HELL!

Our discussion group at the Sunrise Cafe have been reading Rob Bells book "Love Wins". I found it to be a good supplemental book to the Emerging movement. Especially as he talks of the non religious and more so the non spiritual members of our human family. A lot of the Emerging literature focuses most heavily on the emerging members of the existing religious communities As I mentioned in the last post there has been a fair amount of criticism especially from his own Evangelical realm. I didn't realize how much so until a friend showed me a recent Time article regarding his book. The title says something like "What if there was no HELL", big red letters and all. As I read the book I found much to like and I had no major concerns about the perspective Bell takes. In the article, however, I do have a major issue with the sensational nature of the prose. Suppose I shouldn't be surprised as it seems to be the normal media perspective in the personal, political, social and even in daily news items. Media has to sell their wears and one of the most effective ways to do so is to tickle the senses. Basically we're dealing with the same reasoning as to why emergence, transcendence and non-dual or both-and thinking are not good hot buttons. When you remove judgmentalism, framing right and wrong from an ego centric perspective you remove the victory, and the spoils. With no Winning involved you loose excitement in the contest; It's boring. Unless, of course, you feel passionate about Love as the answer. The article is actually not bad except for the hype mode of the title. "Love Wins" in no place denies the existence of HELL(except for the pictures and red tights and all). Bell does reframe how we may view this dimension(Hell) and also just how personal that existence might be. Many years ago a friend of mine who spent several years in seminary was relating a perspective which I have always remembered. He said that one view of hell is that it is as simple as the lost of, or an absence from God. As simple as that thought is it is very impactful when one looks at the totality of the existence of God in all of creation, nature, music, art, beauty and love. Essentially one is referring to the turning of your back to God. Absolute isolation. Is that even possible for all eternity? "Love Wins!" most dramatic point is not so much where we end up but who wins in the end? Does God loose? "And so, beginning with the early church, there is a long tradition of Christians who believe that God will ultimately restore everything and everybody, because Jesus says in Matthew 19 that there will be a "renewal of all things," Peter says in Acts 3 that Jesus will "restore everything," and Paul says in Colossians 1 that through Christ "God was pleased to ...reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.""(Love Wins, pg 107) . I believe that God Wins. I believe that Love Wins. So I rest for now, and forever, in the Peace of Christ! RV