So Apparently a lot of People are Going to Hell
I got a whiff of Rob Bell's name yesterday. I remember him. A few years ago, he wrote a book called Velvet Elvis. And he did these video spots that I saw pop up. He seems pretty smart and when he would talk about God, or worship, or servitude, it always sank deep. I liked the way he made me think.
Yesterday I found out he was going to Hell. Dang...really? Yup..someone said so. Really a bunch of random people online were very passionate about it. Turns out though, that Billy Graham was going too. And Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen, and, well...any one of a number of famous preachers. Go ahead, google it! What a shame. All these people who have devoted their lives to studying scripture and telling others about God's love for them, Hell Bound. It sounds like if you get a little off on any element of theology, that your salvation is in jeopardy and you turn in your tickets to heaven.
Well crap.
If we've talked for any length of time, you've likely heard of my four things. The four things I believe about God and the universe...1. People suck, 2. God does not suck, 3. God loves us a lot, and 4. God sent Jesus to die so that we could hang out with God. I dont get a lot more complicated than that. But Society pushes us a lot. Everywhere we go, someone has a particular...or a one off, that they try to use to challenge our thoughts about God, or really our thoughts about anything. Everyone has a unique experience that begs us to not allow them to be generalized into even the broadest of statements. My four statements of faith are EXTREMELY broad compared to some Christian friends of mine...but even in that broadness, there are people who would instantly come back and say, "but what about people who've never heard of Jesus? do they not get to hang out with God?" "And what about sin and repentance?! What about regeneration of your spirit? What about being a new creation? what about eternal security? Transubstantiation? What about ...What about...What about.
I usually decline to answer with a big fat, I DUNNO! If I'm feeling some kinda way, I'll even say, "Doesnt Matter." I'm wondering to myself all the time why I do this...why I dont challenge my own thoughts..why i dont push through my weakened reasoning skills...And really, I can't even answer that. I've only been at this Christianity thing for about 17 years. but in that time I have noticed, I can't repent enough, I dont feel regenerate, I can't tell you you're going to Hell, and I rarely understand completely the things I've read in the Bible.
Well Crap...I hope this doesnt mean I'm going to Hell too. I mean, if Rob Bell, Billy Graham and Joel Osteen are going to hell... there is no hope for me, right?
I have a lot of friends out there who are not evangelical Christians. Some probably even reading this! (Hi non evangelical christian friends!! Love you!!) I love them a lot. I dont hate them because they arent born again. I dont hate them because they were raised jewish, or catholic, or celtic, or pagan, or wican, or atheist. I honestly dont hate them at all..They are all amazing people. Some of them have done way more searching and analyzing their spirituality than I ever will. I refuse to condemn them based on the fact that they have not yet drawn the same conclusions as I have. I mean, we have to admit, Christianity at face value is not appealing anymore. Who in their right mind would want to be a part of a community as disfunctional as we are? We condemn each other to hell...and hate each other, and have brothers and sisters like Fred hating fags, and abortion clinic bombers, and "we dont use birth control and have 37 kids" and "we dont have electricity or cars," and " women wear dresses and cant have careers" and "we dont give our kids vaccinations" and ALL kinds of loopdy loo's out there...YOU might even be a loopdy loo yourself!! (Hi loopdy loo, I love you.)
So what do I do?!?! Who can I listen to?! Do I listen to Rob and Billy and Joel and Joyce and Ted and Charles and John and all the big boys in ministry? Do I blindly accept what they say...Do I only accept what feels good?...Do I only accept what the Bible says and my own ignorant interpretation of sometimes very confusing material? Do I only accept my own experiences? Do I give platform to the members of my community no matter how heretical, or pagan, or anti-theist they are?
Or do I accept that we are all the same? Rob Bell is no more divinely inspired than me. Billy Graham is no better a theologian than me. Joel Osteen is just as much a people pleaser as I am. Joyce Meyer might wrestle with the same passages I do. God can speak to me just like he does them.
At the end of the day we suck. We ALL suck. We are heretics and liars and murderers and theives and sinners in great and desperate need of restoration. In my looking, in my seeking, I have found God. He proclaims his love for me and has built for me this bridge of Christ, over which I can cross and be, someday, somehow, maybe now, maybe later, made whole. No matter how badly I've distorted the lenses through which I see the world.
Bottom line is...maybe Rob Bell is the greatest deceptive mind on earth and he IS going to Hell. Maybe Billy Graham has ushered tens of thousands of people into the kingdom and forgotten himself. Or maybe, maybe we're all wrong. Maybe we're all wrong just a little. Maybe that just a little bit that we're wrong is what Christ's blood covers over and its ok, and we'll get into heaven anyway. Maybe the point is Jesus. Maybe we're supposed to forget about ourselves and each other and just think about him. Maybe we're supposed to struggle and get it wrong then get it right, then get it wrong again all the way until we die. Maybe the answer isnt in getting everything right, but in the struggle. Maybe the journey is the answer.
or maybe, the hokey pokey really IS what its all about.
