Jesus is quoted to have said, Your faith has made you whole. He could just as easily have said, your faith has made (or created for you) hell. When you believe in something as strongly as many believe in the concept of eternal damnation in a customized torture chamber called hell, it becomes their reality in nearly every aspect of their dual consciousness of good and evil, god and devil, something the bible records God to have forbidden Adam and Eve to partake in. Allegiances to both God and a Devil, good and evil have the human species struggling to hold on to one and escape the other. The literal concept of hell beyond the earth experience is the one with which we struggle most. The hell we go through in life is literal enough, to extend it beyond the grave to the next form of existence is cruel, absurd and obscene, but the idea is an entrenched indoctrination most are unable to avoid. We MUST rethink all of these traded-down mythical and superstitious concepts, to see how and even if they fit in the 21st century with any meaningful or practical relevance. Consciousness is everything and what we think about, we tend to bring about. When you believe in hell as both real and reliable, you tend to depend on its essence and ultimacy as a pillar of faith and piety in your life. Belief in hell as an article of faith competes with and compares to faith in God and Jesus as a requirement for salvation. It shades and jades your consciousness consistently and completely. Belief in eternal damnation (hell) is foreboding and intimidating, causing deep-seated fear and anger and causes subconscious distrust of a God who sponsors such hideous hatred, suffering and unending judgmentalism. It subtly implies that Gods mercy actually doesnt endure forever, but that torment and agony does, presumably for billions of non-Christians, as well as possibly millions of disobedient, weak or irresponsible confessing Christians. The absurdity and obscenity of that kind of trained or learned thinking and the sense of vengeance that accompanies it is erosive and mentally corrosive. In many ways, it is a form of insanity. I lived it for nearly 50 years. Some of the sweetest people on earth do so as well, but that doesnt mean or make it right or helpful in the long term, if not the short. The fear and paranoia around the subject of eternal doom and damnation that lives within people who call themselves servants and followers of the Prince of Peace produces the exact opposite inwardly, and the anxiety is disguised as safety and security through religious piety and biblically-prescribed righteousness. Through these prescriptions, the difficult God is pleased and the angry one appeased and so goes institutional evangelical fundamentalism, called and considered by some, faith. Can you imagine faith beyond that particular image of God? Are you willing to even try? Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 02:50:05 +0000
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