WaPo/Newsweek ‘On Faith’ Website Practically Damns Christian Doctrine of Hell
As we've noted time and again, “On Faith” — a Washington Post/Newsweek-run religion news and discussion website — is biased against, if not outright hostile to traditional religious belief, particularly traditional Christian theology. This weekend's “Discussion” section topic provided more evidence of that. Examining the controversy over Michigan pastor Rob Bell's book “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived,” editor Sally Quinn asked her panelists, “In this life (and, perhaps, the next) why does what we think about the afterlife matter?” In their answers, all but one panelist attacked the traditional Christian doctrine of eternal punishment of the wicked, with at least two arguing that a belief in Hell engenders violence and abuse. “Damning people to hell for their religious beliefs, their sexuality, their reproductive choices and even their political views has enormously negative consequences for human life right now,” liberal theologian Susan Brooks Thistlewaite insisted. “When I have done Bible studies with battered women, as I have done for years, many of the most religiously conservative are very nervous about asking for help with abuse because they fear they will go to hell for not being “subject” to their husbands. Often they have put up with the physical and psychological abuse for years, fearing not only the judgment of their husbands, but of God,” the Chicago Theological Seminary professor added. “It’s long past time that Christian conservatives foreclosed on hell. I admire Pastor Rob Bell for having the guts to say that when it comes to God, 'Love Wins,'” Brooks Thistlewaite harumphed. Rabbi Brad Hirschfield upped the ante, suggesting murder and genocide were linked to a belief in Hell, not just verbal and physical abuse: At the end of the day, it is far easier to hurt and even to destroy another human being whom one already believes is cursed by God. After all, the hurt done to them in this life is nothing compared to the suffering they will endure in the next life and, so the argument goes, reflects God’s ultimate will and may even cause them to repent of whatever sins they are supposedly guilty.
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on March 21, 2011. Filed under