Hell no we wont go…

A reflection on the inconsistency of hell with the ethical call of discipleship

The talk of hell and eternal damnation finds common place in all expressions of the Christian faith. It has been said that one goes to hell because God’s requirement of holiness is something that would never be realized by sinful humanity, hence the need for someone to come in our place to save us from the wrath of God’s consuming holiness.

I have no disagreement with such explanation.

Experience, scripture and the study of human history testifies to that. In fact, it is my study of history that I find significance in the redeeming work of Christ that I believe humanity finds salvation from its present predicament, ultimately reconciling us from our present alienation from God.

However, I find the fire and brimstone rhetoric of preachers that tries to paint a vivid picture of Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, every Sunday or every available occasion to guilt us enough to have the fearful motivation to step forward for the alter call, to raise our hands amidst the closed eyes and bowed heads of the congregation or to repeat after the pastor’s rendition of the Sinner’s Prayer.

Of silent pandas and condescending statements

More than a week ago Earth First! Philippines, raised questions about World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines’ (WWF) affiliation with McDonalds, Aboitiz Power and their usage of tarpaulins in their materials on their Facebook page. Being an activist that values the capability of social media as a valid avenue of facilitating informed discourse I was taken aback by the response that the Facebook Page admin did. They deleted the comment.

Seeing that happen comes as a shock for me and when I tried asking about it all I got is a comment from another person affiliated with WWF saying that its because they’re about being positive and not negative. The answer gave me the impression of how ill-informed they are at the basics of social interaction within social media.

A deeper look at the Incarnation

Bonhoeffer is probably my favorite theologian these days and the statement below is an example of why:

In Jesus Christ we have faith in the incarnate, crucified and risen God. In the incarnation we learn of the love of God for His creation; in the crucifixion we learn of the judgment of God upon all flesh; and in the resurrection we learn of God’s will for a new world. There could be no greater error than to tear these elements apart; for each of them comprises the whole.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics

A good quote from Reinhold Niebuhr

It is quite amazing what books you might come across whenever you'd rummage through a used book sale. This is a good one which is also quite cheap considering that this is no longer in print and not to mention this edition is from the 60s.

But what's more special about this is that I've found something insightful with how Reinhold Niebuhr converses about Christian ethics and the Sovereign will of God and Western Civilization.

"We on the other as all "God-fearing" men of all ages, are never safe against the temptation of claiming God too simply as the sanctifier of whatever we most fervently desire. Even the most "Christian" civilization and the most pious church must be reminded that the true God can be known only where there is some awareness of a contradiction between divine and human purposes, even on the highest level of human aspirations."

- Reinhold Niebuhr
The Irony of American History