Until we know, I'm going to continue to lean on my four things, and allow God to be more that my little mind could ever contain.
Yesterday I found out he was going to Hell. Dang...really? Yup..someone said so. Really a bunch of random people online were very passionate about it. Turns out though, that Billy Graham was going too. And Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen, and, well...any one of a number of famous preachers. Go ahead, google it! What a shame. All these people who have devoted their lives to studying scripture and telling others about God's love for them, Hell Bound. It sounds like if you get a little off on any element of theology, that your salvation is in jeopardy and you turn in your tickets to heaven.
Well crap.
If we've talked for any length of time, you've likely heard of my four things. The four things I believe about God and the universe...1. People suck, 2. God does not suck, 3. God loves us a lot, and 4. God sent Jesus to die so that we could hang out with God. I dont get a lot more complicated than that. But Society pushes us a lot. Everywhere we go, someone has a particular...or a one off, that they try to use to challenge our thoughts about God, or really our thoughts about anything. Everyone has a unique experience that begs us to not allow them to be generalized into even the broadest of statements. My four statements of faith are EXTREMELY broad compared to some Christian friends of mine...but even in that broadness, there are people who would instantly come back and say, "but what about people who've never heard of Jesus? do they not get to hang out with God?" "And what about sin and repentance?! What about regeneration of your spirit? What about being a new creation? what about eternal security? Transubstantiation? What about ...What about...What about.
I usually decline to answer with a big fat, I DUNNO! If I'm feeling some kinda way, I'll even say, "Doesnt Matter." I'm wondering to myself all the time why I do this...why I dont challenge my own thoughts..why i dont push through my weakened reasoning skills...And really, I can't even answer that. I've only been at this Christianity thing for about 17 years. but in that time I have noticed, I can't repent enough, I dont feel regenerate, I can't tell you you're going to Hell, and I rarely understand completely the things I've read in the Bible.
Well Crap...I hope this doesnt mean I'm going to Hell too. I mean, if Rob Bell, Billy Graham and Joel Osteen are going to hell... there is no hope for me, right?
I have a lot of friends out there who are not evangelical Christians. Some probably even reading this! (Hi non evangelical christian friends!! Love you!!) I love them a lot. I dont hate them because they arent born again. I dont hate them because they were raised jewish, or catholic, or celtic, or pagan, or wican, or atheist. I honestly dont hate them at all..They are all amazing people. Some of them have done way more searching and analyzing their spirituality than I ever will. I refuse to condemn them based on the fact that they have not yet drawn the same conclusions as I have. I mean, we have to admit, Christianity at face value is not appealing anymore. Who in their right mind would want to be a part of a community as disfunctional as we are? We condemn each other to hell...and hate each other, and have brothers and sisters like Fred hating fags, and abortion clinic bombers, and "we dont use birth control and have 37 kids" and "we dont have electricity or cars," and " women wear dresses and cant have careers" and "we dont give our kids vaccinations" and ALL kinds of loopdy loo's out there...YOU might even be a loopdy loo yourself!! (Hi loopdy loo, I love you.)
So what do I do?!?! Who can I listen to?! Do I listen to Rob and Billy and Joel and Joyce and Ted and Charles and John and all the big boys in ministry? Do I blindly accept what they say...Do I only accept what feels good?...Do I only accept what the Bible says and my own ignorant interpretation of sometimes very confusing material? Do I only accept my own experiences? Do I give platform to the members of my community no matter how heretical, or pagan, or anti-theist they are?
Or do I accept that we are all the same? Rob Bell is no more divinely inspired than me. Billy Graham is no better a theologian than me. Joel Osteen is just as much a people pleaser as I am. Joyce Meyer might wrestle with the same passages I do. God can speak to me just like he does them.
At the end of the day we suck. We ALL suck. We are heretics and liars and murderers and theives and sinners in great and desperate need of restoration. In my looking, in my seeking, I have found God. He proclaims his love for me and has built for me this bridge of Christ, over which I can cross and be, someday, somehow, maybe now, maybe later, made whole. No matter how badly I've distorted the lenses through which I see the world.
Bottom line is...maybe Rob Bell is the greatest deceptive mind on earth and he IS going to Hell. Maybe Billy Graham has ushered tens of thousands of people into the kingdom and forgotten himself. Or maybe, maybe we're all wrong. Maybe we're all wrong just a little. Maybe that just a little bit that we're wrong is what Christ's blood covers over and its ok, and we'll get into heaven anyway. Maybe the point is Jesus. Maybe we're supposed to forget about ourselves and each other and just think about him. Maybe we're supposed to struggle and get it wrong then get it right, then get it wrong again all the way until we die. Maybe the answer isnt in getting everything right, but in the struggle. Maybe the journey is the answer.
or maybe, the hokey pokey really IS what its all about.
Until we know, I'm going to continue to lean on my four things, and allow God to be more that my little mind could ever contain.
Comments
Nailed it, Jiggies. Love your clarity.
2. Are we sure you are not related to Andy?
3. I love you