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."