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"Rabe’a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism, was seen running through the streets of her hometown, Basra, carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When someone asked her what she was doing, she answered, ‘I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God'.” -John Green, Looking for Alaska Dear Northminster Friend, On Sunday my sermon discussed hell and the afterlife as it exists in scripture and in the imaginative work of Dante Alighieri. As I stated then, scripture doesn’t actually spend much time talking about what this afterlife is like. While Dante gave us vivid imagery that has influenced our conception of hell ever since, we are also able to use what we read in scripture and image something else. In light of that, I thought I’d share with you all what I envision when I think of hell. My beliefs about hell changed in 2011 when Mega-Church Pastor and author Rob Bell published the book Love Wins. Rob Bell had built a 10,000-member evangelical mega-church in Grand Rapids and was thought to be the next Bill Graham (source). But that went off the rails when he wrote a book explaining why Hell didn’t exist. Not only did this book rock my world, but it also had me asking questions that I had never considered before. While I was already uncomfortable with the idea of eternal damnation, Rob Bell was the first to give me a framework for a different way of understanding what comes next. Here is how I envision what is next: After death, you arrive at the threshold of heaven. God is waiting there with open arms saying, “Good and faithful servant, well done!” And you are welcomed into everlasting peace. But right as you are about to cross the threshold, you see a person you don’t expect, someone you hated or that you considered to have lived a horrible life, causing you pain and suffering. Someone you think is not deserving of eternal peace. “Wait! God, how did THEY get in?! Why are THEY in heaven?!” “Yes, my child,” God responds, “my love and forgiveness extends to all. “But they were horrible! I don’t want to be stuck in heaven with THEM!” “I can’t force you to accept them… But know that you are choosing not to enter heaven because of them. I love them and have forgiven them. I hope you can do the same so that you can be united with everyone here in heaven. There are no flames in hell: it is simply the absence of my presence. You can choose to go there, but I hope that you don’t.” And then that person will be faced with a choice: choose to enter hell knowing that their enemy will be there with them or choose to turn away and choose emptiness. It has been over a decade since I read that book. I am not sure how much of the above image came from Rob Bell’s writing and how much was simply inspired by it. Frankly, I’m not even sure what happened to my copy of that book; but when I think about hell now, I see too many people using the idea of eternal torment to inspire fear in people in order to coerce, manipulate, and control people into behaving in a certain way. When I look at scripture, I see ideas of hell being used to make the comfortable uncomfortable and giving comfort to those who are suffering. I can’t quite claim the title of being a universalist since I do still believe in a sort of hell; I just pray that hell will always remain empty. Blessings, Pastor Chris As we talked about this past Sunday, nowhere in our scriptures does it state that, “God helps those who help themselves.” On the contrary, the Bible often tells stories about how God fought on behalf of people who couldn’t fight for themselves. I discussed how the image of the Body of Christ opposes rugged individualism and self-reliance. But there is another aspect of how this phrase get used in our culture that I didn’t have time to go into on Sunday: The Prosperity Gospel.
In the simplest terms, the idea behind the Prosperity Gospel is this: God blesses those who are righteous. So, if a person is rich and successful in life, it is because God had blessed them and their lifestyle. I have heard preachers state, “God doesn’t want you to be poor! God want to shower you with abundance! So, give boldly to our collection to show God that you are committed to his cause and God will rain that abundance back down upon you!” God helps those who help themselves: so, if you work hard and live a righteous life, God will reward your efforts. You can’t sit on your hands and wait for God’s blessings to fall into your lap; you have to work for them and God will bless you in return. In my opinion, the message of the Prosperity Gospel is manipulative at best and outright predatory at worst. It works by preying on the fears of the vulnerable for the enrichment of the powerful. Most heinous of all, this is done in the name of God despite the fact that it is in direct opposition to scripture and the words of Jesus: But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets - Luke 6:24-26 Rather, our scripture tells us of how God fought for the Hebrew people were enslaved in Egypt and could not save themselves. We hear Jesus tell the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man in Luke 16:19-31 that speaks of the dangers of ignoring the needy that cannot help themselves. Jesus also speak of the lilies of the field in Matthew 6:25-34 where he proclaims that God will provide for us just as God provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. We do not earn God’s love and blessings: we already have them. Yes, there is work to do to make sure that everyone can enjoy them, but the fact that some people are not able to enjoy God’s abundance is because of the flaws in human systems, not God withholding love. So, know that you are already loved and claimed by God. Blessings, Pastor Chris In our last series about the Book of Confessions, one topic that came up frequently was the role of the PCUSA’s (and prior Presbyterian denomination’s) General Assembly. General Assembly (GA) is the PCUSA’s national gathering that is held every other year. The Next GA will be in the summer of 2026 in the Presbytery of Milwaukee. While the national gathering is over, the work of GA has just begun. While GA is a time to make decisions, vote on changes, and assemble commissions, much of the work of GA is carrying out what has been decided upon at the gathering. Think of it like this: in a church worship service, we worship God and hear about how we should live our lives in faith, but the work of the church really only begins once the service is done.
With the 226th General Assembly having officially come to a close, here are some of the things we can expect to hear more about in the coming two years:
So come with me, for the journey ahead is long. Blessings, Pastor Chris |
AuthorPastor Chris Hallam earned her degree at Princeton Theological Seminary and moved to Michigan to become a pastor. Also trained as a studio artist and graphic designer, with an interest in pop culture and social science, her passion is thinking creatively about the future of the church. Archives
June 2025
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