eternity.
IMO Hell was created by the organized church to control the masses. You can’t just tell someone to be “good”, you’ve got to come up with some fantastic, explosive consequence you might face if you’re “bad”. Then coincidentally (or not) those guidelines were used to create our laws for society. But just in case Heaven and Hell do exist, I’ll make sure to not do anything too f*cked up.
i’m gonna ask you something and i dont want you to think i’m being “funny”….but!
Have you ever spoken to God, and paid attention when he speaks back.
God uses people to speak to us my friend, but most folks are waiting on the burning bush or light from the sky accompanied by the Morgan Freedman vocals. But you and i know thats not the case. theres a deeper connection, a deeper meaning.
my advise is to keep seeking, and keep asking if you really want the answer. cause the next thing is to prepare to receive that answer. The truth is a hard pill to swollow, thats often met with rejection.
Dont hate on my opinion…please!
Making faith in God is absurd itself.
It is the beauty which people encounter in life that makes it worth living. People may create meaning in their own lives, which may not be the objective meaning of life (if there is one), but can still provide something for which to strive. However, one must always maintain an ironic distance between this invented meaning and the knowledge of the absurd, lest the fictitious meaning take the place of the absurd.
Create your own meaning in life and stop following this mythological fairy tales.
Checkyourself:
I hear you. And that’s my point exactly. I believe God is within us and around us in all He created. I’m leery of taking the word of other men (the clergy) as the gospel. I don’t trust their interpretation of God’s word…and that extends to their definition of Heaven and Hell.
And LOL @ the Morgan Freeman vocals!! I hear James Earl Jones in my mind’s ear..btw.
LMAO @ James Earl Jones!! thats on the money…HA!!
But yes your correct, and thats why its up to the Church (THE PEOPLE) to fix the church and restore order. But sadly people just dont care or just arent interested in the idea of placing their faith in a being they can not understand, hold or touch or even Question for that matter.
and to be honest i think todays society would crucify Christ twice!!!!
(Yeah i said it!!!)
…..and they would, just take in concideration how America responded to 9/11, we as americans wanted blood. So quick to react with out thinking. Not to make light, but the National Security would label him as a terrorist.
@ CheckYOURselfB4UwreckYOurSelf
Agree 10000% I think ppl are really looking for the PHYSICAL signs of God & when they don’t get it, some think ‘oh well, there really isn’t a God’! But IF u look & look closely, you’ll see evidence of God EVERYWHERE!
I think this generation is JADED, smdh
NO! Where is the science? Don’t believe in Santa Clause, the tooth fairy or the earth is flat.
yeah, all you silly americans with your 1500′s faith in the Lord, how is it possible to belive something that flies in the face of all logic and with no proof at all? only answer i see is being raised on propaganda from baby onwards
cant believe n heaven without hell so YES
What I think people are missing is that Rob Bell is doing what he has always done in his books and pastoring. That is, raise up discussion and challenge traditional ideas. Unfortunately, we get so caught up in our ideas that if someone even questions them, we call them a heretic!
I heard a friend say “how could Rob Bell be saved if there is nothing to save him from?” Really? First off Rob Bell is not rejecting the idea of Hell, but rather saying there are many interpretations of Hell and that no one really knows or gets it except Jesus! Sure I believe there is a Hell, but I don’t cram that belief down anyone’s throat and it is not essential for relationship with God. I believe there is Hell but I cannot declare who goes there and how many! Maybe somehow only the devil and his angels end up there or maybe most of all mankind dwells in Hell… But that really doesn’t matter. What matters for me is I need Jesus now! So do you!
We need Jesus to help us get free from a life of selfishness, guilt and addiction. We need Jesus to release forgiveness on us when we screw up. We need Jesus because He created us and it rocks to have a relationship with our creator. When horrible things happen, we need Jesus whom we can turn to for comfort and so we can move forward. I don’t know about you, but I needed Jesus to help release me from the pain in my life. I tried everything else, with no avail…
If people are concerned about making sure someone is warned they that they will go to hell, please remember that every human being prior to Jesus was not warned! Hell is not a concept in the Old Testament. God did not warn millions and millions of people. And a majority of what Jesus teaches is about life with God and relationship with God. Most of the time he mentions hell or eternal torment is in comparisons when He was teaching.
“Hell” is not a cut and clear concept. There are many ways to look at it, just like the book of revelation. What really matters is, we all need Jesus, we all need forgiveness. I don’t care what your motivation is and it doesn’t matter what one thinks after life will look like… Thanks for reading this very long comment! -Marcus-
God doesn’t send anyone to hell. It’s a choice that is made by man. It is my belief that God has given us two great gifts.
1. His Son Jesus Christ who was the sacrifice for all sin, and
2. Choice
You make the decision whether or not to believe. But like every decision there is a set of consequences and it’s up to you to decide what consequence you can live with. People are so quick to say there isn’t a God because they can’t see it or need proof…but can believe in the concept that air exists.
standing ovation
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle…that is all.
Look there is a Hell. And let me tell you from what some described. It’s not a pretty experience. Many seem to think Hell is eternal because many I’m sure ask yourselves How could an ever loving God let someone burn for an eternity? Answer: He doesn’t. Hell is not eternal. Hell I theorize is once your in, thats it. Your soul, your essence burns up like a building on fire would. There is no more soul and there is no more you. I know this sounds harsh. I could be right, I could be wrong.
Heaven and Hell does exist. It is a state of mind you fall into based upon the choices you make in life. While we are here on Earth we encounter upon birth information and experiences that effect us mentally. Our minds which are connected to our soul are vessels that are open to other spirits that travel within the human body. Religious leaders from the beginning of time new how to control the mind. Injecting fear as a form of control is powerful. It takes time for a person to overcome certain information that they were forced to learn starting from birth. It is all a state of mind. If a man or woman gets tortured by another person, that can cause serious mental damage. Hell on earth within their on mind caused by another person, and it effects them for life because they can’t erase the experience. Religion is a very powerful force and ALL major powers across the world now this and use it for control. Until a person has “control” over their own mind, then you can experience Heaven because you choose what YOU feed your mind. When we are born OUR MINDS aren’t under our control. Some people never experience Heaven until they die.
I am here to affirm that hell is real because I know that demons are real. I am not here to simply quote scriptures but to testify that the Bible is real about hell. So if there is hell there must also be heaven. This means we have a choice to make. I hope you would take the time to read this short story / testimony, YOUR CHOICE YOUR DESTINY and you’ll see what I am saying.
First read YOUR CHOICE YOUR DESTINY at
http://CertaintyofGodsLove.blogspot.com
Then read a related link:
http://CertaintyofWhatisComing.blogspot.com
Would you please leave a comment so I know what you think? Thanks
dude heaven and hell are both fake get past 8th grade science guys
Heaven, certainly is real…and as for Hell, no matter what it manifests itself as, and even if real – do remember that God sends none to Hell. Try thinking of it logically, if you will: If you reject God, then is not that a conscious rejection of everything to do with Him, including His sacred abode?
God sends none to Hell, but certainly, many choose their own paths. Yet Christ’s redemption may indeed bring salvation…to all.