Let's stipulate the following: Jesus died for all our sins (past and future) and as a result, you're not going to Hell, or whatever you want to call the eternal torture chamber. So, if certain "salvation" were guaranteed (where salvation here means no Hell), then why might anyone want to be Christian? What would be the point of submitting one's life to Jesus and living with the constraints Jesus demands?
It seems that escape from eternal Hell, can serve as a useful motivator. But isn't that kind of Christianity hollow at its core? The gratitude one might feel for God in that case is as a savior from Hell.
Isn't it better that one's Christianity, not be about escaping Hell, but about attaining God? To return to paradise, the Garden of Eden, free of the shame that came from disobedience. In this version of the Christian journey, Hell is not the concern. Rather, it is the search for the pearl of great price that defines one's motivation for the life of constraint. God is the goal, not escaping Hell.

"Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise" by Benjamin West 1779
Published on June 14, 2025 00:00