43,000 Religions
Some religious scholars estimate that there are as many as 43,000 different religions in the world. Isn't that amazing? We tend to think, however, only of what we've been groomed to think are the "big ones" ...
Christianity.
Judaism.
Islam.
Buddhism.
Hinduism.
... But there are actually another 42,995 religions in addition to those 5.
Christianity, though (many branches of it, anyways), says that it and it alone is the "only way" and that everyone else outside of it is destined for a place called hell - a place of darkness, a place of agony, a place of separation from God.
Let's assume for a minute that this is true. Let's assume that Christianity IS the only way, that some sort of "faith" in the "work of Jesus" IS the only way to heaven.
There are 7.67 Billion people in the world with 2.38 Billion identifying as "Christian" and a mere 619 Million identifying as "Evangelical Christian" and so (amongst many other things) that means that there are lots of other ways to be Christian.
Right?
A lot of my Evangelical friends, though, insist that their way of understanding God is the right way, the only way, the orthodox way, and that every other way of thinking about Jesus is wrong.
Like ... I still identify as a Christian. I follow the way of Christ, I love Christ, and I believe in Christ. Even so, many of my Evangelical friends have said things like ...
I've gone astray.
I've turned away from Jesus.
I've neglected Orthodox Christianity.
The Devil has a hold of my life.
I'm a heretic.
I'm a blasphemer.
I'm a false teacher.
... And so even though I'm one of the 2.38 Billion Christians, I'm not one of the 619 Million Evangelical Christians and (therefore) I'm not part of the "in" club - I'm on the highway to hell with the other 42,999 religions.
Does this make sense, though? I mean, in light of what we know about Jesus who left 99 sheep to go after the one and in light of what we know about God who supposedly made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity in sacrificing his one and only son ... does it make sense that 619 Million are in and 7 Billion are headed to hell where they will be separated from God and tortured forever? And if that is true, if 7 Billion really are headed to hell, doesn't that mean that God's ultimate plan really wasn't all that good and that the Good News is actually really quite bad? It seems to me that God’s big plan is actually a big failure.
Furthermore, what if there are people in those 42,999 other religions that act more Christlike than some people in the group of 619 Million Evangelical Christians? What if there are people in those 42,999 religions that are more loving, more graceful, more forgiving, more peaceful, and more inclusive than some of the most Christlike Evangelicals who have ever lived?
Are they still destined for hell?
Are they still destined to be separated from God?
Are they still out?
And if they are, is God really all that powerful? And good? Would a "good, good Father" like the one that we sing about in church on Sundays let a place like hell exist where tons of handfuls of his children will spend eternity separated from him and be tortured?
If so, then God is a pretty lousy father and I'm a much better father than he'll ever be. I have a 4 year old and I don't care if she poured gasoline on me and lit me on fire, I would do everything in my power to make sure she is forever safe, kept from harm, and able to live a prosperous, happy, and joy-filled life. Her safety and wellbeing isn't contingent on whether or not she believes a certain thing or acts in a certain way.
She's my daughter.
I'm her father.
... And that's all there is to it.
The 42,999 religions that aren't Christianity are filled with people who are God's kids and if God is letting them walk toward the fires of eternity simply because they believe the wrong things about him then God is a fraud and should be arrested for child abuse.
I believe that everyone is headed to the same place. In the Gospel of Thomas (saying 77) the Gospel writer has Jesus saying that the "Kingdom of God is within us and outside of us". In other words, perhaps heaven isn't some sort of destination that you get to when you believe the right things, but maybe it's a sate of being that has always existed within you that you become aware of only when you wake up, recognize the image of God that you're made in, and begin to live accordingly, in the ways that Jesus (and countless other teachers) have modeled for us.
Sure, there are Bible verses that could be lobbed at me to prove me wrong, but I think they're irrelevant. I don't think the Bible is the "authoritative Word of God" that was penned by God to teach us what to believe so that we can get to heaven. I have more respect for it than to lump upon its shoulders a responsibility that it’s not made to carry. Instead, I think the Bible is a beautiful collection of beautiful texts that depict what it looks like for a human being to journey through life trying to understand and walk with an invisible God who is good, loving, kind, generous, and forever present.
All that to say, I don't think there's a hell and I don't think there's any place in the entire cosmos where one can be separated from God. We're in heaven now, I think, and heaven is deep at the core of who we are - it's all around us and in us ... it's dripping on us and oozing out of us, if only we would wake up and see it, take part in it, live into it, and live from it.
There're 43,000 religions in the world and we're all "in". Now, that’s what I call Good News.