What is hell?
The definition is usually assumed, mainly because we grow up with all these fantasies and myths swirling around our little four-year-old minds. We hear it as a curse word, as people scream, "Go to hell!" and we simply assume it to be the worst place imaginable.
In theory.
As a reality, however, we have underestimated hell. By saying that hell will be bearable, that we can make the most of it if we end up there, we are completely desecrating our own curse words, by making them less meaningful.
Am I saying that we should not curse at one another? Hell, no! But while we utter words, we ought to understand what they mean.
So let me tell you a bit about hell.
Hell, definitively, means "separation." It does not mean death, but rather separation from life. In hell the person is separated from all things Good. The judged one is at the mercy of evil with complete separation from God, goodness, light, love, and joy.
Which sounds pretty bad, but there are those among us who may say it does not sound unbearable, for they have gone without God, have had little experiences with goodness, are depressed, miserable, and alone. These people have been in an earthly hell, but not an ultimate one. Let me try to explain the difference.
Earthly hell is common. Look around you: that girl with the scars up her wrists and thighs, that anorexic lady who starves herself to look "pretty," that boy with a black eye and bruises on his ribs, that child hiding under his bed from his drunken father's wrath. These are the earth's pangs, it's small-scale introductions to hell. But earth has melded attributes from heaven with attributes of hell, so no matter how bad it gets here for anyone, it cannot be true hell because it still has that undertone of heavenly themes to provide a relief and a balance.
Ultimate hell is much more severe. It is eternal, everlasting, and hopeless. There are no people who can provide comfort, and here is why: It is a place of pure evil, and no good is allowed to enter. Communion with others is "good." So...What is evil?
Evil is not an entity. It is not a "thing." Evil describes the lack of good. Evil is like Darkness: it is not a measurable, existing substance. It is the lack of another substance. Therefore darkness requires light to exist, and evil requires good. When you take away goodness, it becomes an immeasurable and supreme force, choking us with its impossible, non-existent weight. We would rather implode under the terrible force of evil than suffer one more day of Nothing.
Because Hell is Nothing. It is a very real nothing that we choose to encompass for the rest of our lives. It is a nothing that, upon becoming our everything, is so completely dissatisfying that it leaves us in incalculable agony and despair. We will burn with unquenchable fires that give off no light and no heat, save to scald us and cause us to blister. Our souls will become eternally tormented, and if we are given voices, we will scream ourselves mute before our eternal damnation has even quite begun.
And it never comes to an end.
Why talk about hell?
Because it is real. It is terrifying. And it awaits those who turn away from the Creator. And as Christians, it is time we stop hiding behind the skirts of our missionaries' wives, stop slinking into church services, religious eye-candy for each other, stacking up our piles of rules and regulations for what we have termed "godly living."
But there is an epidemic. There is a cult of people who call themselves Christians but instead of following Christ, they follow other Christians. They take a holy shit on the Bible, wiping with the Book of Opinions, Crack it open to the book of Ignorance and Folly, and begin penning their own rules in the margins. They condemn other denominations for committing "major" theological errors, implying that they alone know the truth. In this arrogant, megalomanic missions trip of judgement and hate, people are not just being hurt by the church. They are being forgotten.
I refuse to allow my church to become a missions field that sends people to hell. Therefore I will stand up to legalistic shit, evil arrogance, condemning brothers, hateful sisters, those who will refuse to love their fellow man because they fear for their own testimonies. These things must be abolished. But it must begin with a conversation about Hell. Because it's the place where the church is sending everyone who disagrees with its lofty knowledge. It's the place it's headed itself.
Let us dive head first into this Hades of self-righteousness. Let us paint the truth in its hideously gaudy colors. Let us disgust people. Let us enrage them.
Welcome to philalethia. Welcome to hell. I hope it has been a warm welcome.
