Insurance companies cancel auto insurance. Schools expel children. Banks deny credit. WHY? We make choices & experience consequences. These entities don’t exist to cancel ... expel ... refuse credit! They exist to offer services: protection, education and resources. But when people reject their services or treat them lightly, there are consequences.

A college drama group presented a play in which one character would stand on a trapdoor and announce, "I descend into hell!" A stagehand below would then pull a rope, the trapdoor would open, and the character would plunge through. The play was well received. When the actor playing the part became ill, another actor who was quite overweight took his place. When the new actor announced, "I descend into hell!" the stagehand pulled the rope, and the actor began his plunge, but became hopelessly stuck. No amount of tugging on the rope could make him descend. One student in the balcony jumped up and yelled: "Hallelujah! Hell is full!"

NOTHING STANDS BETWEEN US AND HELL

A man once asked Evangelist Billy Sunday "What must I do to go to Hell?"

Billy Sunday responded: "Nothing."

VALUJET COULD NOT PREVENT HORROR Dave Redick

I read a copy of the transcript released by the National Transportation and Safety Board of ValuJet Flight 592 cockpit voice recordings just before the fatal crash into the Florida Everglades. On that day, May 11, 1996, 110 people came face to face with the horrifying reality of death.

It was haunting to read the words that were spoken during those final minutes of terror as the cabin and cockpit filled with smoke. For the people aboard Flight 592 that fateful day there is nothing we can do. There is no way to undo what happened.

But preventative steps can be taken in the future to keep such a thing from happening again. ValuJet cut corners in their maintenance. They lived dangerously and recklessly like such a disaster could never happen to them. They squeezed every bit of profit out of business that they could, all the while ignoring warning after warning.

Likewise, today there is nothing that can be done about those already in Hades. But preventative steps can be taken to assure that other people don't end up there. But we cannot cut corners. We cannot live as though it could never happen to us. Like a "black box" containing a voice recording of disaster-in-progress, the words of Jesus here in Luke 16 warn us to be careful of the maintenance of our relationship with Him. They also spur us into action to try to reach our loved ones and neighbors before it is too late.

US Catholic Magazine recently asked its readers what they thought about the idea of an afterlife. The article concluded that the old "hellfire-and-brimstone" idea seems to be on its way out, being replaced by the idea of hell as an absence of God. It went on to say that one result is that people are becoming more concerned about doing good for its own sake -- and less about doing good to avoid hell

HELL IS A PLACE CHOSEN Newsweek 3/27/89

Hell, then, is not a place created by a God bent on getting even, but the alienation we choose for ourselves. Heaven, on the other is hand, is for lovers - of others and of God. "Thou hast made us for Thyself," wrote Saint Augustine nearly 17 centuries ago, "and our hearts are restless, till they rest in Thee."

HELL AND WEALTH The Christian Reader quoting Charisma 9/10 1996 p. 104

A study conducted by economists Brooks Hull and Frederick Boyd shows that the road to financial health may begin with a belief in hell. the study concludes that societies with churches that believe in the existence of hell encourage appropriate behavior. Society in turn saves money by spending less on enforcement and punishment. The threat of hell is more of a deterrent than the hope of heaven, according to the study.

WHAT IS HELL? Adam

Hell is truth seen too late.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee both died as men without a country. The Southern leaders were denied United States citizenship after the end of the Civil War and did not regain it until more than 100 years later.

Neither Davis nor Lee was eligible for the general amnesty that was declared by President Abraham Lincoln in December1863. After the war, President Andrew Johnson made it still tougher to gain a pardon. Davis, however, was not interested in a pardon, even after completing his prison term.

Lee, on the other hand, did want to rejoin the Union and work to rebuild the defeated South. He sent President Johnson the oath of allegiance to the Constitution, which was required for a special pardon. Unfortunately, his oath was lost - or perhaps Johnson simply ignored it.. Lee died, still a noncitizen, in 1870. A century later, researcher Elmer Parker discovered the misplaced oath in a cardboard box at the National Archives.

Finally, after more than 100 years of neglect, the two Confederate leaders ware given back their citizenship through special resolutions of Congress. Citizenship was granted to Lee on July 22, 1975, and to Davis on Oct. 17, 1978.

HOW FAR IS IT TO HELL? Pulpit Helps April 1995, p. 9

Streaming from the evangelist's eyes as the Spirit of God directed him toward three young men on the back row. The message that night had been on the "The Horrors of Hell." The man of God had made a passionate plea, attempting to rescue any soul bound for that awful place.

As he approached the trio, he was about to ask them to please come to the Lord and confess their sins. Before he could utter a word, one of them smirked and said, "Huh, preacher, how far is it to hell, anyway?" The other two1aughed and they all turned and exited quickly from the church.

The evangelist told me he heard the squeal of the tires as they pulled out on the highway and sped away. His broken heart followed them as far as possible, hoping they would return. Others, however, did respond and a number of people were praying around the altar.

