The percentage of people who believe in heaven and hell hasn't changed much from 2014 to 2021, according to Pew Research. I checked other pollsters like Lifeway and Gallup who had similar numbers. It is the group breakdown which is interesting - Mainline churches and Catholics showing lower numbers and evangelical and historically black churches higher. Tim King, who you just heard from about the opiates and addictions, lives downtown and has friends among the poorer and homeless (as he has for years). He also has lots of educated, liberal friends. He finds it striking that among the latter group the belief in hell is often regarded as risible, impossible, but among his minority friends it is more accepted.
He wonders if having clear examples of oppressors moving in the world, such as being more aware of slave traders and bigots causes one to be more reluctant to give everyone a pass on eternal justice, while having easier lives makes us more...tolerant? merciful? lax? ...about evil in the world. One can see doctrinal reflections in the numbers, certainly, but I have to wonder if he is on to something.
4 comments:
Perhaps that's why it's so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. When rich enough they can insulate themselves from a lot of wickedness, which might make it harder to see it in themselves.
I used to eat perhaps too much LSD, and hunting demons was a hobby of mine. My normal trip involved investigating the "freak out", or fear in general really. Face the fire. ;)
So we snort some acid, for the front end, and hook down a couple more for after the front end and then get to tripping. For me it was at first sense of unease, then that would transition into actual worry, then we get to real fear. Around then the place would start to get pretty hot. An advance into real paranoia would actually start to set the place on fire. Then as the acid built we could get into actual hell, like almost panic.
At that point I had got to where I was going, and the large leather wings would unfold, and I would sit in this insane place, completely relaxed. Ah yes the good old days. ;)
Kenny Rodgers, First Edition, "I know there ain't no Heaven, and I pray there ain't no Hell.
The unfortunate know whereof they speak? The difference between heaven and hell is a qualitative distinction. When we speak of one's soul it is the quality of the feelings and emotions we experience that we are referring to. For in the final analysis, this is the only thing that matters. As for intensity and duration, eternity in a grain of sand.
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