Heaven, Hell & Heretics, Oh My!

It always astounds me how as a society we remove ourselves from the history of certain words we throw around when engaging in "fierce debate."  Consider the image above:  This is what was done to those labeled heretics.  They were burned at the stake.  Or they were drowned because of their views on baptism.  Or worse.  And yet while we obviously don't condone that in today's society, several Christian leaders feel it appropriate to dub the label "heretic" on those that hold different views than they do on certain "Biblical topics" (cough, Rob Bell, cough).  This is done in the name of "defending the faith," and this is justified because we must point out the "false prophets" in today's society.  Do you think we might be taking things a little out of context here?
Let's flesh out false prophets according to the account given in 2 Peter 2:  They deny the Lord (v. 1), they bring the way of truth (could be defined as Jesus or following Jesus) into disrepute (v. 2), they are greedy and exploit people with false stories (v. 3), they are impulsive and hate authority as well as being arrogant (v. 10), they claim to know things that they have no knowledge of (v. 12), and they never stop sinning (v. 14).  It is also good to note that throughout chapter 2 these false prophets and teachers will be judged harshly by God.  I say this to emphasize who isn't the judge: human beings.
Is it fair to label anyone a false prophet given the scriptural definition?  The issue with these prophets seems to be with the core of Christian faith: the identity of Jesus Christ.  And looking at some of the other descriptions, shouldn't I be worried about myself more than others?  Do I ever deny the Lord?  Do I ever get the truth way wrong?  Have I ever been arrogant?  Have I ever claimed knowledge or expertise where I had little or no knowledge?  Do I ever stop sinning?  It would be easy for me to say that the definition lines up more with a cult leader than anyone else I could think of, but then I think that perhaps one of the key motives of this piece of scripture and most scripture is for the reader/listener to examine themselves and to be wary of those who are focused more on transforming others without letting God be the transformer.
Calvin and Luther changed the way the church thought, but they also stood aside and even aided the torturous murders of heretics and others that they deemed outside of the faith.  I'm glad we can discuss things and have different opinions without resorting to violence (although this obviously depends on where you are in the world), but can we disassociate ourselves from inflammatory language in our disagreements?  I'm not saying you have to agree with Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, or the Emergent conversation/church/movement, but does the scriptural definition of heresy and false teacher match?  I'm obviously biased, but the disagreement doesn't even have to do with the identity of Christ, which disqualifies 99% of the people that seem to get the heretic label these days.
To conclude, I'm not saying we have to "throw the baby out with the bath water," that is: we don't have to dismiss all of reformation theology because of some of the reformers' actions (which should be condemned in my opinion).  If you take anything from this post at all, I would ask that we put to death labels like "heretic," especially when the shoe might fit our own foot more than the person we think it fits.  How do Christians look when we keep building straw men of each other?  How do we look when we are busier excluding people from God's grace than welcoming people into it?  Perhaps the harder we try not to be something, the closer we resemble something much different...  Let's tone the rhetoric down.....PLEASE!

Grace and peace,

Jason 

Does Hell Exist?

 

My wife and I attend a class after church on Sundays.  Last Sunday we wrapped up a book we had been studying for about three months or so and it was brought up that Rob Bell (see above) has a new book coming out (Love Wins) in which he seems to debunk the existence of hell, or at least the idea of hell as a destination for those who don't accept Christ as their savior.  This caused quite a discussion.  A similar discussion was brought up at a Bible study we went to on Monday night when someone had an article of a pastor's response to Bell, disagreeing with Bell's conclusion.

Being an opinionated person who has more or less devoted his life to ministry and who loves studying theological viewpoints, you'd think I'd be more interested in discussing the relevance of Hell.  In reality I find it a bit draining.  To be honest I am overwhelmed by the topic for many reasons, a few which I'll list:

1) I'm not comfortable making a hard conclusion either way since only God knows what happens beyond this life.  He is in control of what we know and don't know, but I'm more comfortable acting out what I feel to be clear examples in scripture intended for this life, not the next, even though I feel what we are called to in this life is tied intimately to whatever comes next.

