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TIL my pastor friend doesn't believe in a literal hell
I've been in church my whole life, but last week I had coffee with my friend Mark who's a pastor at a Methodist church in Portland. He straight up told me he thinks hell is more about separation from God than fire and brimstone. Said he stopped preaching on hell after reading through the original Greek texts. I used to think you had to take the whole Bible literally or none of it. But he walked me through a few verses and now I'm honestly not sure what I believe anymore. Has anyone else had a pastor or leader change their view on something like this?
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blairm3512d ago
Just tell your friend Mark he's single-handedly ruining all those classic fire and brimstone sermons that make people feel guilty enough to donate extra on Sundays. I mean, come on, where's the dramatic flair in "you'll be separated from God's presence" compared to "you'll be tormented by demons with pitchforks"? Sounds like Mark's been reading too many books and not enough Dante, honestly. Next thing you know he'll be saying the devil isn't actually a red guy with a tail, and then where will we be, watching cute puppy videos instead of fearing eternal damnation? I bet his church's attendance is really gonna tank without those juicy hellfire warnings keeping people awake in the pews.
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irishenderson12d ago
Hang on, is attendance really tanking because of fewer fire and brimstone sermons? I've been to a few Methodist services and the ones I went to were packed even with that "God is love" vibe. People might actually show up more if they're not being yelled at about burning for eternity. Seems like you could swap out the pitchforks for a more chill message and still fill the seats.
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