Is Hell Only Here on Earth? - John R Schroeder - September 1974

John R Schroeder

THE time: the 1870s. The place: Atlanta, Georgia. The topic of conversation: hell. "I'm afraid I'll die and go to hell..." "You are pretty healthy - and maybe there isn't and hell." "Oh, but there is, Rhett! You know there is!" "I know there is, but it's right here on earth. Not after we die, Scarlett. You are having your hell right now." "Oh, Rhett, that's blasphemous!" "But singularly comforting. Tell me, why are you going to hell?" This remarkable discourse took place between two of the most famous fictional characters in literary history - Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara (Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind, page 826). The conversation aptly illustrates a point: almost no two people in the world can fully agree on what hell is, or even if it is. Some years ago a survey for Catholic Digest conducted by Dr. George Gallup indicated that 68 out of every 100 Americans believed in heaven; but only 54 percent were persuaded, like Scarlett, that hell was indeed a reality. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library