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Hi Matthew, I'm going to answer both of those as one question, because it seems to me what you're really asking is, Why is it important to believe and teach that there is no eternal hell? Why does this issue really matter so much, since most people wouldn't be damned to hell anyway according to what most Christians believe are God's standards? Well, let me tell you, I believe it is absolutely essential for people to believe that hell is only temporary, and that God is a God of Love rather than vindictive judgment. Yes, most people don't commit what Catholics call "mortal sins" that would send a person to eternal damnation, but some do, and I don't believe they deserve to be punished with an infinite and endless punishment. And in direct response to your question about whether nonbelief in eternal hell is helping me in my life, I would have to say yes, it definitely is. As you said, "it makes one breathe easier." That has to be one of the biggest understatements I've ever heard! I personally don't know how anyone can remain sane and a supporter of the Christian God while believing that some of their fellow human beings will be tortured forever by that God, a God who incarnated Himself as a man who was full of love and forgiveness for sinners, yet who chooses to permanently reject and sadistically punish those He made in His image in a place of never-ending pain and hopelessness, just because they didn't believe in the correct religious doctrines or they did too many wrong actions in their life. Such a belief system requires an astounding lack of compassion for one's fellow man and an extraordinary confidence (i.e. arrogance) that one's own self will be one of the lucky people who pass the divine test and avoid unspeakable doom. Anyone who can think about people who were non-Christian or who committed some sins and failed to repent during their lifetime, screaming and moaning in agony in a place of constant and endless pain -- never, ever to gain relief, even if they beg and plead with God for mercy for a million, billion, trillion years -- and who actually regard that as something they can live with, going about the daily business of their life without feeling very depressed and angry about it, is in my opinion a cold and heartless person, perhaps not even possessing the necessary neurological function in emotional centers of the brain to feel the sheer intolerable revulsion that a mentally and spiritually healthy person should feel at the thought of eternal hell. For those who do not feel the revulsion because they have an abnormal brain, I do not blame them, but instead I feel compassion for their plight. Surely when they die and are released from their abnormal, emotionally stunted mind, their soul will feel the deep emotions of sadness and rage at the thought that the Creator of the universe could make any soul endure permanent hopeless misery. Indeed, no human soul could ever experience heaven while being aware of the reality of an endless hell. Thank God, this abominable concept is not a reality, only a sick product of the dark side of human imagination. I can tell you that for me, personally, if even one single soul ends up in eternal hell, I myself could never rest, either on earth or in the afterlife. It is a pain unbearable, a tragedy unthinkable. When I used to believe in the doctrine of eternal damnation, I was constantly filled with terror that I might not measure up in God's eyes and might end up condemned forever to hell, or that this could happen to my loved ones. Walking around with that kind of visceral, existential fear is not easy to deal with. There are some people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they go insane as a result of belief in eternal hell. Mental hospitals frequently admit people filled with depression and intense anxiety, immersed in the worst kind of hopelessness and suicidal, because they believe that their God is a monster! -- and they cannot bear the thought; the mind cracks under the psychological burden of such a belief. They fear that they must continue to profess allegiance to a God they not only cannot respect but actually loathe, in order to have a chance of escaping damnation, and yet they know that God knows their true feelings, and so they worry that no matter what they do, they will be damned anyway. In such a state, the mind begins to crumble, for the human brain is not built for such perplexing agonies of inner turmoil about the things of the infinite. So the answer to your question is yes, it matters if hell is eternal or not, even if one does not commit serious sins. And yes, my conversion to universalism has helped me in my life, giving me some measure of emotional calm even despite the fact that I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety disorders, and a greater motivation to try to live as a Christian and do good deeds to be more like Christ. That's because I can truly love Christ and the Christian God, knowing now as I do that they are not sadistic, that God is not a monster -- knowing in my heart that "God is Love" (1 John 4:8), that "we know and rely on the love God has for us" (1 John 4:16), and that "God is Light; in Him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5). What darkness could be greater than eternal damnation? Let us praise Jesus that the mind of God is not dark and evil, as some people seem to believe, but that God is all about light and love, as the good news of the Bible proclaims. It can only be one way or the other. For as Jesus said, "A house divided cannot stand." (Mark 3:25). Peace in Christ,
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Christian Universalist FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions
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Heavenly Father, please bless this ministry, lead multitudes to this website, and help them see the truth of Your love and forgiveness for all people through the power of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the whole world. Open their eyes to Your true nature, take away their fears, and fill their hearts with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. |