What in Hell is going on?

Yesterday I got a call from a gentleman who had just recieved leave from Iraq. He asked about books for new believers who were in the military. He had "just recieved salvation" and was wanting to grow in his new faith. More importantly he was affraid that as a soldier he would have to return to Iraq and he was affraid that he would lose his "salvation" and go to hell if killed someone or "did something wrong". I really felt for this guy. One thing I picked up on during our conversation was that whomever he heard from about Jesus was heavy on the "saved" and "hell" language. It is bothersome to me that Christians are so heavy on the "hell' language. The Old Testament is silent about the "hell" issue (and KJV freaks should be careful of the world Sheol in the O.T. it isn't hell). In fact hell doesn't even enter the Jewish mindset until the influence of zorastrianism during the 400+ years between the O.T. and N.T. Furthermore, in the N.T. there seems to be an odd reversal on behalf of Jesus who takes hell language and turns it back on religious zealots who used hell as a way of controling the masses. All of that to say, why are we so freaking heavy on the hell language as Christians? Do we speak of Jesus as aversion to hell because we have nothing really positive to say about Jesus himself. As though his life, ministry, and teachings are void of anything beneficial. Why do we take the liberty of inflicting hell on others where Christ refused to. Oh wait, Jesus defined his way of eternal life as: "That you may not go to hell." I pray, my friend from Iraq, that you come to know the fullness of Jesus Christ. The Christ who promised RESURRECTION and THE ETERNAL KIND OF LIFE that wasn't about escaping hell or even living forever in heaven. But about knowing intemately our creator God and his son Jesus whom He sent. Let the religious zealots have their hell talk. Lord knows there are plenty of them out there all too ready to try and manipulate people into their form of religiousity. Sorry, on behalf of sane Christians everywhere, that you ran into one.

Beautiful Collision

"When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision"......By David Crowder