The prayer was soon interrupted by a state trooper's knock on the front door of the church. His question paralyzed the congregation. "Do any of you know three young men?" and he went on to describe what they were wearing. The people responded that they did and wondered aloud why he asked.

The officer sadly unfolded the story. Just two and one-half miles down the road, at the big bend, their car had left the road and split in half around a large oak tree. The people hurried to their cars. When they arrived, they found three dead bodies lying beside the road. It was two and one-half miles to hell for those young men!

% OF BELIEF IN ... p. 57 U.S. News & World Report, 3/25/91

The Afterlife HEAVEN HELL

1990 78% 60%

1981 71% 53%

1965 68% 54%

1952 72% 58%

Believers in 1990

Total 78% 60%

Men 74% 59%

Women 81% 62%

Ages 18-29 84% 71%

30-49 78% 61%

50 and up 74% 54%

Protestant 84% 66%

Catholic 81% 57%·

Evangelical 91% 80%

No religion 46% 36%

Attend Church 87% 67%

Nonmembers 62% 48%

Chance Of Going To:

Total 78% 4%

Men 73% 5%

Women 81% 3%

Ages 18-29 78% 3%

30-49 80% 3%

50 & up 76% 5%

Protestant 80% 4%

Catholic 76% 5%

Evangelical 88% 3%

No religion 61% 9%

Attend Church 83% 3%

Nonmembers 65% 7%

METHODIST WOMAN PREACHER'S VIEW OF HELL (ibid. p.60)

"My congregation would be stunned to hear a sermon on hell," says the Rev. Mary Kraus, pastor of the Dumbarton United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Her parishioners, she says, are "upper middle class, well-educated critical thinkers" who view God as "compassionate and loving, no someone who's going to push them into eternal damnation."

CATHOLIC THEOLOGY ON HELL U.S. News & World Report 3/25/91 p.60

In Roman Catholicism, the possibility of hell for the wicked remains on the doctrinal books. But according to modern teachings, few souls are likely to end up there. Since the 1960s, when a spirit of ecumenism took hold of the church at the Second Vatican Council, Catholic theology has emphasized the potential for all souls ultimately to make it to heaven - although many first may have to spend the time in purgatory, a temporary lodging where sinners are rehabilitated. In earlier times, "we were told hell was a real possibility for all of us," recalls the Rev. Richard McBrien, chairman of theology at the U. of Notre Dame. "If you ate a hot dog on Friday and got hit by a truck before you went to confession, you'd suffer the same punishment as a murderer." Now, says the Rev. Avery Dulles, theology professor at Fordham University in New York, the emphasis is on the mercy and love of God. "Hell is there and ready to receive anyone who meets the conditions for falling into it," says Dulles, "But it's quite possible that no one will really go there." To many Catholic theologians, hell has come to be perceived as a "state of being" rather than a place. "You can't dig far enough into the earth to find it," says McBrien. Today, he adds, the suffering is widely thought to be more spiritual than physical "It's not necessary to believe it's fire and that you're constantly cooking on a spit," he says.

OTHER FAITHS, OTHER HELLS (ibid. p. 64)

"But for the wrongdoers will be an evil place of final return! Hell! They will burn therein - an evil bed indeed to lie on!" The Koran

Despite the Ayatollah Khomeini's condemnation of British novelist Salman Rushdie to hell for writing "The Satanic Verses," in mainstream Islamic thought no one can know for certain - or be guaranteed by another person - what his or her eternal fate will be. While obedience to the laws of Islam, dying a martyr's death and certain other meritorious acts place a Muslim in a more advantageous position than that of evil doers and unbelievers, all must walk the Path after death, according to Muslim teachings. And whether one makes it to paradise or topples into hell, says Abderrahmane Lakhsassi, visiting professor of Islamic history at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, ultimately "depends on the mercy of God."

In Hinduism, with its belief in reincarnation, hell is merely one stage in the career of a soul as it passes from one life to the next. Unlike the hells of Christianity and Islam, the Hindu hells - there 21 of them in all - are temporary abodes where bad karma, the evil that one commits during a lifetime, is burned away. Once purged, the soul is recycled to a higher state in the next life. In the hierarchy of Hindu hells, some are more unpleasant than others. As spelled out in ancient writings called the Puranas, the soul whose karma is not so bad may simply be reborn as an animal. Stealers of meat, for example, may return as vultures, and thieves of grain may be reborn as rats. Worse sinners may come back as grasses, shrubs or other inanimate objects. The very wicked face condemnation to the lower hells where they may be scorched in the hot sand, boiled in jars or devoured by ravens. There is no Judgment

Day in Hinduism. Under the karma system, explains the Rev. James D. Redington, associate professor of theology at Georgetown University and an expert on Hinduism, where one goes after death is determined virtually automatically by one's deeds. "It's a sort of no-fault system," says Redington. "The consequences of one's actions are built into the structure of the universe."

