Excuse me???

I'm sick and tired of all this crap. I came across this to my ultimate horror. It's an actual counter (that counts in decimals may I add... not sure how 0.4 of you can die or who decided the rates of death... but that is the least of the craziness on this stupid "counter") the part that I loved was the part where all these people are going to hell - so get out there and save their souls! KIDDING!
Alright - you found me out. I don't believe in Dante's version of Hell. I don't believe that the "unsaved" will burn forever in the fiery pits. I don't buy the notion that God will abandon his beloved, and if you read St. Paul - for I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' from a little letter to the Romans - I don't get it. If this is to be the measuring stick by which we are to understand the eternal love of God, how did we so distort this image into notions of eternity in the fiery pits of Hell await those who don't believe?
To understand Hell, scholars point to the valley of Hinnom where child sacrifice was once practiced. In order to appease the Gods, babies were sacrificed and their bodies burned. This practice was condemned, the valley made illegal and it subsequently became a big 'ole garbage dump. Problem was, that the way the winds swept around the valley, the fires never went out - they became the unquenchable fires of Gehenna - or hell on earth. THAT is hell. Not some mythological place in the depths of the earth with some guy with horns and a pitch fork. Karen Armstrong said it right when she said 'what is the fun of religion unless you can look down from the parapets of heaven at the unfortunates roasting below.' She points us to our systematic abuse, one-upmanship and absolute narrow-minded ego points to the understanding that only we have the way to God - and it's our way or the highway. Smart woman. Now if only we can get these televangelists that prey (pray?) on the weak and the vulnerable off the air, we may be able to get back to what matters. What matters is how we treat each other. How we live our lives HERE and NOW. Bring about the kingdom of God in our communities, and in the world - NOW - not because we fear roasting for all of eternity in some mythical pit of fire - but because as Christians we are called to live out our beliefs - not just some pious crap on Sunday, but truly go out, get our hands dirty - weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
May I be known for my actions.
Something kinda related from the news: The pope is doing away with the concept of limbo where Roman Catholics were once taught that this is the place where unbaptized babies go... in a state of perpetual happiness, but not in the presence of God. Lookie here - human assumptions about the afterlife - called into question... who'da thunk it.