Hell

In the light of all the fuss over Rob Bell and the rest, I've had some pondering to do. And I've come up with some observations.

The first is that all possible views on Hell can't be right. Drayton Parslow is convinced that everybody who is not a Fundamentalist Baptist is going to Hell. Challenged on all those centuries between the 1st and the 20th, when Fundamentalist Baptism was actually invented, and whether everybody, even the Dunkers, went to Hell, Drayton tells me that there were Fundamentalist Baptists in between but they keep very quiet about it. But there are other groups who are convinced that they are going to heaven and Drayton Parslow is among those going to Hell. It's a bit like a business trip to Slough, apparently. Everyone's convinced of its importance, but they all want somebody else to go there.

The second is that you need to draw a distinction between "Hades" - which is sometimes translated as "Hell" but sometimes as "Sheol" or "The Grave" - and "Gehenna", which is the real deal where worms never die and the fire is never quenched. There's a bit of a difference. I mean, in this-world terms you can imagine Hades as being a bit like a Crewe Station waiting room on a drizzly Tuesday when the train's delayed an unspecified amount of time, while Gehenna is like that, only the tea's undrinkable and the table's on fire and the train's still in London and the guards are poking you with pointy sticks and Whigfield is the muzak. Forever.

The third is that a loving God wouldn't want anybody to go Gehenna. If a loving God's like a loving parent, and we're assured that's how it is, then mere rule-breaking won't do it. Of course, if God's like a barmy parent, who when the kids play up smashes up their toys and throws the computer out of the window, that's another matter. That's certainly one reason why I never thought having children a good idea. After all, I felt bad enough afterwards when I put 240V directly through Burton's train set. The third time, at any rate.

And the fourth, I guess, is that a loving God wouldn't stop them either. If that's what you want, if that's what you need, if that's where you're determined to end up - that's where you're going to go. There's stuff God can try to do - little things, like die, and rise again, and plead, and hold out his/her hands. But there's a day when God will stand back and purse his/her lips and say "Well, it's your eternal life. It's up to you." That's what freedom is all about. Myself, I reckon the way back is always open - but that's not the same as saying everyone will take it.

Fifthly, you can believe in none of it. You can believe it's all made up. You can see it as a social construct designed to keep people in their places. You can. But I don't think Jesus did. I don't think he had that vested interest in good social manners. When you've only 33 years on this planet, you're not going to worry that much about the breakdown of civilisation.

Overall I've decided that I'm going to go for the "Gehenna doesn't really exist" approach, combined with the "God exists" approach. Best of both worlds, I reckon. That gives me that perfect combination between happy punters and no fear. Or, as I like to put it, "do what you like and give all you can".