Several years ago, Rob Bell wrote a very popular book called Love Wins.  In it, he argued that a loving God could never send anyone to Hell.  It’s beneath Him.  A loving God would give everyone a chance to repent—even after death—and wouldn’t stop pursuing them, wouldn’t “close the door to Heaven”, until they did.  Hence, in the end, (God’s) love wins.

Traditionally, this position is known as “Universalism”, and, although declared a heresy by the Church, throughout the ages, a number of Christians and self-proclaimed Christian groups have adhered to this belief.  Many people in our culture have now bought into Bell’s argument and, consciously or not, have become Universalists.  I’ve even read other popular Christian writers who have authoritatively—though erroneously—declared that the Church no longer believes in the “nonsense” of Hell.  According to them, the doctrine of Hell is just a primitive superstition that sophisticated, modern believers no longer need to tolerate.

I like what Bell proposes.  I’d prefer to believe that, ultimately, everyone makes it to Heaven.  I base this on my belief that God is love; which is based on my belief that Jesus is God.  I have a hard time believing that the God revealed in Jesus Christ could ever send someone to an eternal punishment for a temporal sin, no matter how horrendous.  I want everyone to be saved, because this is, in my mind, how (God’s) love wins.

Where is Osama bin Laden?  I don’t mean his body.  The Navy seals who captured and killed him supposedly dumped his body somewhere in the ocean.  No, I mean his soul.  Assuming we humans have souls, where is Osama bin Laden spending eternity?  Most people wouldn’t blink an eye before emphatically declaring, “Hell!”  In fact, I’ve had a number of people tell me they’re sure that’s where he is.

But if Universalism is true, then a loving God couldn’t send Osama bin Laden to Hell.

If Bell is right, then Osama is in Heaven.

There is something deeply unsettling about this.  As I can fully attest, even in so-called progressive circles, where people tend towards Universalism, the thought bin Laden is enjoying the infinite rewards of Paradise is unbearably offensive. 

In the Bible, do you know who talks about final judgement and Hell more than any other person?  It’s Jesus!  Ironic, isn’t it?  Most people the world over would rank Jesus among the most loving, if not the most loving, human beings to ever live—and he was.  Yet, the Gospels couldn’t be any clearer that He taught Hell was real and that we were all in grave danger of ending up there if we don’t repent and believe in Him.

Of course, Bell cleverly tries to explain this away.  He says Jesus was just using metaphorical language when he spoke about Hell.  To be a little facetious but not inaccurate, he says that when Jesus talked about Hell, he didn’t really mean it.  Moreover, Bell argues that the word we usually interpret as “eternal” should just be translated as “age” or “period of time”.  Jesus, according to Bell, wasn’t referring to a permanent state, but a temporary punishment akin to Purgatory.

However, as many have noted, the way Bell interprets the relevant passages where Jesus talks about Hell is a stretch to say the least.  His interpretation of them is riddled with problems.

In fact, one thing biblical scholars of all stripes agree on—skeptical or not—is that Jesus presented himself as what they call the “Eschatological” agent or prophet.  Eschatological is just a fancy way of saying “end-time”.  This means that Jesus’ ministry, proclaiming the Kingdom, was all about calling people to repent before God’s imminent judgement burst forth and there would no longer be time to reform and be saved.  In other words, the main focus of his Kingdom proclamation was to warn people of the urgency to repent lest they should be condemned. 

As much as I’d prefer it wasn’t true, there can be little doubt that Jesus taught the dreadful reality of Hell.

Still, a God of love and an eternal Hell—how can this be?  It’s a complete and utter contradiction.  I, we, keep tripping over the logic.  Isn’t love about accepting people just as they are; isn’t forgiveness about releasing people from the punishment their offenses deserve?  God’s perfect, unconditional love, then, should accept everyone into Heaven, forgiving whatever they’ve done.

The thing that bothers me most is the idea that God would impose an eternal punishment on someone for temporal sins; that He would impose infinite consequences for finite offenses.  That’s simply not fair.  How could a just God ever do this?

Hell does seem like utter nonsense—no more than a primitive superstition.

But…what if there is no contradiction?  What if Hell, instead of being opposed to God’s love, is actually a necessary part of it?  What if Hell is a manifestation of His love?  What if that’s why Jesus, renowned for his love, also spoke so emphatically about Hell?

What if God doesn’t send anyone to Hell?

What if Hell is about God giving us exactly what we want most?

What if this temporal life here on earth is the only way and, therefore, only opportunity, to freely choose what we want most?

Hell may be the most misunderstood of all Christian doctrines.

As I will show in future blogs, IF God is love, then Hell MUST exist.

And, based on the Christian doctrine of Hell, I will tackle the question of where Osama bin Laden most likely is.

With a loving God, Hell is a logical necessity.  It’s the only way love wins.

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