More on the Nature of Hell

First off ... yes, I agree that the vocal for "Great Gig in the Sky" is terrific. That's Claire Torrey, if memory serves me. Other music trivia cluttering my brain: the violinist who plays at the end of the Who's song Baba O'Reilly is Dave Arbus.

I've heard some dismiss "Dark Side of the Moon" as an overhyped anomaly from the 70's. I'm not so sure. The whole album has a hypnotic sense to it. I particularly like "Us and Them" and "Eclipse." Of course, no true fan of the album would ever listen to it on CD. Vinyl is the only way to listen to Dark Side of the Moon. And oh, by the way, at the end of the second side, turn the volume way up so you can hear the voice say, "There is no dark side of the moon, really ... matter of fact, it's all dark." On vinyl you'll have to endure all the painfully loud pops and scratches when you've got the volume up to "11."

(Quick: what movie reference did I just make there? Hint: "Smell the Glove.")

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The subject of hell in the Bible is an interesting one. I would never claim to be an expert on it because, to be honest, I've never tried to delve into it too deeply. In my mind I've classified hell as "not heaven" and left it at that.

That said, the New Testament is full of references to fire and burning when it speaks of the day of judgment. For instance, in the "Parable of the Weeds" (Matthew 13:24-30) Jesus speaks of wheat and weeds growing together in a field. He says, "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." (NIV, emphasis added) Or consider John 15:5-6: "'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.'" (NIV, emphasis added) And of course there's the explicit reference to the "Lake of Fire" in Revelation 20:15 that you cited earlier: "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

So the image of fire is definitely the preferred motif. But is it literal, or metaphorical?

Personally, I'm not a fan of reading the Bible as purely literal. For one thing, treating the Bible as entirely literal introduces enormous problems when we encounter Jesus using parables. The Kindgom of Heaven is like a mustard seed? (Matthew 13:31) Or go back two paragraphs and see that in John 15:5 Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches." Clearly these are not intended to be taken literally. So if our Lord himself uses allegory and metaphor to make his points, does it not also seem likely that other parts of the Bible also make use of that tool?

I'm not a literary expert, so I'm about to falter in what I write here. But as I ponder the notion of using common things -- fire, thrones, gold -- to describe things of heaven and hell, I'm reminded of something C. S. Lewis once wrote (and I can't remember where I read this). Lewis wrote that mankind is left with no alternative but to use allusions to things in our realm when attempting to describe things outside our realm. So the use of allegory and metaphor itself does not bother me; those are the only tools available to us to describe things beyond our ability to describe.

So why fire as the tool used to describe hell? I can't be certain, but I'll offer my opinion: have you ever suffered a severe burn? It's extraordinarily painful, and the pain persists for a long time. Further, most people have suffered from a burn when many have not, for example, suffered the pain of cancer (present company excepted, of course ... and may the Lord accept my gratitude that you're here to read this). So fire is a useful tool -- everyone would be able to quickly relate to the image being created: consuming, engulfing and enduringly painful. If God was interested in providing a motivation to avoid hell, using a picture of an eternal, all-consuming fire would be a good tool.

I've read some describe hell as being the total absence of God, and therefore searingly painful because of his complete departure. That may indeed be more painful than fire, but to someone who does not really know God, it may not create much of an impression. It would be like a very rich person telling me, "Hell is like not having a manservant attend to your needs." Well, I've never had a manservant, so the absence of one would seem to be no worse than the status quo. And if the status quo ain't too bad, then maybe hell ain't too bad either. But everyone understands fire.

A more fundamental question is this: why would God feel it necessary to punish those who are not saved? Why not simply extinguish them from existence? He certain has the power -- he created our souls, he could extinguish them as well.

Note: Our souls are not eternal. "Eternal" suggests timelessness, both forward and backward. We (and our souls) are created things. "In the beginning" the devil and the angels did not exist. We (and our souls) did not exist. Only God is eternal; all else is everlasting, and then only so at the pleasure of God.

Any thoughts on that question?