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In a recent survey conducted by the BBC into the nature of religious belief in the UK, 52% of people said they believed in heaven and 32% said they believed in hell. Belief in hell it seems is more common than belief in astrology or ghosts, which had lower percentages.
Notice that the last sentence did not say belief in hell is more popular than belief in astrology or ghosts. Belief in hell is not popular, that is why most people don’t think about it and few people speak about.
The ideas and images associated with hell are ones that most people shrink from and the pictures that we inherit from mediaeval art are not ones that make any of us feel comfortable. Perhaps that is a good thing for us to understand. Life is not necessarily comfortable. For many people life is unbearable and for Jesus, his sufferings on the cross were literally hell. When he cried out “ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” he was experience hell itself, separation from the presence of God his Father.
Jesus speaks about life and death, about dark and light, about heaven and hell. We may not always find his words comforting or easy to understand, but we can be sure of Jesus’ promise that “anyone who believes in him will have eternal life.” (John 3:15-16)
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