The Gift of Hell

December 5, 2014 
Day 219

I've never liked the phrase, "go to hell".  It's just always stung me as an incredibly hurtful, awful thing to say to someone.  You wish someone would go to hell?  Seriously?  Whether you believe in hell or not, such a phrase intends unimaginable levels of pain and suffering for all eternity.  How could such a thing possibly be justified after any kind of evil act here on earth? 

Worst of all, I'll hear the phrase shouted just based on someone getting cut off on the parkway.  Huh???  The person cut you off, and now you hope they'll be sentenced to the fires of hell for all eternity as payment for their "sin" against you?

I just don't get it.

Time and time again, we treat hell like a stupid throwaway phrase.  We hurl it at people like it's a stone we've found nearby, something we can quickly attack someone with.

But hell isn't like this at all.  It's a place--whether you believe in it or not--where God throws people who have committed really grave, malicious acts against others.  God takes these tiny little souls, who He's created and raised since they were just a glint in His planet-sized eye, and He throws them away in the furnace down in the basement.  He watches them burn, slowly, for all time, all eternity, forever and ever and ever, amen.

And therein lies the problem.  Can you really imagine God doing this?  Being so bloodthirsty and hateful?  Forgive me for saying this, but if you can imagine exactly that, you have a truly fucked up notion of God right there.  You and your version of God are really sick motherfuckers, and it's kind of--no, really frightening to the rest of us.

Now I'll agree with you in part: the concept of hell is a pretty good sign that we all know our sheep from our goats, but wouldn't only a so-called goat want to see his fellow goats tortured and burned like that for all eternity?  A child of God would not.  God him- or herself would not.  The gift of hell, then, is the knowledge of who created hell, and who did not.  The gift of hell is the knowledge that it's just a nightmare, just a contrived fantasy land dreamed up by some sick goats long, long ago.

I believe in the very real likelihood that I'll have to answer for my sins and hurtful deeds one day.  I believe that some acts are so grave they will mean some kind of important judgment from God.  I even believe in the concept of good and not-so-good souls seeing a different entrance experience in the afterlife.  But I will never believe in the version of hell so many have spread over the years.  I refuse to believe in such a thing.  A god who throws his children away, who watches them burn in a furnace for all of time?  No thanks.  You can keep that god if you'd like, but I know in my heart that God loves us all, and would never, ever, ever do such a thing to her children.