Jesus Mortal |
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hell In Jesus’ day, the ancient concept that the dead descended forever into the oblivion of sheol had gotten an upgrade. In the previous couple centuries, Jewish scholars had developed the idea of a resurrection and judgment on a future day. This doctrine satisfied a desire for ultimate justice, especially when the Jews were being persecuted. People, however, didn’t want to wait literally until doomsday before seeing justice done. Soon the dead in sheol awaiting resurrection and judgment were getting a little foretaste of their reward or punishment. If they were destined to be raised for a reward, they rested in the bosom of Abraham. If they were going to suffer on judgment day, they waited on the other side of a chasm in a place of fire. That’s where things stood when Jesus came on the scene. His parable of Lazarus and the rich man lines up with this viewpoint. Lazarus and the rich man go to different parts of sheol (hades), where they find rest (Lazarus) or torment (the rich man). Jesus is also quoted as talking about people being thrown into gehenna. Maybe this meant being destroyed outright, as in John the washer’s apocalyptic warnings about the wicked being consumed like chaff. Maybe it meant stewing in the part of sheol where the wicked awaited final judgment. Maybe these sections are Christian additions and not part of Jesus’ preaching in the first place. In any event, the contemporary hell as the place of eternal torment where you go after you die if you haven’t accepted Jesus as one’s savior, etc., isn’t in the bible. The closest thing to hell is the lake of fire in Revelation. That judgment, however, is on judgment day, it’s based on one’s deeds, and it might destroy the wicked rather than tormenting them forever. The Christian fantasy that non-Christians will suffer eternally got its start when the Christians were first persecuted in Rome. After that, Christians gave each other solace with lurid descriptions of how their enemies were going to suffer. In order to heighten the standing of the Roman church, Augustine declared that there was no salvation outside it, meaning hell for unbaptized infants (a less unpleasant part of hell, to be fair). In the Greek east, on the other hand, hell was the awful state of anticipating divine punishment on judgment day or of being caught in the burning presence of god. In any case, the dead might be put right by the prayers of the church. Hellish imagery reached a grotesque height with the middle ages. Protestant extremism, especially in the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, gave the world a hell that was so infinitely painful that any thought of giving sinners various punishments to suit their crimes was impossible. As the cruel vulgarity of hell is held up to modern sensibilities, however, the concept is getting blurred out. Where sinners were once flung screaming into the pit of fire, they are now often thought merely to exclude themselves eternally from the presence of god. See also: afterlife, earth, heaven.
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contents table of contents you're already looking at it introduction for the inquisitive reader biographical overview who he was and wasn't
afterlife not Jesus' concern animal sacrifice bloodless religion apocalypse did Jesus preach hellfire? baptism sin wash for Jesus and others beatitudes Jesus' words and others' words beloved disciple witness for the un-gospel bible scripture old and new bishop the unjesus body focus on the physical Buddha Jesus' close kin charity key Christian virtue and legacy of Jesus The Da Vinci Code secret (and false) messages divorce women's status dreams convenient literary device Elijah Jewish prophet with his own second coming equality ancient source of modern egalitarianism exorcist Jesus and demons failure reinterpreting Jesus as a failure faith from trust to blind belief father Jesus on titles of honor Francis of Assisi the most Christlike Christian Gandhi the 20th century's most Christly holy man Galilee Jesus' inauspicious homeland gentiles Jesus' inadvertent audience god how Jesus became god golden rule key to Jesus' success gospels competing accounts heaven from sky to spiritual home hell revenge fantasy humanism Jesus' legacy inerrant Christian treatment of scripture Thomas Jefferson ethics of Jesus Jewish guilt Christian libel John's gospel the un-gospel John the baptist, see John the washer John the washer Jesus' apocalyptic mentor Judaism libeled religion of Jesus kingdom of god what Jesus promised Lao Tzu poet of the cosmic way logos jesus as the word of god C. S. Lewis famous, flawed trilemma little drummer boy Luke beats Matthew logos Jesus as the divine word LORD Yahweh transitioning to the one god of all Luke's gospel the all-around best gospel Mark's gospel the gospel that lost its point Mary of Magdala women, visions, and sex massacre of the innocents bloodshed starts early Matthew's gospel best gospel for church reading Mormon, see Joseph Smith Moses Jewish lawgiver Muhammad a prophet who got it right mystery Orpheus and transubstantiation oppression origin of Jesus' compassion The Passion of the Christ Luke as buzzkill Paul revealer of the revealer private and public public Jesus and secret Christ relativism the secret power of the golden rule sacrifice Jesus' death and Christian sacrament Albert Schweitzer Jesus as a failure sheol dark pit of death show Jesus' deeds as put-ons slavery abolished by Jesus' efforts Joseph Smith flesh-and-blood Jesus Socrates secular Jesus son of god on close terms with the man upstairs soul, see body synoptics three gospels that agree temple center of Jewish religion trinity unifying and divisive doctrinre vision, see dreams Yahweh, see LORD Zoroaster Persian dualistic holy man
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