: niceties of Heaven, and Hell being aware
: that reward, and punishment are matters for
: the theoretical thinker to wax lyrical.
I'm no theologian either, Alex, and I know that we can create our own hell and contribute to creating 'hell' for others, but I can't reconcile the notion of hell with the way God is depicted in the New Testament.
Would a loving mother condemn a son or daughter to an eternity of 'hell' for even a life time of sin?
The shepherd goes to extraordinary lengths to find the lost sheep.
The prodigal son virtually wished his father dead and squandered his inheritance only to find his father ever-ready to forgive and, more than that, celebrate his son's return.
The notion of hell that I was brought up with, would have us believe that if the son had died before he had a chance to reconcile with his father, his 'eternal' journey would have been very different. This doesn't even look like a high standard of human justice, let alone divine justice.
The idea of 'hell' -- an eternity of outrageous suffering -- can't sit along side a God who shows mercy beyond our understanding.
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