Hell

     Hell is preached every Sunday in numerous churches in the
world. Countless sermons, books, pamphlets, sweat tears, fears and
sheer terror have been expended on the subject. At one time or
another, almost every child or adult who has been exposed to
Christianity has gone through their own personal Hell; in fear of
the one that had been preached to them. Dante, who did write other
things has become synonymous with the Hell that he termed, "The
Inferno."
     It was actually invented by the Buddhists and exported to the
Mideast by their missionaries. Anyone having any knowledge of
religion at that time had had some exposure to their Hell. The
Essenes and later the Christians took the burning fire of the
Zoroastrians; that was to consume those unfit for redemption and
elaborated on it. They mixed it with the Buddhist Hellfire, that
was supposed to punish their sinners between incarnations and made
it into eternal damnation and punishment.
     Many people, preachers, priests, theologians and prophets,
have found great satisfaction consigning those that disagreed,
mocked or otherwise injured their feelings, to eternal damnation in
the flaming pits of Hell. There are people too numerous to mention,
who yet today gain great satisfaction in the same manner.
     There is immense fulfillment knowing, not only are you right,
but that your opponent is going to suffer eternally for not seeing,
just how right you are.
     In following the logic of all or most of the Christian
denominations; we find that all or most of the nonchristians and
many of the Christians of competing denominations are fated for
hell and it has been the destination of most of those who died in
the past.
     If the chairman of one of the large automobile corporations
were to manufacture autos and only a small percentage of these
autos were fit for the highway and the largest percentage was
destined for the junkyard, he would be judged incompetent or
insane. He would be fired or at best, pensioned off; perhaps even
hospitalized.
     If the Judeo-Christian God is doing the same and he is
omnipotent on top of it, then he too must be judged either
incompetent or insane. There are no known hospitals for insane
Gods. Perhaps one should be started.
     One last thought on Hell, I have two daughters and two
granddaughters. Now if someone raped and murdered one of these, I
would desire revenge. I would perhaps want to torture and kill him,
perhaps burn him at the stake. I think after just so much torture;
I would begin to be sated of desire for vengeance. In time I would
eventually feel pity.  
     The Christians and some others would have us believe, that God
is (1), all good and all-loving, and (2), wants to burn everyone
who displeases Him in great and petty ways; not for a little while,
but forever. We are to believe that we imperfect human beings have
more compassion and pity then this loving, good God. I am afraid
that some of God's publicity agents do much more harm than good. We
can accept the convolutions of logic that attempt to reconcile this
twisted illogic or we can dump it and start afresh.  
     That Hell was invented in the past, in an attempt to civilize
barbaric peoples, is the kindest conclusion we can believe.  
     We must remember that most religions, Christianity included;
were designed when people were tribal and barbaric. Those people
were locked in their own time, with their own ethical standards.
The people, their Priests and Prophets were trying to grow and help
others to grow ethically and spiritually, but they had the
limitations of their times and situations.  
     When we view them, what they wrote and what they preached, for
what they truly were, stepping stones along a spiritual and ethical
path; we can judge them with greater kindness and understanding.  
     In regard to Hell and all that the churches preach, I have
this vision in my mind's eye: God creates mankind. He creates them
with intelligence and curiosity. Then knowing their nature, He sets
up a test He knows they must fail. According to the  Bible, God
knows the future; besides, He made mankind and knows its nature.
The test is the tree in the garden. The man and the woman are
forbidden to eat of its fruit. The serpent tempts them. They
succumb. He made the man. He made the woman. He made the serpent. 

     Yet God is outraged, almost as if He were surprised. He
condemns the serpent to crawl the earth on its belly. What the
serpent's manner of locomotion was before, we are not told. He
evicts the humans from the garden. He condemns them to death and we
later learn that it is not only them, but all of their children who
are so condemned. This condemnation also includes a sentence to
eternal torment and punishment in hell, and for what? For
disobedience? For eating a piece of fruit?  
     To add spice to this sorry tale, He invents tares, throws in
all the disease from acne, cancer and leprosy to syphilis and
everything in between. Hurricanes, tornadoes and untold miseries
are added to the mix.  
     What is this all about? The simple curiosity of one man and
one woman. This is the behavior of a demon, not a God.
     If this God were real and not the product of the fevered
imaginations of many prophets and theologians, there would be a
much different outcome on the fated judgment day of the Christians.
     On that day there would be a trial similar to the Nurnburg
trials where they tried the war criminals of Nazi Germany. All men
and women of decency, compassion and good conscience would call
before the bar all of these prophets, preachers and theologians. We
would also call before this bar of justice, all of the vast amounts
of people, who have participated in the many religious wars and all
others, bishops, priests and ministers who have condemned others to
torture and death, in the name of this God.
     Then we would hold a trial. In the Nurnburg trial Hitler was
not tried. He should have sat in the high seat, as the arch
criminal.
     In this final judgment the Judeo Christian God would be
sitting with them in the seat would be the arch criminal, the
Judeo-Christian God.
     He would be charged with all of the murders and deaths, that
He ordered and committed; starting with the mass murders and
carnage He caused by the flood and in Egypt. Then He would be
charged with the creation of Hell, the Devil and all of his demons;
which He loosed upon mankind. The list of charges would be immense,
staggering, but well documented. The Bible itself would be exhibit
A.
     This is my vision of a just and honest final judgment; if I