Why I am a Christian (9)

Hell, If Real, Is an Irrevocable Eternity of Anguished Regret – Big Gamble

In 2012 I jotted down all the reasons I could think of why I am a Christian. I found 26 so I decided to serialise them in a blog every fortnight for a year.

The first four explain why I think belief in a creator is reasonable and credible from what I have learned from science – anything but a leap in the dark.

The next two examine the human condition and find that the way we are wired is entirely consistent with what the Bible says about us.

Now, I have moved on to some theological musings such as sin and providence.

Number nine, also from the world of theology, is unique in my 26 reasons for being a Christian; it is the only one that does not look at evidence and say “How do you explain that then?” or look at something positive in Christian faith and say “I have found this to be real and true in my experience.” All the others say “Look, it makes sense” or “Come on, taste and see that it’s good.”

But this one says, in effect, I am a Christian not just because the arguments for it are compelling or that my experience of it is satisfying, but also because the alternative to it is terrifying.

The fear of Hell used to be a significant factor in determining people’s attitude to Christianity in the U.K. Certainly in the Middle Ages, the thought that you could spend an eternity in conscious torment was a highly effective deterrent against any kind of crime, but especially if it had a sacrilegious dimension.

Until quite recently, for example, criminals might thieve lead from the roofs of public buildings but, like hitting a kid with glasses, to steal from a church just wasn’t done. That was then. Now churches are not only fair game, they are actually singled out by thieves as easy targets.

With the advent of the Enlightenment, there has been a steady erosion of the fear of God in the Western World. The idea that God is to be feared is now totally alien in our culture.

Subjects like God’s judgment and Hell are rarely brought up in evangelistic conversation - it’s as if doing so would end any remaining hope that the person might be interested in the Christian message. 

But it’s not just in conversation with unbelievers that Christians are noticeably silent on these things. God’s judgment and Hell are virtually redundant as sermon topics in all but a few churches. It’s as if mainstream Christianity is embarrassed about it. 

On a superficial level you can see the erosion of the fear of God in the way our language has evolved. Chocolates that are particularly sweet are marketed as ‘sinful’. An especially exhilarating theme park ride is ‘wicked.’ And ‘Hell’ is actually a brand of sugar and caffeine-rich energy drink these days. What once made people shudder is now little more than an instant pick-me-up.

The images of Hell in the Bible are all thoroughly negative though. Not one word in the Bible suggests that it might be a place of alcohol-fuelled partying while the pious are subjected to the monotony of harp music on the clouds above.

The word “Hell” is found 23 times in the New Testament: 12 times from the Greek gehenna, which means “place of burning,” 10 times from the Greek hades which means “grave,” and once from the Greek tartarus, which means “place of darkness.”

Jesus, from whom we have more information on Hell than any other character in the whole Bible, described it as a fearsome place of outer darkness where the noise of weeping and teeth gnashing are heard (Matthew 25.30) – that speaks of anguish and bitter regret.

He talked about a place where worms never die and the fire is never extinguished (Mark 9.48) – that speaks of endless decay and destruction.

In one of his parables, he talked about a man in Hell, begging for relief: "Cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire" (Luke 16:24). That speaks for itself.

He said that Hell will be a place for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41) – that doesn’t sound like great company.

And he said “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more… Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into Hell.” (Luke 12.4-5). So according to Jesus, the prospect of ending up there is literally a fate worse than death.

There is a lot we don't know about Hell, but the verses above tell us all we need to know. 

How do I know Hell is real? I believe it is. I don’t think Jesus would talk about it so much and warn people about it so strongly if it were imaginary. If one thing is clear in the Gospels it’s that Jesus hated hypocrisy and deceitfulness. Knowingly misleading people about an imaginary punishment is appalling and runs completely contrary to Jesus’ ethical standards.

The thing is, how do you know Hell isn’t real?

Why gamble with your soul? If you spend your whole life betting that the Bible is wrong to claim that:

all injustice and corruption will one day face justice

people who have done evil things and die peacefully in their beds will still one day be punished

Heaven and Hell really do await us after death

you’d better be absolutely 100% sure you’re right.

If you type near death experience hell stories into Google you’ll find a host of testimonies from people, some formerly atheists, who claim to have had a foretaste of Hell when close to death. I don’t know if any of these testimonies are reliable. I tend to err on the side of scepticism and caution and I am not linking to any of them here. Look them up if you're interested and make your own mind up. 

The thing is this; even if the chances of just one of these testimonies being true were 1 in 10 – or even 1 in 100, wouldn't it be folly to just dismiss it?

The veteran evangelist Billy Graham sometimes uses the analogy of getting on a plane. If you were told at an airport that the plane on the tarmac waiting for you to board had a 10% - or even 1% - chance of crashing would you get on it? Hell is infinitely worse than a plane crash.

Jesus’ teaching (I’ll say a lot more about that in Reason 12) is widely respected and hugely influential, even among those who do not call themselves Christians. It has authority. It cuts out all the waffle and is crystal clear. Its winsome wisdom rings true.

What if the one who said inspiring things like “Love your enemies”, “turn the other cheek and walk the second mile” and “let he who is without sin throw the first stone...” what if he was equally inspired when he solemnly warned about the terrible reality of Hell?

Newcastle church leader David Holloway wrote recently, “Hell is self-chosen… No one can complain about the Bible's teaching on Hell. It is to stop you going there. It is a warning. It is like those warnings on the cliff top. It is like those danger signs at electric pylons.”

Since discovering Jesus through my reading of the gospels I have found him utterly convincing. Many years ago, I made the decision that I didn’t want to get to the end of my life having ignored Jesus’ warnings about Hell only to find it was true and too late, with no way back.

The next five posts will take us to the heart of why I am a Christian – Jesus of Nazareth. But, for now, that’s the ninth reason I am a Christian. Hell is an irrevocable eternity of anguished regret.

I think that all I’ve said so far in Reasons 1-8 and all I’m going to add in Reasons 11-26 build a pretty good cumulative case for the truthfulness of Christianity. That’s why this 9^th Reason says I’d be foolish to gamble that it’s just an ancient myth. So I’m not going to.

I hope you won’t either, my friend.