I was part of a very inspiring conversation last Wed with some men from St. Lukes around the topic of "Is there only one way to God"?
With this topic we also got on the subject of how do you get to heaven. I've long been of the belief that everyone gets to heaven. And, yes I mean everyone. Hitler, Pol Pot, the Chinese farmer who lives a good life, but is not exposed to Christianity, you, me, everyone.
I struggle with the concept that someone who doesn't have the opportunity to know Jesus and Christianity, but lives a Christ like life doesn't make it to heaven. So, for me, where do you draw the line? How do you judge who gets in and who doesn't? Now, believe me, I realize that I am probably unable to conceptualize what God has in mind for us, but this is still something I think about and struggle with to some extent.
So, if everyone gets into heaven, why live a good life now? Why not whoop it up and not be burdened by consequences? Now, I am not suggesting something along the lines of Pol Pot, but why not be greedy? Why not do what feels good now and not worry about the consequences to others along the way. Well, I believe one of our purposes in this life is to bring a small slice of heaven to those you come in contact with now.
So circling back the conversation Wed night, someone explained the concept of hell this way. We pass through hell on our way to heaven. During that time, God burns away all the bad parts of us and "cleans" us before our ascension into heaven.
This concept really resonated with me. It provides purpose for our life here and now, and addresses what happens with the "bad" people on their way to heaven. Poor Pol Pot wouldn't have much left when we got together for a game of shuffle board in heaven.
Maybe I am having my cake and eating it too, but I find comfort in the idea that everyone goes to heaven, but you don't get a free pass (making it there in tact) if you are a bad person along the way. An believe, me, I'll be quite a few pounds lighter myself if this ends up being true.
This seems to go along with the concept of Purgatory. I think Dante envisioned this as a huge mountain which must be climbed in order to 'work off' the sins of life. It is probably the most just visions of an afterlife in modern religion. The more Eastern version of this, that of Karma (technically, I'm completely butchering this concept) is very similar except that you work off your sins trapped back on Earth as something else. There's even a humanist version of justice in the world in which you statistically suffer from lack of connection to others just because you're a jerk. No matter how you cut it though, nice guys finish first.
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