Has HELL Lost Its Fire?

An article from the Los Angeles Times, dated July 6, 2002, noted the fact that hell was "losing its fire in American Sermons". The article states,

Hell's fall from fashion indicates how key portions of Christian theology have been influenced by a secular society that stresses individualism over authority and the human psyche over moral absolutes. The rise of psychology, the philosophy of existentialism and the consumer culture have all dumped buckets of water on hell.

Harvey Cox Jr., author and religious historian/professor at Harvard Divinity School, said, "There has been a shift in religion from focusing on what happens in the next life to asking, 'What is the quality of this life we're leading now?' You can go to a whole lot of churches week after week, and you'd be startled even to hear a mention of hell."

But hell is not out of the minds of a majority of American. Gallup conducted a poll in 2001 of adults nationwide and discovered that 71% believe in hell, they just don't want to hear about it.

In 1999, even Pope John Paul II did not want to paint hell as the tormentuous, fiery underworld, but said that hell is "the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."

Whether you believe in hell or not, is not really the issue. The real question is, "Does hell really exist?" I could say that I don't believe in gravity, but that doesn't stop its force from operating.

Many attempt to remove the reality of hell from their conscience by using the word 'hell' as a slang or curse word. In this way, hoping that familiarity breeds contempt.

But consider the possibility that hell is a real place. If there is a heaven, there must be a hell. If there is good, there must be evil. If there is light, there must be darkness.

Would you listen to someone who has been to hell and was brought back to testify of its reality? Or would you write them off as a kook? You might write them off to your own hurt.

A Christian by the name of Bill Weise is such a man. Watch the video below to hear his experience about how he was taken to hell to see, hear, smell the torments of hell. Please watch the entire video to the end, in order to get the full story.