Who Would You Send to Hell?

In reference to the supposed great flood, you can't blame God for getting rid of the wicked people, or so I've been told. But if you're going by the Bible, you have to admit that God doesn't only kill "bad people" and he doesn't only send "bad people" to hell. Furthermore, he often turns a blind eye to truly evil behavior and calls that person "righteous."

If you were God, who would you send to hell? I personally wouldn't send anyone as I believe that falls under cruel and unusual punishment, but let's pretend for a moment that the very concept of hell is ever justifiable. When would it be justifiable? When someone murders children? When someone abuses children? When someone kills an entire tribe of people for no good reason? I think most of us can agree that those are the types of acts that might deserve hell if it were real.

But the God of the Bible doesn't see it that way. He personally murdered innocent babies and children and ordered the brutal deaths of a very long list of other oh-so-evil and dangerous folks such as fortune tellers, disobedient children, followers of other religions, homosexuals, atheists, people who have consensual premarital sex (something tells me this means a lot of you), people who work on the Sabbath, people who take the Lord's name in vain, people who are caught grumbling about their food, people who touch the tabernacle, and the list goes on and on. Not to mention, the Bible says exactly zilch against child abuse. In fact many child abusers have used Bible verses such as Proverbs 20:30 to justify their vile behavior. Additionally, child slavery was allowed and only lightly regulated in the Bible. (See: Exodus 21:7). Again, please don't preach to me about a God you don't understand with a book you haven't even read. Read it.

But that's the old testament, so we can pretend it doesn't matter even though it gives you a very good picture of who God really is. But the new testament makes it clear that salvation is by faith, and that it's only those who don't believe in the story of Jesus and his "holy sacrifice" who are supposed to go to hell.

What does this mean? It means that there would be many child killers and rapists in heaven. It means that someone could cheat on their wife, beat their children to death, have a little change of heart, say a special prayer, and spend all eternity in heaven along with slaveowners and vile men like Lot. While decent people like me and some of my Atheist friends will fry forever in hell. Sound fair to you?

I think that religious people often separate themselves from non-believers (when they aren't busy literally burning them at the stake, that is) because they don't want anyone to question their deeply held beliefs. In their minds they are the good ones and we are all evil. They have Jehovah's favor and forgiveness and love (kinda like an accomplice with codependent tendencies). It takes some really big mental gymnastic leaps to think that your atheist friends are so bad that they deserve to BURN FOR ALL ETERNITY in hell. So they try to convert us and when that doesn't work they often ignore us, avoid us, unfriend us, forget about us, attack our character to justify their own lies. It's rather heartless really.

Because to them the ultimate evil is a lack of faith in someone no one can even prove exists. Not cruelty. Not murder. Not rape. Not child abuse. The ONLY evil worthy of hell, to a Christian, is not believing in their God. If you are sorry for your "evil" deeds but don't believe in their idea of a god, that's not enough. If you are the worst person who ever lived but say a special prayer on your death bed and have a moment's conscience for your actions, well welcome to heaven! Does this sound good to you?

Why does this matter? Because the Bible has been used to marginalize and oppress already frequently targeted groups over the years. It has been used to justify slavery, spousal abuse, prejudice against immigrants (although there are in fact many pro-immigrant verses), and most notably prejudice against homosexuals. It is used to tear families apart and keep people living in guilt, shame, and fear. It is used to deny people proper treatment for their "vices" such as drug addiction, which, it turns out, can't be prayed away. It is used to strip people of rights and shut down productive conversations. And it's got to stop.

But I am relentlessly optimistic about this. I see that many people are waking up to the lies the Bible peddles. Acceptance of other lifestyles is growing. People are increasingly against corporal punishment and the death penalty. We are waking up, and we're evolving past these old ignorant ways of doing things in favor of proven results through science. We're starting to learn the factors which lead people to commit heinous criminal acts, and we have real hope of being able to prevent it in many cases. 

But let's get back to the flood for a second. Close your eyes and imagine what that might have looked like. We're meant to buy that it was a way for God to cleanse the world of people whose "thoughts were only evil all of the time" but in reality, the way the story actually goes, no one was saved except Noah and his immediate family. That means there were babies and children in that flood. That means there were parents desperately scrambling to save their little ones while God made the waters rise, people trying to save themselves while Noah told them to go to hell. Now open your eyes, and this image will no longer trouble you because it never happened. 

And tell me to go to hell if you wish. I'm not all that offended because your big bad boogeyman has long since lost the ability to scare me. I will tell you to go to the purple unicorn dimension because both are equally as likely to exist.

Hope & Meaning Without Faith

Some people say religion is good and necessary because it gives people hope. I have not found religion to be necessary for this. Maybe you don't need as much reassurance as you think you do. Maybe you can find hope in this world, without seeking another.

People lean on religion to help them cope with life, but maybe you don't need a crutch at all. Maybe if you try standing up, you'll realize that your legs were stronger than you imagined.

Two of the most difficult things people face in life is their own mortality, and the loss of loved ones. This is often where people look to religion for meaning. The problem with this is, it usually isn't enough. I've seen a lot of people try to "keep their eyes on heaven" and force themselves to smile through their losses. But grief hurts in the here and now. There are several steps to grief, several stages one must move through in order to sort out and mentally organize all the feelings and thoughts involved in this process. It all takes time.

It's okay to feel angry. It's okay to feel sad. It doesn't mean you don't have any faith. But I think that faith isn't an important thing in these times (or really ever). I think the support of your friends and family is the most important thing, and perhaps just as important, is taking care of yourself.

My biggest fear as a mother is the loss of a child. I have been through pregnancy losses in the past and it was not easy. I coped with it in my own way at the time, by drawing closer to my family. I've often seen parents who've lost children putting their grief to work by taking up a cause in the name of their deceased child. Some of these people have done great things towards preventing illness and violence. They couldn't save their child, but they go on to save many others because of their search for meaning.

Eventually we will all face death. We're mortal, and we have the capacity both to know this and to cope with it. We don't have to live forever. We aren't meant to live forever. We have to go and make room for new life. We are meant to enjoy today, look back fondly on the past, try to make the best of the future. We are meant to try our best to live healthy, good lives. We can find hope and meaning in how we lived our lives, in the people we've touched and the things we've changed for the better along the way. We can take joy in the memories and moments we've experienced and the people we've loved. Life's meaning is what you make of it.

They say Atheism doesn't offer anyone comfort, particularly towards the end. But I think there is comfort to be found in banding together, in taking pride in your accomplishments. I think there is hope to be found in people who carry you with them after you go, and whose lives are changed because of you.

Because this is where my meaning is found. I don't rely on an afterlife for meaning or hope. I rely on the here and now, in trying to do things to make meaning and ease suffering now, to educate and share funny and happy times with people in my life here and now. I'm not waiting on a deity to settle the score or bring someone blessings. I believe in being a blessing and working to solve problems through reason and logic. I'm not perfect at this. I just have personally found that it's a satisfying way to live.

So I don't fear death nearly as much as I did when I was religious. Then my faith was always plagued by nagging doubts. Now I know that I have tangible reason to feel good about the life I've lead, to appreciate it as it happens. The fact that it isn't forever, doesn't mean it isn't any good. Now when I think of my death, I think about how lucky I've been to have had all the days and years and moments that I've had. I think about the people who have thanked me for advice. I think about my children and how hard I've worked to teach them how to be kind and honest and to care about things. Even if I were to die tonight, I'd be proud and happy with the life that I've had. I don't need forever.