{RE}Think Hell

My former church is teaching that hell as a western evangelical culture construct doesn't exist. I love that for them.

“Rethink Hell”–AI Generated here on Substack

What the hell?

The infamous “prophet” of OKC, who claims to be a real man but throws tantrums like a baby, is having a massive meltdown that’s been brewing for thirteen years. It’s all about my former Pastor, Clark Whitten. Pastor Clark and his church (my former church) are rethinking hell and teaching that hell as we know it in the Western evangelical church doesn’t exist.

And here is the sermon causing the stir just in case you want to watch it (more thoughts after the video):

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What Are They Talking About? An Abridged List Of Conversion Therapy Speak

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On the topic of hell…

After coming out, I stopped believing in the Western evangelical version of hell. Just like Pastor Clark said in his sermon, it doesn’t fit with a loving and merciful God. It doesn’t make sense from Jesus’ time to ours. Hell is supposed to be a dark kingdom where Satan rules with pure evil over demons and other inhabitants.

In my opinion, hell is the punishment part of this false afterlife dichotomy of reward and punishment. This leads me to my first problem with hell: why would God give Lucifer (now called Satan) and the angels Lucifer led in a rebellion against God’s, the literal Creator of the universe their own kingdom? Why would God reward Satan with his own kingdom to do with as he sees fit? Why would God hand over humanity, God’s “Image Bearers”, to be mutilated and tortured for all eternity with no way to die by the hands (talons?) of the most arrogant enemy God ever encountered?

It doesn’t make sense.

If hell is real, Satan would be the most miserable creature in hell. All the other inhabitants would torture and hurt him for creating the Fall from heaven (1/3 of the angels became demons) and the fall of mankind (the snake/apple in the Garden of Eden). If hell is supposed to be the punishment of those who rebel and reject God, Satan would have no power.

So, yes, I believe hell is a manipulative construct by church leaders to force conformity in belief and behavior. This construct has been built into the foundation of the culturally driven church for so long that most modern Christians don’t even realize that hell doesn’t make sense because questioning it is a one-way ticket to hell. It literally gets shoved out of having any critical thinking applied to it; that we can follow Christ’s teachings and embrace our humanity without fear at the same time.

Christian Universalist energy wrangler

As a Christian Universalist, I firmly believe that we all make it to the afterlife without the concept of hell, regardless of our faith or lack thereof. I think that the energy we radiate into the world, both visible and invisible, influences what we experience now and in the afterlife.

So, here’s the thing: if you send out positive vibes and peace, you’ll receive positive vibes and peace. But if you send out negativity and meanness, you’ll reap the same. And when I make my judgments (which, let’s be honest, we all do), I have to be super aware of my own ignorance, limitations, and biases. I have to be mindful of my tendency to act in ways that I think are righteous, but might actually be evil.

Jesus’s teachings still guide me on this path.

I believe that there’s light and darkness in all of us, no matter how holy or spiritually advanced we think we are. I believe that we’re all connected to each other and the world around us on a spiritual/energy level.

And here’s the thing about hell: it’s not a destination in the afterlife. If its anywhere, I believe it’s right here, right now. And heaven is right here, right now, too.

The Supernatural and Afterlife

I believe in both and I believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience which will eventually get us to whatever afterlife is waiting for us. As such, some of us seem to love evil and will choose that kind of greed and violence. Some of us will choose humility, serving others, and peacekeeping. I do believe there are malevolent and heavenly beings seeking to affect our experience to help us become, or divert us away, from all that we can be in every aspect of being.

I could write a whole book on it but I am still learning and not sure that is something I need to spend a lot of time on.

What do you think?

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