2) On the flip side of not worrying about the afterlife, I hesitate to come to a universalism position on Hell.  Are there not consequences to our actions?  It's easy to give Ghandi a pass, but do we really want to give Hitler a pass, or the countless others who have committed heinous societal crimes?

3) I believe that there are allusions to the afterlife in the Bible, but I believe what the Bible calls us to is rooted in this life and doesn't involve a life changing one time choice.  Churches that focus on conversion often make the mistake of alienating community, or even worse, taking God's blessing and hording it for those who they, as fallible human beings, feel are worthy.

I could probably make more points as to why I don't want to make an uninformed decision on something I have no control over.  I feel overwhelmed by the topic even as I type this.  While I lean towards the position that Hell doesn't exist as a destination, I do believe in evil spirits and Satan.  I have had quite a few spiritual experiences in my life, and the most distinct of these has always been negative, probably because being raised as a Christian I have taken the positive experience for granted.  

I still remember a dream from my youth:  I was walking with some kids I went to school with.  It was on a city street and it was dark out.  I went back to help someone cross a street and my attention was drawn to an evil "being" driving an ice cream truck.  As the truck passed by (it wasn't in my path) I felt myself being sucked beneath the ground and I was in a place devoid of life.  I felt dark and cold to the point of paralysis.  I can't remember ever being as afraid as I was when I woke up.  While this is the most extreme event that stands out, I have had several other experiences similar, both awake and asleep, alone and with others.  While my dream doesn't prove or disprove Hell, it also doesn't make it easy for me to think that everyone gets a pass.

Rob Bell isn't bringing a new idea to the table with his book, but I think the reason his book has caused a lot of reaction is because of where he is coming from as an evangelical pastor.  I, personally, have liked some of Bell's work and ideas.  He has been a proponent for old ideas that are new to much of his audience.  My fear is that his focus may take away from more important and relevant discussions to be had.  The topic is divisive in itself, and more importantly, has little influence when it comes to much more relevant societal injustices: hunger, the growing gap between rich and poor, the distancing of the mega church (like Bell's own Mars Hill) from the community, racism, etc.

Please don't get me wrong.  I'm sure some people will find comfort in "Love Wins."  I don't think it's all bad, especially if the book re-emphasizes the message that Jesus' message is available for everyone, NO EXCEPTIONS.  I'd just rather focus on things I can have a direct impact on (see issues in above paragraph).  I can no more condemn someone to Hell than can I give someone a one way ticket to Heaven.  What I will choose to focus on is following the example of Christ which is relevant in this life.  I know we can bring a little bit of heaven here to the earth by what we do for others in love, without judgment.  You might call me "wishy-washy," but I believe we should focus on this life and let the chips fall wherever God puts them (intentional irony).  "...thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..."

I hope that makes sense, and no, I don't care much about what happens after I pass.  I believe we are combating forces beyond our control or understanding at times, but I'm comfortable with the way I'm living, as best as I can in Christ's example.  Would you put yourself in Heaven?  Would you condemn yourself to Hell?  Whenever we make these abstract ideas a reality we take away from a calling rooted in reality.

That's all I got, feel free to hit me up in a discussion via e-mail (jsquiggles23@hotmail.com) or if you know me on facebook.  I get your comments in my e-mail, but many of you haven't responded in the comments, so e-mail is probably the best way to discuss if you want me to respond.

Grace and peace,

Jason     

Lost In Life....

For those who may have been following my blog that I had been updating somewhat regularly, I apologize for not keeping up.  Life has gotten in the way, with many family crises as well as the pursuit of a ministerial lifestyle.  Since my last update my family has grown by one (my almost four month old daughter Samaya) and I have gotten a bit closer to becoming a licensed local pastor in the United Methodist Church.  With all that has gone on in my life I lost the energy and time to blog.  I started a series but didn't like where it was headed, so now I will not finish....  My blog, my rules.  I will probably keep up the blog more often, but I doubt that I will start a theme series like I have done before anytime soon.  I will mostly just blog about random scriptural/Jesus/other relevant things that come to mind.  So, for the three of you who read the blog occasionally I apologize if I left you hanging.

Grace and peace,

Jason