a conversation i didn't have

I'm reading 'The Last and the Word After That' by Brian McLaren. It's sort of about hell and how hell has been perceived in Western Protestant circles for the past few hundred years and how some of those perceptions might not be all right. But more than that it is about the process of becoming and growing in the presence and accountability of community as guided by the Spirit of God and divinely-placed friendships.
It's format is a quasi-narrated collection of hypothetical and imagined dialogues, so, in keeping with that here's one I didn't have...

'I don't really approve of all the ideas in this book, I don't like where they lead. That is, to the denial of the truth (unfotunate truth though it may be) of hell.'

"Why are you so reluctant to let go of hell?"

'Why are you so frivolous as to deny hell?'

"I think that's an unfair question. Perhaps I should rephrase myself; perhaps 'let go of' is not the best termonology. If I am frivolous it is in being willing to rethink hell, not by denying it."

'Well I think that is dangerous still, my question stands: Why bother rethinking something so rooted in tradition and scripture?'

"Alright, if I try to honestly answer your question will you try to honestly answer mine?"

'Deal.'

"I'm willing to rethink hell because the way it has traditionally been understood doesn't settle right."

'You mean it doesn't feel right - that's kind of shallow don't you think?'

"No, I mean it doesn't settle right. I'm not talking about finding a soft substitute for hell that feels good. I'm talking about at least looking for an understanding that setlles with our belief that God is good, just and loving."

'But if God is just then hell is fine, cause we all deserve it from the get go.'

"Granted. Maybe. But let me finish first. Then see what you think."

'Sure.'

"Thanks. I grew up understanding the point of Christianity to be believing in Jesus (which meant saying the right prayer and being good according to a certain list of goods and bads) so that I could go to heaven (and avoid going to hell - though nobody ever said much about that). This worked fine for me because all the people I really loved and cared about had said the same prayer and at least tried to abide by the same list. But then one time I asked my dad to autograph my Bible, because he is one of my heroes. He signed it and wrote 'John 10:10' under his name. It didn't do much for me then, probably because I didn't know anything but 'life to the full'. Still, it was there and the idea began to seep into my soul - and eventually caught me off-gaurd. The idea that the whole thing Jesus represented (which has most often been labeled, for better or worse, 'Christianity') was (is) something more than avoiding eternal suffering in hell. The idea that hell isn't the point, and nether is heaven for that matter. The point is to be for what God is for (which is, I think, the Kingdom of God - we should talk about that another time, it's hugely important) and to be against what God is against (things like sin and selfish arrogance and indifference and hate). So the grace that is so central to the gospel is not about a free ticket to heaven so much as it is about a free makeover - transformation. It is not so much a moment of grace (not to say that there aren't moments of grace) as it is a process of grace, a process of grace-full transformation - a process of becoming a person who identifies with Jesus in being (actively/courageously) for what God is for and against what God is against. I think that some of the things God is against are exclusion and suffering; these are parts of the Story (very real parts) that don't make God smile. So I wonder if we've gon wrong somewhere in our understanding and usage of hell, just as I was wrong in my undertanding and usage of Christianity (thinking it was about me and my eternal destiny rather than about God and God's all encompassing Kingdom - perhaps we should talk sometime about eternal destiny vs. eternal identity). I wonder if, maybe, God is interested in something more than what we've made this whole thing out to be. So, where in lies your reluctance?"

(then I think the phone rang or the cat knocked over a glass of orange juice on the kitchen table so the conversation was never finished. but, really, is it ever?)