Last week I began my assault on what I’m calling the four fortresses of hell, beginning with “truth.” By “fortress,” I mean a concept on which people tend to plant their flag when it comes to developing a theology of post-mortem rewards and punishments. I narrowed it down to four: truth, freedom, justice and love. There may be more, but as I teach in my screenwriting classes, these are the four principles for which most people are willing to die–or... Read more
As part of my research for an upcoming project, I’ve been watching a speech by Holy Land Trust Executive Director Sami Awad. Towards the end of his talk, he quotes American Pastor Bob Roberts, who says, “We don’t serve to convert others, we serve because we are converted.” This got me thinking about the difference between salvation as conversion and salvation as transformation. You could say it’s the difference between being willful and being willing. If I’m focused on conversion,... Read more
Last week I closed my cheat sheet on hell by listing three “fortresses” on which people tend to plant their flag when it comes to developing a theology of post-mortem rewards and punishments. To review, they are: 1. Freedom 2. Justice 3. Love However, as I was reflecting on the post yesterday, I realized a glaring omission from that list: 4. Truth In my cheat sheet, I observed that those who place the highest value on justice or freedom tend... Read more
Lately I’ve had to do a number of interviews and Q&A sessions relating to Hellbound?, so I thought it prudent to write up a little cheat sheet to remind me of a few key points I’d like to cover. Here’s a sneak peak. PURPOSES OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM This list goes back to my days working in youth custody facilities (my educational background includes a degree in social development studies, particularly the processing of young offenders). But I think the... Read more
I started this series as a way of addressing a common problem I’ve encountered throughout my career in documentary film making–our seeming inability to have constructive conversations about controversial topics. All too often, if someone refuses to accept our view on a given issue, such as hell, we walk away assuming some sort of moral, psychological or even spiritual defect on the part of the other. Why else would they refuse to adopt our position? Clearly some powerful force is... Read more
Over the past several weeks I’ve been listening to David Cayley’s excellent seven-part CBC radio documentary The Myth of the Secular. The series challenges the notion promoted by people like Richard Dawkins that, as societies modernize, the public role of religion will inevitably decline. Instead, the reverse has happened, with various forms of religion growing stronger than ever, even in the face of rapid modernization. Through a series of interviews with theologians, anthropologists, sociologists and political philosophers, Cayley seeks to... Read more
I just finished a segment on Huff Post Live called “What the Hell?” where I served on a panel alongside two Christian pastors, a rabbi and an imam. Fascinating discussion. You can watch it here. Read more
I kind of surprised myself while writing yesterday’s post when it came to the issue of objective reality and whether or not I believe in it. As I noted, I was tempted to give a pat answer along the lines of “Of course objective reality exists, but none of us can ever experience it objectively, because we are subjective beings.” But then I backtracked from that statement, because to my way of thinking, the term “objective reality” refers to a... Read more
My last post in this series ended in somewhat of a stalemate. I began by explaining how we all read the Bible/Tradition/Experience/Reason through a different Interpretive Principle, which is itself shaped by a unique configuration of the four influences just cited. I concluded by expressing my skepticism as to whether or not any of us is holding a “trump card” that can validate our Interpretive Principle as supreme. We all like to think we’re holding that card, but just try... Read more
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. — NRA President Wayne LaPierre There’s no denying the appeal of LaPierre’s statement. Last week, wouldn’t we all have rather read headlines about the death of attempted mass murderer Adam Lanza instead of how he brutally cut down over two dozen people, including 20 children? And this week, rather than watching footage of grieving families at funerals, wouldn’t we rather be watching... Read more
Hellbound
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