Damnation Will Not Be Televised

What do Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dante have in common, but not in common with the Pope and the late Billy Graham? The answer is a literal interpretation of hell. So says Rose Marie Berger in Sojourners Magazine/November-December 2003. After explaining why people who have been through a bloody war or a terrible persecution prefer an image of Jesus as the stern judge at the end of time, she ends her article with this excellent quote:
"The best answers to sticky theological questions are usually from those closest to the problem. If you want to know about poverty, ask a poor person. If you want to know about hell, ask someone who's been there."