Buddhism, like Hinduism, speaks of a multitude of hells as temporary stops in a person's journey toward nirvana, a sort of blissful nonexistence. There is no soul, per se, in Buddhism, rather there is a "karmic energy" or individual life force that is recycled from one lifetime to another. In classical Buddhism, no fewer than seven "hot hells" await the evildoers, each flanked by four torture chambers that include a fiery pit and a quagmire. Tibetan Buddhists also speak of eight cold hells and certain "Frontier" hells for those guilty of lesser sins.

Variations on the Buddhist and Hindu views of hell appear in Jainism an

d Taoism. Jainism, which grew out of Hinduism some 2500 years ago, views the universe as having three realms, the lowest containing 8.4 million hells where humans are punished for their sins. Those guilty of unpardonable sin are kept in a bottomless abyss forever. In Taoism, a Chinese religion, the dead are believed taken to the God of walls and moats who judges them and sends them to one of the Buddhist paradises, to the mountain dwelling of Taoist immortals or to one of several hells for a fixed period of punishment.

The idea of a punitive hell for the wicked is also part of the lore of some present day tribal religions - among the Andaman Islanders in the eastern Bay of Bengal and Gabon and Fon people of the West African republics of Gabon and Benin, for example. It is absent, for the most part, from North American native religions.

SCIENTIST'S OBSERVATIONS ON DARKNESS Smithsonian 12/91 p.22

It is a silent world (on bottom of sea). I have set the submersible on the seabed and shut down all of the systems. We call it "going dead boat." Silence and darkness are immediate and ultimate, surrounding and pervasive. I feel the silence more than hear it; it feels cold, oppressive, alien. My voice in the silence sounds thin and nervous, insignificant.... Only when I return power to the boat does my pulse return to normal.

THE GATES OF HELL OPENED? (From a dubious source)

Scientists are afraid that they have opened the gates to hell. A geological group who drilled a hole about 14.4 Kilometers deep (about 9 miles) in the crust of the earth, are saying that they heard human screams. Screams have been heard from the condemned souls from earth's deepest hole. Terrified scientists are afraid they have let loose the evil powers of hell up to the earth's surface.

""The information we are gathering is so surprising, that we are sincerely afraid of what we might find down there," stated Mr. Azzacov, the manager of the project in remote Siberia.

The geologists were dumbfounded. After they had drilled several kilometers through the earth's crust, the drill bit suddenly began to rotate wildly. "There is only one explanation - that the deep center of the earth is hollow," `he surprised Azzacov explained. The 2nd surprise was the high temperature they discovered in the earth's center. The calculations indicate the given temp. was about 1100 degrees C or over 2000 F.," Dr. Azzacov points out. "This is far more than we expected. It seems almost like an inferno of fire is brutally going on in the center of the earth."

"The last discovery was nevertheless the most shocking to our ears, so much so that the scientists are afraid to continue the project. We tried to listen to the earth's movements at certain intervals with super sensitive microphones, which were let down through the hole. What we heard, turned those logically thinking scientists into a trembling ruins. It was sometimes a weak, but high pitched sound which we thought to be coming from our own equipment," explained Dr. Azzacov. "But after some adjustments we comprehended that indeed the sound came from the earth's interior. We could hardly believe our own ears. We heard a human voice, screaming in pain. Even though one voice was discernible, we could hear thousands, perhaps millions, in the background, of suffering souls screaming. After this ghastly discovery, about half of the scientists quit because of fear. Hopefully, that which is down there will stay there," added Dr. Azzacov.

THESE AMERICANS R.Digest 6/76 p.78

Looking over the rim of the volcano's crater, the American tourist remarked, "Reminds one of Hell, doesn't it?"

The guide threw up his hands and exclaimed, "These Americans, they've been everywhere

TV CAMERAS IN HELL? KCC Appeal letter, 10/94

Our world would be a different place if there were TV cameras in Hell. As you read this letter, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean.

Over the last year, television has carried the scenes of countless tragedies into our homes.

* Rwanda... we watched helplessly as thousands died of starvation, disease, and violence. Who can forget the faces of those little ones who had lost hope?

* Bosnia... countless witness shared atrocities too horrible to mention.

* other settings mentioned...

The list could continue for page.

After witnessing these tragedies, Christians have been moved by compassion to give millions of dollars for relief to these suffering souls. This is as it should be. We Christians should have compassion and share with those less fortunate than ourselves.

My concern is this: Did those suffering ones know the Lord? While thousands have died in these tragedies, tens of thousands have died and gone to Hell because they never heard and obeyed the gospel message.

This tragedy has never made front page or network news. No one in our national media is telling of this greatest of all tragedies!

Why? Because, there are no TV cameras in Hell.

If you and I could peek into the depths of Hell, our lives and priorities would be transformed in a moment. Since this is not physically possible, we must turn to the Scriptures to get a glimpse of what we would find there.