The Metaphor of Burning in Hell (satire)

If you are Christian and a Islamophobe then you may be a bigot and, according to certain Christian sectarian dogma, you might burn in hell.

If you are a Christian and believe non-Christians will burn in hell then let me assure you that your literal interpretation of the Bible has blinded you to its metaphorical content.

For hatred of Muslims implies unbelief in the ever-loving Christ, regardless of your so-called belief in Him. Hatred of non-Christians is implied by Christian doctrine but not by the Bible.

Furthermore, no one Christian or otherwise knows what awaits them in the afterlife but hatred cuts everyone off from a true and sincere love of humanity, regardless of creed or faith.

Please note that I don't believe in hell as eternal torment but as a temporary destiny after death. Nor do I believe in bigotry and hatred towards Muslims.

For it was not Muslims who committed the tragedy on September 11, 2001. Rather, it was political Islamists who too are just as much unbelievers as anyone who has a large board of hatred blocking the last shred of love left in them. Though such militants claim belief in God, it might be Satan working through them.

Most Muslims were just as shocked as you were, and consider al Qaeda and like-minded Islamists politically radical militants but not Muslims.

Indeed, Islamist implies the political ideology of Sharia that runs counter to Islam.

If a Christian were to radicalize and hold an ideology of the Ten Commandments and consider anyone resisted him to be an unbeliever and worthy of death then he would be considered a potential domestic terrorist by the US government.

This includes anti-abortionist shooters, anti-government militias and even certain groups motivated by ideology i.e. radical right who use violence.

Indeed, anyone who wishes death on anyone else and affiliates with any God-fearing religion that stresses love and submission before a higher power than himself has occulted himself from belief in God and substituted it with a belief in death.

And who knows death more than Satan does? Even those lost sheep who have chosen him may know of death.

Hatred inflames the heart and places the hater in a metaphorical hell. Thoughts of death to other people complement that hatred.

Thus hatred causes the hell of your own making, regardless of your faith.

On the other hand, the love of which a wise man speaks is not humanity's love of God but rather the merciful compassion that calms all hearts because our love for all things good in life.

Peace of mind is the ideal of all things good in life. Such a mind at peace calmly abides in the clarity of mind that is free of anger and hatred and soon becomes full of the truest love of all, our love for each other, regardless of religion.

He who fears another is ignorant of that love. She who loves knows the power of love. Before that power of love, even he who loves power confesses his ignorance of love.

What if that tragedy in 2001 was the last chance for Americans to show humility before the world? What if the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq was the hope that that humility be shared by the conquerors with the conquered?

These two questions are but rhetorical, and may result many more questions than can be addressed in this article.

However, the metaphor of burning in hell refers to the anger at being caught unaware in 2001 which resulted in the so-called War on Terror. It also refers to the hatred that consumed a few people who — out of ignorance — chose to unjustly blame others for causing two passenger jets to destroy the Twin Towers, including the tragic deaths in America of Sikhs killed by two men consumed by anger and hatred.

When anger consumes a person, it causes mental instability. When hatred consumes such a person, that unstable mind will find a target upon which to vent his rage. In the case of 911, that target became the Muslims. Yet I do not consider the madmen who piloted those jets to be Muslims but criminal terrorists.

It is illogical and irrational to scapegoat Muslims around the world for 911. A better use of our time would be in studying the perversion of Salafi ideology in Islam that results in the violent militancy of al Qaeda, home-grown domestic terrorism and related criminal terrorism such as the recent bombings by militant Chechens in Russia.

As well, the Boston Massacre may have been inspired by Chechen militancy but it was also fueled by the fear perpetrated by conspiracy theorists who deny the official version of 911.

In any case, such acts of terrorism are often perpetrated by men and sometimes women who burn with hatred for a targeted enemy who is nothing more than a scapegoat for their rage.

Thus, the metaphor of burning in hell is apt.

Yet those of us who know of love know that the power of love triumphs over love of power. Non-violent confrontation of life that is both its fruit and its seed is planted when we fall in humility before that power.

It is possible for love to transform a would-be killer into a humble man who chooses life over death. Indeed, when we let unconditional love guide us, compassion and mercy promotes loving kindness towards other people. All anger and hatred is forgotten, and replaced by meekness.

Thus, the antidote to hatred is love, for it quenches the thirst for revenge without blood being shed. For the power of love is so great that it calms the mind and snuffs out the anger.

All that is left is a calm mind abiding in peace.

Now, that is better than letting hatred cause the hater to feel like he is burning in hell.

Is Jesus God?

Long answer: No. He never said he was the Son of God either until it was time. Then he only said, "That is what you say" when accused of blasphemy.

In fact it took three Christian councils after Roman Emperor Constantine ordered the First Council to establish that Jesus has two natures, both divine and human, but his divine nature was not corrupted by flesh.

Sadly though, it was a Christian sin to declare humans have two natures like that of Christ, as he was supposed to be unique.

Personally I believe the Nestorian heresy, that Jesus, like all sentient beings, is of two natures, but his divine nature is immaculate. The human nature only occults (hides) his divine nature. To avoid blasphemy and stoning by Jews, the early Christian church never said simply that Jesus is God.

This led to the Nestorian heresy being banned later by a fourth council of concerned bishops.

Short answer: Yes, but needed never to say so, in order to give enough time to spread his message.

Yet the Bible never firmly declared Jesus to be God. That is done through Christological reasoning by taking Old testament statements out of context. In fact, the First Council of Nikai'a (near modern-day Iznir, Yurkey) was held in 325 CE.

It was an established ecumenical council which set precedent for later councils to create statement of beliefs and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy.

In the First Council, the debate surrounding Jesus' divinity was settled. Any priest or bishop who continued to fuel debate had his religious opinion declared heretical if it couldn't be fit into the resulting doctrine that Christ is the one true God in deity with the Father.

Additionally, the First Council established the doctrine regarding the nature of the Son in his relationship to the Father; in particular, whether the Son had been 'begotten' by the Father from his own being, or created out of nothing like other creatures.

Also, the debate regarding when to observe Easter was settled by following the Jewish Lunar calendar for Passover (the Paschal), and marking Jesus' martyrdom on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon.

However, the fact remains that an unmarried Jewish woman was made pregnant by God after an angel told her of this.

Ironically though, this immaculate conception by Mary is sometimes forgotten when unwed Christian mothers are unjustly turned away by certain Protestant Christian communities.

Thus Church doctrine states clearly that Jesus is the One True God in deity with God.

Even so, the question is actually unanswerable since you and I have a only a vague idea what being deity with God actually means. Simply, it means Jesus is not simply God, but his Begotten Son, which means Mary is now the Virgin Mary and thus puts undue emphasis on sexual virginity, ignoring the fact that being a virgin at the time of Christ's birth only meant a woman was unwed.

This is but a small matter today, as Jesus was most likely born in late spring rather than December 25.

But that's worth a new blog entry when it's closer to Christmas...