Hell under fire

Someone wrote:

"Many theologians & church leaders are getting nervous these days. I can sense it. They're trying desperately every last ditch effort to protect their precious doctrine of hell. There's one book in the religion section of this bookstore I went to earlier this week titled "Hell Under Fire". The cover shows flames on it. Anyway the authors were saying that the teaching of universal salvation is gaining ground and "infecting" the church as they put it. These are authors that are getting nervous about that.

They are nervous because they don't know how to answer the tough questions such as Why God would bother creating souls if He knew that the majority of them would be lost in hell forever? How is 70 years of sins worth infinite punishment in the afterlife? That's not justice." 

 He also wrote: 

"Am I the only one who notices that universal salvation is the most hated doctrine among just about all Christian denominations? A lot of denominations will fight and argue over doctrine but they have a common hatred for universalist doctrine. Why is that? Even among grace believers who don't believe in the salvation of all they would rather fellowship with legalists than universalists. I remember someone admitting they thought universalism was more dangerous than the legalists doctrine. Why is the doctrine of salvation of all hated by all of Christianity?

It is one thing to not agree with the doctrine but why does it seem like all denominations in Christianity can come together and join forces to gang up on universalists?"

I think some 'grace' believers are against universalism because the false doctrine of hell controls them with fear. They might think "what if I believe there is no hell and it turns out I am wrong and god decides to send me there?" Or "what if I believe everyone is saved and don't share the gospel and it turns out that not everyone is saved and I will have failed in evangelism?"

I think these fears are unfounded and are caused by erroneous teachings on salvation that misrepresent God. For one, we know salvation is not about saving people from hell. Two, they have an image of the small-minded, petty god who throws tantrums if people thinks he is too good and loving to throw people in hell. Three, it's all about 'me' at the end of the day. They want to hear "well done, good and faithful servants" after they die. They don't want to lose their "rewards" for "serving god" in church buildings and telling people about "turn or burn", which is actually not good news for everyone. They are afraid to lose god's favour.

So, this reveals their heart on what people really believe about grace. If they think grace is limited and exclusive, then their version of grace is not really grace, and their gospel is not really good news, but a sick, twisted, perverted doctrine that subtly controls people with fear, guilt and condemnation. 

To believe in grace and hell at the same time is kinda oxymoronic, like the term 'grace-hell believers'. I used to come from that kind of evangelistic christian background too, so I roughly know where they are coming from if they claim to believe in grace and yet refuse to let go of the hell doctrine.

To be sure, the idea of inclusivity sounds wonderful to them, but there is perhaps a legalistic or vengeful trait in their mindset if they are hell-bent on seeing certain people end up in a physical place called hell.

One of my care group friends recently asked me "What about the murderers, adulterers, etc?" when I told her there is no physical place called hell. My answer to her question is that we are all murderers and adulterers. I think these make up the old Adamic identity based on our performance, and the gospel is about our new identity based on our co-identification with Christ.

I also need to remind myself that I can't expect them to change their mindset overnight after many years of being indoctrinated about the hell doctrine by the institutional church. It can be disappointing and frustrating to face incredulous opposition from others when we explain to them there is no physical hell. So if they think I'm a heretic and I'm misled to believe in something outside of mainstream church teachings, then so be it.