Fair Warning: Welcoming Immigrants & Refugees is a “Heaven or Hell” Issue
Growing up Evangelical, we were often warned that some issues were “heaven or hell” issues. While even the most rigid among us recognized that some
Growing up Evangelical, we were often warned that some issues were “heaven or hell” issues. While even the most rigid among us recognized that some
Is Franklin Graham headed to hell when he dies? That’s a tricky question, but one he’d do well to wrestle with. The answer to that
After leaving Christian fundamentalism, I shed off a lot of previously held beliefs– some of them were beliefs quite central to my faith. One
So, you’re a sinner. Just one sin lands you in that category. No matter how small or large of a transgression, that one, smallest sin,
As many know, I have long been a proponent of the view of Annihilationism, which is the view that instead of hell, those who
For me growing up, hell was the center of gravity and perhaps my biggest motivation for the 872 times I asked Jesus into my
Many of us grow up hearing hell, fire, and brimstone messages in our churches from a very early age. In fact, many of us perhaps
Here on the blog and That God Show, we’ve talked quite a bit about the concept of hell and have gone in-depth as to
(This post is my continuing dialogue with the ideas of Jeff Cook, from his new book, Everything New: Reimagining Heaven and Hell.) … A.W Tozer once wrote that,
Over the course of the past year I’ve had an ongoing series introducing readers to what I call the “biblical alternative to hell,” which
I’ve previously written at great length on the Christian persecution complex here in the United States and how it’s both unattractive and offensive to Christians
The violence we’re seeing at the hands of ISIS is disgustingly barbaric. If mass beheadings, taking people into slavery, and throwing gay people off the
In a follow up to our recent episode of That God Show, folks have asked for a comprehensive list of Scriptures that refute the traditional
Most of us grow up being taught that all those who die without accepting Christ will burn for all eternity in hell. While in this
More and more Christians are beginning to reject the traditional view of hell which states the unjust will experience “eternal, conscious torment”. Perhaps you’ve seen
The word Jesus uses in Greek is γέεννα (Gehenna), which actually means “The Valley of the Son of Hinnom”. An over simplified description of Gehenna would be that it was the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem; this was the place where both garbage and dead bodies would be discarded and consumed by a fire that was likely always burning. The location goes all the way back to the book of Joshua, and was a place where bad things happened– child sacrifice, bodies were cremated, etc. Basically, imagine a dump where garbage is burned add into that the vision of burning bodies and a historical connotation of child sacrifice, and you’ll see that it wasn’t a very desirable place. However, it was a very literal place and the original audience of Jesus would have understood it as such. They would not have heard the word Gahenna and thought of our concept of hell– they would have realized Jesus was talking about an actual place outside the city.
Continuing the discussion on hell we started yesterday, I was asked to show the third option that exists beyond eternal conscious torment (the traditional hell),
Affirming that scripture is inspired and true means one must also affirm the “eternal, conscious torment” of hell, correct? Nope– not at all, and today
The fact that God would be so angry at people who live in a way that is destructive to the environment, makes sense in light of Genesis. In what we often refer to as the “original mandate” we see that God’s original plan (job/role) for humanity was to be a caretaker of creation (the environment). The opposite of God’s plan, would be for humanity to become a force that is destructive towards the environment.
Which, is exactly what we’ve become in so many ways.
So, want to draw hard lines on the issue of sexuality and say that, no matter what, all the people who are X, Y, or Z are out, and that there’s no room for God to judge the individual heart?
Fine.
But, you also need to do the same thing with people who don’t recycle.
Three years ago today, my wife and I took a long drive from Lima, Peru to the outskirts of a few desert towns on the
“Socialism,” big-government solutions, safety nets, and financial handouts, feel a lot different when you’re the one desperately struggling and the check is made out to you.
So you think Christians ought to be voting with biblical values in mind? Great, here’s a few to consider.
“Congress should impeach the President because resignation is too good for a president who mocked, demeaned, belittled and lied.”
I grew up a member of the Religious Right, but now find myself on the Christian Left. Here’s why:
We live in a time when our neighbors are in a crisis of poverty and violence– a crisis that is beyond what most Americans could
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BLC is an author, speaker, scholar, and global traveler, who holds graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and received his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus, and Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.
BLC
BLC is a cultural anthropologist, public theologian, writer, speaker, global traveler, and tattoo collector. He is a two-time graduate of Gordon-Conwell with graduate degrees in Theology & Intercultural Studies, and went on to receive his doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Fuller. He is the author of Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear-Based Faith, and Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus. In addition to his blog, Formerly Fundie, his work has been regularly featured by a wide array of media outlets such as TIME magazine and CNN, among others.