There was a time when as a fundamentalist, I believed that all the dead who had not at some point in their lifetime, cried out to God & believed in God’s Son Jesus Christ, before they died, went to hell. It was the destination for those who did not believe in the born-againism of the Christianity I was in.

It’s not easy to talk about now. It is not easy to admit. It is however, the truth of the Christianity I once believed in & practiced. The dead in this Tsunami, (if I believed as I once did), if not ‘born-again’ in Christ, could be in no other place then the hell I’d been taught about in the Bible. The Bible that I had read from cover to cover several times. The Bible I studied personally, memorizing large portions of it & the Bible I studied from in Bible college. The Bible I taught from & yes, even preached from, because no matter which way you looked at it, I was a preacher of the Word.

I have heard from some Christians that God has allowed/sent this Tsunami as a warning, a wake-up call. I hear & read apocalyptic terminology as people discuss the horror of what happened in Asia.

It has been reported that the earth has been knocked 2.5 cm. (= 1 inch) off it’s axis. That the quake sped up the earth’s rotation by one one millionth of a second.

During a personal discussion with hubby, I said quietly, “Wouldn’t it be interesting, if for example the earth does get totally knocked off it’s axis & hurdles into outer-space destroying all forms of life…if for maybe 10 or 30 seconds before people die, we could hear the thoughts of those who in shock & horror think to themselves …’Wait, what happened to the Rapture, the Tribulation, the one thousand year reign of Christ? What happened to my dispensational belief? This isn’t the way it’s suppose to hap…………………..'”

I have a friend who responds to disasters with comments like, “People need to turn to God & repent!” Or, “We need to get right with Jesus. God is judging the world for their unbelief.” And, “The Bible speaks of earthquakes, floods & famine. I believe it is the end-times & the Lord’s return is near.” When she speaks this way, I hear a coldness in her voice & she demonstrates a matter-of-fact attitude. If I asked her specific to this disaster, where the souls of these dear fellow human beings are, she would not hesitate to say, “If they did not know Christ, they are in hell.” Today, I can look back to a time when as uncomfortable as it once made me, I basically believed & spoke as she did. Really, there was no other choice. When one believes in Christian born-againism, there is no other way then being ‘born-again.’ To consider anything else as being the ‘truth’ shatters the whole theology of born-againism. It is & can only be a ‘black or white’ proposition. There are no grey areas.

I can’t sit here, in my comfort & blessing, believing for one minute that because I prayed a sinner’s prayer, accepted Christ as my Saviour & became born-again, that I would be or am any more a child of God, destined for heaven & not hell, then those who have died in so-called unbelief. Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Atheist…all part of the human race…all related…all screaming, reaching for the hands of the one’s they loved & for some the hand of the One’s they believe in…quick, furious moments…alive…then dead.

And now…if they were so-called unbelieving souls, belonging not to the house of Christian born-againism…they reside for all eternity in hell?

Originally blogged in 2004.