(May 5, 2011 at 8:48 pm)coffeeveritas Wrote: Excellently put! I love the running narrative. It's so funny, that's almost exactly what Rob Bell put on the back of his new book. You're right though, the typical Christian idea of hell just kind of hits you the wrong way logically. I think, "I'm supposed to be the messed up one, but even I wouldn't set someone on fire for disagreeing with me."The more accurate concept of Hell can be found in both the Old & New Testaments, but just look at what the NT actually states about Hell. First it's a place of Darkness void of God's presences and Light, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment"
Second Hell is a place of regret and sorrow void of God's presence and Joy, "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out."
Lastly Hell was created for Satan and his angels. They would most likely not even be affected by what we would know as fire. The flames of Hell are also a place void of God's presence and the Water of Life. Jesus claims to be the Living Water, that if you drink of it you'd never thirst again.
I'm not suggesting Hell isn't a place of torment, it is, but it's mainly tormenting because it's complete separation from God. What ultimate price did Christ pay on the cross for our sin? Total separation from the God the Father, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Hell: It's not being lit up like a human torch, it's being all alone within yourself.
And if a double decker bus crashes into to us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die...there's a Light and it never goes out.
