There is a lot of talk about hell in pop-Christianity right now thanks to Rob Bell’s new book. I think that it is great that this topic is coming to the front of conversations. Hell has been a difficult topic for the past few decades within Christianity. For a few sects, hell has found renewed focus and is used to further advance personalities. Even within politics it has found renewed interest as we address terrorism and the advocates of violence. Hell has never been out of fashion within the church though. But as the impact of postmodernism and multiculturalism find its way into Christian thought, the certainty of what hell means is up for discussion. Hell, though, is an important topic to discuss for those working through their own journey. There is little doubt that hell has been used to manipulate and control people for years and is broadly accepted as a good strategy for evangelism within fundamental factions, but many mainstream and progressive Christians differ greatly even within their own localized communities regarding their beliefs about hell. This new conversation about hell in the broader Christian culture as well as within my own faith development intersects with my renewed passion for scripture. I have recently begun reading the New Testament and I am shocked at how differently I read it now than just a few years ago. The Gospel of Matthew, for example, has led me to journal about struggles and gain new insight that I had never seen before in scripture. A recurring topic within the New Testament, as you know, is the Kingdom of God. Last week I read Matthew 25, which addresses the Return of Christ, and I haven’t been able to shake my frustrations with the chapter. My frustration with this chapter, specifically the first thirteen verses, has been back dropped against the pop Christian discussion of hell.
As you might guess if you have read my blog before, I am not quite on board with the whole hell thing. That doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in hell; simply that I see it as irrelevant to my own spiritual development or how I interact with others (even “pagans”). As I am reading the Gospel of Matthew I notice something about the way that Jesus discusses hell, and he discusses it a lot. Matthew is obviously written as a chronology of the life of Christ, but the structure suggests that it is more than a simple biography and takes a few privileges to make an otherwise chronological detailing of Jesus’ life into a narrative of the story of Jesus. This can be seen throughout the Book Matthew. For example, early in the ministry of Jesus, he is very clear about righteousness and the standards that we all live by. Hell is seen as a consequence in the early part of Matthew. But then the conversation moves toward one of grace and mercy. Throughout the middle of the book we see that righteousness only comes through knowing Christ and that the law is incomplete. Then at the end of Matthew we are reintroduced to hell, but it is contextualized much within the language of the Kingdom of God. I think that the point here is that we are being walked through the stages of spiritual maturity. But what is interesting is that judgment (as a topic) is important in early development, but that we should move beyond that. We will, however, have to come back to reflecting on judgment, but that we had to go through a process of deconstruction before we can see that judgment is really about the Kingdom of God. So when Jesus is referencing hell I think what he is saying is, “I get it. Not only are you largely motivated by reward and punishment, but knowing God in any way other than earning that intimacy is far too difficult to comprehend. But we have to realize who God and what he wants for us. His desire is to know us and for us to know each other. Once you get that then you can experience the Kingdom of God.” So instead of judgment being seen as being left behind (as in not getting to go to heaven) it is about being left behind (as in missing the incarnation of Christ).
So that is my basic take on the whole hell thing. That leads me to Matthew 25. In chapter 24 we see Jesus use some pretty apocalyptic language. It is broadly accepted that this is an end-times reference. What that means is up for discussion though. Although this may be a reference to actual end –times, I can’t help but feel that such a fundamental paradigm to this is inconsistent with the context of the rest of the book and the ministry of Christ. I continue to feel that the language in this chapter refers more to experiencing the incarnation of Christ than the impeding scenario of tribulation. The context of this chapter revolving around the “fall of the temple” further solidifies this perspective for me. The idea that we need to be on alert because we don’t know when Jesus will return or else we may end up in hell is completely contrary to his entire previous ministry focused on the transformational power of intimacy with God. The end of the chapter beginning in verse 36 reads,
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
As you might guess if you have read my blog before, I am not quite on board with the whole hell thing. That doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in hell; simply that I see it as irrelevant to my own spiritual development or how I interact with others (even “pagans”). As I am reading the Gospel of Matthew I notice something about the way that Jesus discusses hell, and he discusses it a lot. Matthew is obviously written as a chronology of the life of Christ, but the structure suggests that it is more than a simple biography and takes a few privileges to make an otherwise chronological detailing of Jesus’ life into a narrative of the story of Jesus. This can be seen throughout the Book Matthew. For example, early in the ministry of Jesus, he is very clear about righteousness and the standards that we all live by. Hell is seen as a consequence in the early part of Matthew. But then the conversation moves toward one of grace and mercy. Throughout the middle of the book we see that righteousness only comes through knowing Christ and that the law is incomplete. Then at the end of Matthew we are reintroduced to hell, but it is contextualized much within the language of the Kingdom of God. I think that the point here is that we are being walked through the stages of spiritual maturity. But what is interesting is that judgment (as a topic) is important in early development, but that we should move beyond that. We will, however, have to come back to reflecting on judgment, but that we had to go through a process of deconstruction before we can see that judgment is really about the Kingdom of God. So when Jesus is referencing hell I think what he is saying is, “I get it. Not only are you largely motivated by reward and punishment, but knowing God in any way other than earning that intimacy is far too difficult to comprehend. But we have to realize who God and what he wants for us. His desire is to know us and for us to know each other. Once you get that then you can experience the Kingdom of God.” So instead of judgment being seen as being left behind (as in not getting to go to heaven) it is about being left behind (as in missing the incarnation of Christ).
So that is my basic take on the whole hell thing. That leads me to Matthew 25. In chapter 24 we see Jesus use some pretty apocalyptic language. It is broadly accepted that this is an end-times reference. What that means is up for discussion though. Although this may be a reference to actual end –times, I can’t help but feel that such a fundamental paradigm to this is inconsistent with the context of the rest of the book and the ministry of Christ. I continue to feel that the language in this chapter refers more to experiencing the incarnation of Christ than the impeding scenario of tribulation. The context of this chapter revolving around the “fall of the temple” further solidifies this perspective for me. The idea that we need to be on alert because we don’t know when Jesus will return or else we may end up in hell is completely contrary to his entire previous ministry focused on the transformational power of intimacy with God. The end of the chapter beginning in verse 36 reads,
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
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