PrintAugust 1, 2010
At Hell's Gate
Polite, ‘modern', Western congregations and their preferred theologians don't like to discuss Hell. Might some ‘new' burgeoning forms of Evil in our newspapers dent our American collective denial? Bitter Binghamton murderer, Pittsburg Cop killer, California child killing dad. An evil icon might be Bruce Pardo who dressed as Santa shot a little girl in the face before killing his ex-wife and many of her family and friends as he set her house on fire. Hell like miracles, angels and heaven is really not far away. It should be easier to detect, but often isn't because of our protective cocoon of denial and PC!.
The recent epidemic of mass murder on school campuses goes on like some bizarre interscholastic competition for a satanic championship record. Even elementary school children have joined the American clamor for the murderer's notoriety and celebrityism. Palestinian children are taught death games with little bomb vests. They frequently practice murder bombing with the disgusting approval of their deluded and sadistic parents. Our president would never consider condemning such despicable parenting.
Suicide murder bombers have added women to their ranks as they continue their exponential performances of evil. Murder bombers are deluded or brainwashed into thinking that God/Allah/Yahweh approves of their heinous psychodramas from Hell. It is impossible to conceive of God wearing anything but an infinite frown in a flood of cosmic tears after a suicide bomb's detonation. Hell not Paradise will surely greet any murder-bomber wherever on earth she locates her evil act..
Another increasingly popular form of murder is the homicide-suicide. These cowardly men kill their wife and kids, or even strangers at a shopping mall and then before the police arrive, they kill themselves. Some of these murderers are women who kill their own children amidst the delusion that God requires this of them. These modern murderers seem to think the school campus, shopping mall crowd, or their own family, are fair targets for the discharge of their impotent rage, failure, and resentment. They also seem to think they are ‘off-the-hook' in terms of responsibility as soon as they murder themselves via a well-placed bullet or the bomb they detonate.
Imams, priests, rabbis, ministers...are they really so easily ‘off the hook'? Please move beyond nauseating political correctness and condemn these killers.
In years gone by, there were too many "wolf-crying" threats of "Hellfire and brimstone" made by Western clergy. Today, clergy persons seem hesitant to explore the humbling or frightening mysteries stretching beyond death. Few Christian, Jewish or Muslim theologians have offered vigorous, thoughtful, and appropriate theological condemnations of the geometrically expanding variety of these increasingly popular, media covered, sensationalized, and therefore glamorized murder crimes.
Where have all the clergy gone? Especially credible Muslim theologians and preachers! Authentic Muslims need to be very clear that murder - bombers go straight to Hell and not paradise! Is Hell that hard to locate? For starters, try the lives of the surviving families of the victims of the cowardly murder-bombers.
"To appreciate heaven well'tis good for a man to have some fifteen minutes of hell."Will Carleton (1845 - 1912), American poet
