The topic of Hell came up in another post (read the comments here). One commenter–a Mormon–has found himself on the side of Universalists, Agnostics, Atheists, Wiccans, Jehovah’s Witness and Carlton Pearson in either down-playing, altering or denying the existence of Hell. Regardless of whether this is just his personal view or the LDS organization’s new PR move, either way, the denial of hell is beginning to gain in popularity.
For clarification, the denial of the doctrine of Hell doesn’t have to be confined to denying the existence of Hell. There are multiple ways of twisting, spinning, and distorting Scripture all while asking, “Hath God really said?” These include questioning the duration, the type of punishment, the degree of punishment, adding the teaching of purgatory to it, denying that most people will find themselves there (usually preceded with “A Loving god would never do that,” or “My god would never do that“), etc.
As the ecumenical movement gains momentum we find more and more beliefs merge in areas where they once found themselves in disagreement. The doctrine of Hell is yet another “politically incorrect” orthodox teaching of Christianity that is being discarded for the more modern, God-light view shared by an ever-increasing number. As people continue to form a personal, conscience-easing god in their own image tailored to suit their own tastes, we will continue to see more and more people denying biblical doctrines such as Hell. It usually starts with “I just can’t believe ______ ” fill in the blank.
Compromising biblical doctrines (like the deity of Christ, the atonement of Christ’s shed blood, the Trinity, the authority of holy Scripture, etc.) are frequently being done now in the name of the new Greatest Commandment: Unity.