A couple of days ago, my Lenten reading schedule had me reading through the book of Lamentations. As the title suggests, there's not much in Lamentations that is positive or hopeful - it is generally a litany of complaints and "woes."
At least, that's what I've come to expect. Imagine my surprise, then, when I ran across Lamentations 3:21-24, which read:
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord's great love
we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
God's compassions never fail? Really? Never? As in never-ever?
Do we really believe this? Do we really believe that the love and compassion and mercy of God are limitless? Or do we believe something else?
If you were to ask most Christians whether or not they believe that God's compassions never fail and I am convinced you will get an affirmative answer. Of course they believe that.
But if you were to analyze the beliefs and behaviors of those same Christians, I am not convinced you would find the same affirmative answer. Instead, what comes across is, "Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed" - while we are alive, but if you die without knowing Jesus, you're screwed; and "For his compassions never fail"...until it comes time to send people to hell for eternal punishment.
The traditional view of hell and eternal punishment, it seems, sends a different message than that God's compassion never fails.
In one of the readings for my class this week, the author commented that eternal conscious punishment is a punishment far too excessive for the deeds of a 70-80 year lifespan. He has a point.
You see, never is a long time. Never goes beyond the 70-80 years of life the average person gets on this earth. So, if we believe that God's compassion never fails, what do we say about death and eternity?
All of this is why I have come to the point where I reject absolutely the view of hell as eternal conscious punishment, as God sending people to never-ending pain and suffering.
Let me address two common questions:
1) Does this mean that I believe everybody will "go to heaven?" - No. What I believe the biblical narrative teaches is that God's compassion and mercy are so great that God will never stop encouraging people to choose God. Death is not a barrier to God. Jesus conquered the grave.
However, the biblical narrative also clearly teaches that God has created humans with free will and that God respects that free will. Just as it is possible that someone can live for 80 years on this earth and continually choose not to be in relationship with God, it is possible for that "no" to continue on after death...potentially even throughout the whole of eternity (though I admit that I find it difficult to believe that anyone would be able to eternally resist the persuasive power of God.
2) Does this mean that I do not believe in "hell?" - Again, no. "Hell" is the natural consequence of choosing not to be in relationship with God. As such, "Hell" is experienced here and now and (potentially) for eternity. Hatred and oppression and violence and war are manifestations of hell, as are hunger and thirst and sickness.
The radical difference between this view of hell and the traditional view is that in this view, God does not send people to hell. Rather, hell is what happens when God respects the free will choices of individual human beings. Whether or not to be in hell is my decision - God is always there waiting for me to choose God.
Because God's compassions never fail.
jB
1 comment:
I suspect that choosing to deny the power of God is as "easy" after death as it is in this life. It shocks me that people choose such a thing in a time and place such as this.
I remember Craig suggesting that their would be nothing more "Hell-ish" that spending eternity in the presence of that which you spent your life hating. If one hates God here, His presence there may be too much to enjoy.
Post a Comment