Hell Under Fire

Some time ago (it’s been said), a man brought forward his strong argument against the Bible, declaring, “I am seventy years of age, and have never seen such a place as hell, after all that has been said about it.” His little grandson, of about seven years of age, who was all the while listening, asked him, “Granddaddy, have you ever been dead yet?”

Hell has never been a popular topic, at least not in my lifetime. Dante’s Divine Comedy wouldn’t have sold well if he’d written it in our generation. The topic of hell is coming under special fire these days, though, with the Pope’s reported statement a few weeks ago implying it doesn’t exist. Whether he actually said that is uncertain, but the report brought the issue to the fore once again.

Skeptics will deny hell’s reality, naturally. Richard Dawkins took it one step further, calling it “child abuse” to tell children there’s such a thing as hell. Dawkins, a scientist, should know better than to reveal his scientific ignorance as he did there. The best science on the matter tells us kids come out much better when raised in religious homes.