Sunday, January 31, 2010
More thinking about hell....
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A friend posted this video on his blog (a really good blog you should follow) - I wrote the following comment but thought I would repost it here in case anyone I knew had some comments.
This is my second time watching this clip this morning. The story about looking at the judgment painting in the Sistine chapel is powerful, and I remember sitting in that building awestruck by the art, but also trying to grapple with the future reality of such an event and the existence of Hell. I'm thankful that people like NT Wright are giving new language and ways to understand this crucial part of Christian theology.
But at the same time (at least in this 3 min. clip) I don't feel like he gives enough specifics to be provide a helpful re-framing of hell, judgment, or the consequences of our moral/ethical/real world choices. He says that these choices matter, and have implications, but only insofar as they either contribute to the decline or improvement of our wholistic human condition. That feels vague to me.
I also wonder if he is being fair to the biblical authors. It is certainly an unfair interpretation to read all references to "hell" or the like as strictly literal, but is it equally unfair to say the authors are trying to vividly and metaphorically describe a terrible the terrible potential of rejecting God? Are there places in which the biblical authors talk about the consequences of rejecting God in the same way NT Wright is talking about it here, or is he putting his own understanding back onto the 1st cent. writers.
I realize this is only a 3 min. clip, so it doesn't unpack it all. I have "Surprised by Hope" on order, and am looking forward to digging into it. The honest truth is that heaven/hell has been such a fundamental crux of my evangelical theology (as NT Wright says), it is challenging to rethink it.
A friend posted this video on his blog (a really good blog you should follow) - I wrote the following comment but thought I would repost it here in case anyone I knew had some comments.
This is my second time watching this clip this morning. The story about looking at the judgment painting in the Sistine chapel is powerful, and I remember sitting in that building awestruck by the art, but also trying to grapple with the future reality of such an event and the existence of Hell. I'm thankful that people like NT Wright are giving new language and ways to understand this crucial part of Christian theology.
But at the same time (at least in this 3 min. clip) I don't feel like he gives enough specifics to be provide a helpful re-framing of hell, judgment, or the consequences of our moral/ethical/real world choices. He says that these choices matter, and have implications, but only insofar as they either contribute to the decline or improvement of our wholistic human condition. That feels vague to me.
I also wonder if he is being fair to the biblical authors. It is certainly an unfair interpretation to read all references to "hell" or the like as strictly literal, but is it equally unfair to say the authors are trying to vividly and metaphorically describe a terrible the terrible potential of rejecting God? Are there places in which the biblical authors talk about the consequences of rejecting God in the same way NT Wright is talking about it here, or is he putting his own understanding back onto the 1st cent. writers.
I realize this is only a 3 min. clip, so it doesn't unpack it all. I have "Surprised by Hope" on order, and am looking forward to digging into it. The honest truth is that heaven/hell has been such a fundamental crux of my evangelical theology (as NT Wright says), it is challenging to rethink it.
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3 comments:
Jesse,
Out of Ur is running a series of these video clips of different perspectives on hell. So far there is this clip by NT Wright, John Piper (which makes me sad, with a touch of anger), Tim Keller, and Erwin McManus. I haven't watched the Keller or McManus clips, but I think I have heard the McManus sermon before. All I remember is that his answer wasn't satisfactory to me (not that that is the criteria for truth or legitimacy).
I continue to wrestle with the concept of hell. It is one of the primary sources of my clash with evangelicalism. I am currently working my way through the NT, focusing on salvation, atonement, hell/judgement, etc. Someday when I start a blog of my own, say 2015 or so, I will post about what I find.
Shalom
Thanks for the post Kyle. I'm with you in that I am continuing to wrestle with this concept. McLaren's book "The Last Word..." was helpful, but I still don't feel like I have words or an idea of what hell really is. NT Wright's thoughts are interesting, and so I'm looking forward to "Surprised by Hope" - have you read that one?
I just watched the Piper video, and I agree - sad, with more than a touch of anger (from him, obviously, but from me too)
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