Burning issues of hell still being debated
The popular 19th century speaker, Robert Green Ingersoll, once said: “I have concluded that I will never deliver a lecture in which I will not attack the doctrine of eternal pain … I want to impress it upon your minds, because the thing I wish to do in this world is to put out the fires of hell. I will keep on as long as there is one little red coal left in the bottomless pit. As long as the ashes are warm I shall denounce this infamous doctrine.” This was a hot topic in Ingersoll’s day, and continues to be a burning issue that kindles our imagination today.
Who sincerely believes in hell anymore, and why would they? Is it merely to see those who disagree with them severely punished? In my way of thinking, one’s belief in hell says everything about their belief in God. No one can honestly believe in a good god and believe in hell, at least as traditionally painted. I use the word “painted” because I think most of what we hear about a fiery place of punishment comes out of Renaissance art and literature, especially Dante’s “Inferno.” Gazing at Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings, Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” and Botticelli’s circular “Map of Hell,” it’s easy to see how people get their fanciful mental pictures of divine punishment. (Hollywood plays a part, of course.)
Then there’s the horror of the Book of Revelation – blood, gore and war in the eternal battle of good versus evil. The God side – the good side – wins (no surprise), but the majority of humanity ends up in the lake of fire and the forever furnace. Not a pretty picture, painting or poetic literature.
Who deserves something like hell? On my mental list I would place anyone who harms the most innocent, vulnerable and poor in our world – human or non-human. Then I would add, anyone who preys on, or prays on, the most credulous believers, who fall under the spell of hellfire preachers terrorizing their flock with the tortures of a godforsaken underworld.
Speaking of the underworld, it seems our popular images of hell originate with Greek and Roman mythologies of the netherworld. If there’s an Olympus, where the good gods reside, there must be a mirror opposite, Hades, a dark and dangerous place no mortal ever wants to see.
If there was no hell, would heaven have the same attraction? Would “salvation” be necessary? In reference to Christians, did Jesus die to “atone” for our hell-and-damnation-deserving sins, because we were separated from a god who feels the need to torment those who don’t accept forgiveness? What if hell was completely unnecessary because a truly loving lord had no need to threaten an eternal fiery death in order to pressure people into believing in him? Yet some persistently believe: “Choosing not to follow the Lord, you are choosing to go to hell.” Quite a “choice.”
As I see it, progressive Christians, who still read the Bible, also have to come to terms with biblical punishments. Without the threat of judgment, the wildfire of the early church may never have sparked to life. Some form of hell is integral to The Story; remove it, deny it, ignore it, and the Story of Faith stumbles and crumbles. If there’s a heaven, there must be a hell, right?
The concept of hell raises these questions, and many more “hellraisers.” The Apostles Creed states that after Jesus died “he descended into hell.” Who can explain that? If a “loving God” created such a terrible place of terror, is there a compelling reason to believe in such a tyrannical Father? That may sound harsh, but hell is harsh, and so is the belief in it. The myth of hell, perpetuated for centuries, is a horror movie we truly don’t need to see, let alone believe in.
Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” (1321) is a journey from hell to purgatory to paradise. Is this “comedy” or a nightmarish pilgrimage leading to ultimate happiness? An adventurous story maybe, but told in an allegory that has heretics burning along with Judas, Julius Caesar and the rest of the “damned.” As Ingersoll repeated to crowds of believers and non-believers: “The doctrine of eternal punishment is … born of ignorance, cruelty and fear.”
We still hear exclamations like “It hurt like hell,” or “She really went through hell,” or “Hell no, I won’t.” An expression of suffering, or rebellion. We might recall the lyric from the song, “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha: “To march into hell for a heavenly cause.” As the noble act of a hellbound hero, the fantasy may even sound strangely divine.
Through the flames of faith and unholy smoke, we might wonder who’s marching to heaven for a hellish cause?
Chris Highland was a minister and interfaith chaplain for nearly 30 years. He is a teacher, writer and humanist celebrant. His books and blogs are presented on “Friendly Freethinker” at chighland.com.