Trail Lessons – Seasons Will Come and Go

I often go for long walks on the Santa Fe Trail—“Empowerment Walks”.  I am extremely blessed to live in a beautiful place, with such gorgeous scenery, strong sunshine, and mostly mild temperatures.  My walks serve as a time to give my body some exercise and de-stress.  Most of all, my walks are a time for thinking, singing and worship, and talking and listening to God.  As I’ve walked miles and miles on the Santa Fe Trail, God has taught me an abundance of lessons and has reassured my heart and soul countless times.  Yesterday, I set out on another empowerment walk.

Marriage Isn’t For You; Marriage is For Us

A few days ago, my 19 year-old son asked me if I had read a blog post which had gone viral.  The post is titled Marriage Isn’t For You and written by Seth Adam Smith.  At approximately the same time my son was asking me about the article, his girlfriend happened to message me a link to it and asked for my opinion.  I was curious what this post was all about and took the time to read it multiple times and ponder it for a couple of days.  I asked my husband (of 26 ½ years) to also read the article. 

I offered my son and his girlfriend a different viewpoint:

Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 3

Part 3 – The Greek Word Hades

If you have not read Part 1, A Brief Backdrop of My Journey or Part 2, The Hebrew Word Sheol, please do so before reading this Part 3.

Once again, I’ll repeat myself and say that mankind’s present is enormously influenced by the past and by other cultures.  Christianity’s modern ideas of hell have mostly come from Greek and Roman mythology, the poetic (and fictional) writing of Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) Inferno, and from ancient church leaders of Roman Catholicism and so called “church fathers” who had the wrong perception of God’s character, held an unhealthy fear of God, and/or wanted to have power and control over people. 

In Part 2, I explained the Hebrew word Sheol which is used in the Old Testament.  In this Part 3, I will explain the Greek word Hades, which is the equivalent to Sheol.

What is Hades?  

The Greek word “Hades” ([h]ades) is constructed out of two root words: 

Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 2

Part 2 – The Hebrew Word Sheol

If you have not read Part 1, A Brief Backdrop of My Journey, please do so before reading this Part 2.

Now, let’s get on to our discussion about hell…

So…what the hell is hell, anyway?

Where does the idea of hell and it being promoted as a place of eternal conscious torment come from?  

Unveiling the Myth of Hell and Eternal Torment, Part 1

Part 1 – A Brief Backdrop of My Journey

I have appropriately used the word “unveiling” in the title to this series about hell because God is the One who must lift the veil or pull back the curtain for us to see any truth.  And that’s precisely what He has done for me and continues to do on a daily basis.  

“A man cannot get anything if it should not 
be given him out of heaven.”

(John 3:17, CLNT)

The Backdrop

Please bear with me for a moment while I set a very brief backdrop of my spiritual journey.

Daily Truth – Only God Knows

The last writing (or “book”) in our modern Bibles is commonly known as Revelation.  The New American Standard (NAS) translation titles it “The Revelation of John”.  

The Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT) most appropriately titles it “The Unveiling of Jesus Christ”.

The Writ, Dabhar Translation Vol. 2, simply shortens it to “Unveiling”. 

My 45th Birthday Thanksgivings

My 45^th birthday came and went a couple of weeks ago.  I awoke that morning thanking God for my life and all His work in my life and journaled some thanksgivings.  I have wanted to type those up and post them because they are so important to me. 

Thanksgivings are so significant.  They remind us of how much we have, how much we’ve been given, and how blessed we truly are.  Sometimes, when life is hard, we tend to focus on the negatives and become negative ourselves and ungrateful.  Thanksgivings are a powerful force against negativity and ungratefulness.

On my 45^th birthday morning, I offered these initial thanksgivings to God…