On a fundamental level, we humans have a strong inclination to want justice in our lives and in the universe. It galls us when we see bad people getting away with injustices against our beloved community—sometimes for their entire lives—without paying any penalty. What did the early Christ followers think of Hell? What about Jews around the historical time of Jesus of Nazareth? Maybe this whole thing was developed by the Church to keep people in line and then colorfully enhanced by such creative people as Dante Alighieri and John Milton. (Then maybe not). Within liberal Christian theology today there is great emphasis on God as Love. How do we reconcile God as Love permeating the universe with a belief in Hell? The pressing personal challenge in all of this is how does it affect our spirituality and our relation to the Divine and the world in which we live? We don’t have a lot of answers here, but we have lots of questions!
If you are interested in joining us for this discussion, email Jim Maletta to get the recommended brief reading and thought questions to help prepare for this meeting.