On Heaven, Hell and Guilt trips

I am horrified when I hear of someone who names the name of Christ and who (for example) at the same time says to a smoker “You are going to hell (because you smoke).” After I calm down, I want to tell such a person (the speaker) that he or she fails to understand (at least) three things. The first thing they do not understand is the gospel. In the end it is not what we have done or not done that determines our eternal destiny. It is, as I was saying last day, our rejection of God's incredibly costly provision of forgiveness for our sins (John 3:16-18). The second thing they do not understand is God. I do not claim to fully understand God either, but I do understand this, that He is gracious and compassionate, full of mercy, and does not want anyone to perish (Exodus 34:6; 2 Peter 3:9). Further on this same point when, in their judgmental self- righteousness they say such things, they misrepresent God in effect taking His name in vain. This is sin (Exodus 20:7). The final thing they fail to understand is that those who judge will themselves be judged, and that they will be judged with the same measure that they judge others (Matthew 7:1-5).

I wish I could say that Christians do not lay guilt trips on others, but unfortunately it is not true. And, as I say, it horrifies me. On the other hand not everything that is called a guilt trip is a guilt trip. If I have a relative who died of lung cancer, a lovingly spoken word to the effect that it was his smoking that did it, is not a guilt trip. It is an act of compassion, even if the other person does not immediately see it that way!

There are a couple of very common reactions when the subject of heaven and hell is broached. People will either ask if I am trying to scare them into heaven, or they will declare that we Christians are judgmental. As I implied above this can certainly be the case. As for me, I remember, under provocation, telling a non- Christian friend to go to hell. I remember all these years later my own horror at what I had said (it had quickly reduced me to tears of repentance). So let me here and now apologize for those of us who have come across as unloving and/or self self righteous and judgmental or worse. None of us is immune. It was not that long ago that the Lord convicted me of judging (as in condemning) those who judge. In light of the Matthew passage I quickly repented (that does not mean I no longer think that judging is wrong!). But love is not easily provoked (1 Corinthians 13:5 JKV). I have certainly not arrived! The Lord is working on me, and you should have seen me before He got started (well perhaps not)! But when we speak of these things, we need to do so with great humility and even tears.

I have been listening to a series of debates between Christians and the new militant atheists (Richard Dawkins, Chris Hutchins etc.). I came across a clip recently where Richard Dawkins admitted that he is not sure God does not exist, but that he is not a 50/50 agnostic. He said that his not knowing is a 6 out of 7, where a 7 is fully sure there is no God. In the same clip he amended this to 6.9 out of seven. One has to wonder about the science behind these numbers, especially when they change within the space of a five minute clip. But in any case, it is interesting that they are no longer saying that Science proves God does not exist, they now saying that the (apparently shifting) probability of God existing is low, and the stakes of believing are too high to believe without sufficient evidence.

When they speak about evidence they are of course meaning scientific evidence. But to insist that we prove or disprove the existence of God by the Scientific method is like insisting that we use interrogation methods on a car to prove (or not) that it is the creation of intelligent design. The last time I spoke to a car, it did not answer me (I admit I was bring rude, but it was misbehaving :-)). The set of things that can be decided by the Scientific method does not include the existence of God, nor does it include love or meaning or purpose, or many of the things we need to prove in a court of law. On a practical level we do not, and we cannot live our lives based solely on knowledge that comes to us through Science, and I am sorry, but it is naïve to think that we can. We act on the testimonies of trustworthy people (i.e. the Law courts) and we act on our own intuition. We would not get married or commit to friendship if it were otherwise.

I want to say something about the certainly of faith. Hebrews 11:1 in the NIV reads “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” For me this certainty is tied to the subjective revelation of the Spirit which illuminates the objective revelation of the Word. It comes through answered prayer and confirmation by the miraculous. It is much easier to believe when you have been used (as I have) to heal instantly when I prayed for it in Jesus name. I have also seen much more of it (than in my own life) in my contemporary heroes of faith (i.e. Heidi Baker, Bill Johnson and their followers). Perhaps you don't believe us, and that's okay, but grant us this. We are convinced, and being convinced we have a burden.

Let me illustrate it this way, if you knew that your friend was driving down a road where, round a sharp bend the bridge was washed out, and that they would likely plunge to their deaths, would you not try and warn them in love? And if you did it in love would that necessarily be judgmental and/or self righteous of you? If heaven and hell are real, and if we go to one of the two places when we die, and if it depends on the decisions we make in the here and now, would it not be unloving of me not to try and tell you about it, even if it made you mad?


Certainly if this thing about heaven and hell is not true – it is a huge guilt trip, but if it is true (and believe me we are convinced that it is) then perhaps you can understand that at times it is an intolerable burden that we are not allowed to tell you. I know that part of this is that some have shared these things without sensitivity or love, but it nevertheless remains a burden. One last thing: The Richard Dawkins of this world speak about the stakes of believing being too high to believe. From where I stand, the stakes of not believing are too high not to try to persuade you to investigate these things in the way that they are intended to be investigated. “When you search for me with all of your heart (note with all your heart not with all your mind) you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:13 – words in brackets mine – see also coming post the heart of the matter is the heart).