(This article is the second in a series entitled “Heaven or Hell?” Readers may want to read the first article to find the parable/metaphor referred to in this second article. In that first article I related the parable to the unfortunate and perpetual practice of many poor, working-class, and middle-class whites who vote for politicians that never actually do anything to help these constituents. By pandering to the prejudices and fears of whites, these politicians are able to achieve their real agenda—to reward the wealthy and big corporations with tax breaks and numerous other advantages which their less wealthy constituents will never enjoy. In this article, I want to look at another application of this parable which I think is most needed among Christians, especially those of us who are liberal in our approach to life, society, and religion.)
The reality of hell in this life (in this article, I’m not referring to any concept of hell in the next dimension) should be evident to anyone who has any awareness of the evil, suffering, and oppression in our world.
How can we escape the hells we create in this life? How can we move from the destructive, demeaning, and hopeless environments, attitudes, and situations we choose to inhabit in spite of the pain and degradation such clinging causes others and ourselves? There has been a reluctance among more liberal Christians to accept the reality of hell in this world. We tend to think of hell as some unfair and permanent punishment imposed by God on those “sinners” who need to pay for their sins. However, the reality of hell in this life (in this article, I’m not referring to any concept of hell in the next dimension) should be evident to anyone who has any awareness of the evil, suffering, and oppression in our world. The 20th Century with two World Wars, the Holocaust, the use of atomic weapons (we are the only nation on earth which has used nuclear weapons on another nation), the continual legacy of racism, etc. was enough to shatter any idealistic perspective which ignores the horrors of sin, injustice, prejudice, greed, and violence. Optimism which assumes that the state of the world will naturally evolve into a better future is simply a Pollyanna, misguided, and unhelpful stance in the 21st Century.
Sin is a reality which threatens the possibility of achieving the “common good” in our world. We liberals don’t like to talk about sin, largely because of the foolish and arbitrary notions many conservative Christians harbor about the subject. But if we see sin as the rupture of relationships between us and God, our fellow humans, this good creation, and our authentic selves, we can perhaps appreciate both the reality and the devastating consequences of sin as it is understood in the Bible and in the best of the Christian tradition.
So, how do we deal with the sin which has brought about the hells so many people inhabit in our world? According to Mark’s Gospel, the first words out of Jesus’ mouth were these: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and trust in the good news.” In these words, we find both the necessity of God’s grace and of our own repentance for any escape from the hells we create in our lives. God’s kingdom is available right now for those who will receive it. Such receiving requires an openness to God’s grace and a willingness to change. Both are necessary. Without God’s grace and unconditional love, no liberation from our sin is possible. (The word “redemption” literally means “liberation.”) But without our openness to a radical newness and our willingness to change, there is no hope for our salvation.
The word “repent” has very little to do with feelings of guilt, remorse, and self-flagellation. The Hebrew word most used for repent means “to turn.”
The word “repent” has very little to do with feelings of guilt, remorse, and self-flagellation. The Hebrew word most used for repent means “to turn.” We are going in one direction which is destructive to us and those about us, and then we turn and go in the direction which brings blessings to us and the world around us. We walk with God as opposed to walking arrogantly, selfishly, and foolishly in paths which can only bring about our abasement and inflict suffering and pain on others. Repentance in the Old Testament is about changing the direction of our lives.
The Greek word for repentance (metanoia) used in the New Testament means “a transformation of mind/ intention.” “Meta” means transformation. “Noia” refers to the “nous”, the mind. It recalls our word “metamorphosis” which means a change of form. Think of the caterpillar and the butterfly. The change is that radical and that complete. In that repentance, we begin to see as God sees, hear as God hears, and feel as God feels. We start to love as God loves. Genuine repentance brings joy, growth, and transformation. (See my article entitled “The Joy of Repentance.”) We no longer look at ourselves, others, or the world through the old greedy and self-centered ways.
On our part, any liberation from the hells we create requires such repentance. God’s grace and unconditional love allow for such liberation to be possible, but our response of repentance is an absolutely necessary component of our healing (which is what salvation means).
There is a powerful scene in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning movie Gandhi which demonstrates this repentance. The scene is toward the end of the Mahatma’s life. India has won its independence but is engaged in a terribly violent civil war between Hindus and Moslems. Gandhi goes to the home of a Moslem in Calcutta and begins a fast which he will not end until all violence between Hindus and Moslems stops. Nehru tells Gandhi that he can accomplish so much more if he will end his fast and live, but Gandhi replies, “I cannot watch the destruction of all that I’ve lived for.” After many days of fasting, he is near death. A crazed Hindu approaches him, throws a piece of bread on Gandhi’s chest, and says, “I’m going to hell, but not with your death on my soul.”
Gandhi says, “Only God decides who goes to hell.”
The man takes no solace in Gandhi’s words because of the seriousness of what he had done. “I killed a child. I smashed his head against a wall.”
“Why?” Gandhi asked.
“They killed my son, my boy.” The man indicates with his hand the height of his little boy when he was killed. “The Moslems killed my son!”
Gandhi replies, “I know a way out of hell. Find a child—a child whose mother and father have been killed—a little boy about this high (the same height as the Hindu father had shown). And raise him as your own.” The father begins to sense this may be a way out of his hell.
But Gandhi continues, “Only be sure he is a Moslem, and you raise him as one.”
The man is shocked by this suggestion. He turns to leave evidently rejecting Gandhi’s remedy to his torment. But he turns back to Gandhi and falls on his knees beside the Mahatma’s bed and weeps. Gandhi places his hand on the man’s head and says, “Go. Go. God bless you.” Grace and response/repentance are so apparent in the Mahatma’s words. There is a way out of hell by God’s grace, but that path requires an openness to change and repentance.
In the first article in this series, I related the metaphor of heaven or hell to the sin of racism. We may have been born into a culture that is racist (that’s why racism is called America’s Original Sin). But at some point, we chose to embrace that sin, and at that point we became guilty of an evil which has caused so much oppression and suffering as well as so much degradation of our own souls and being. As we continue in that sin, we sink more and more into a hell which offers no advantage for anyone, including ourselves. Our only hope is an openness to God’s grace and unconditional love as we choose to change and repent.
I had an aunt who during the Civil Rights struggles said, “Well, I will tell you one thing. I’ll never let a darkey sit at my table.” This aunt is now in that next dimension. Metaphorically, she’s sitting at a banquet table. She cannot feed herself. She’s dependent on the compassion and love of others. In my imagination, she is flanked by two Blacks. Will she let them feed her? Will she finally and sincerely welcome and feed them? I hope so. However, I do know this–she will have to eat a lot of crow (Jim Crow) before she will allow for that transformation and ultimate healing. And until she takes that path, she will never be free of the hell she has created. And neither shall we.
