My most recent Letter to the Editor (published)

Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper Helena, Montana

Stop pointing fingers
by Lori Gilliland
Wednesday, January 26, 2005

To the Editor:
Did Matthew Sheppard really go straight to hell as a Kansas cult claims? Many find this hard to believe. This and other contentious religious questions continue to divide the faithful and turn others away.

Hell itself has transformed over time. First there was Sheol, the Old Testament Hebrew word for “abode of the dead.” Then there was Hades, the Greek word for “underground abode of the dead.” And finally, hell (the English word helan) means “to conceal.” This was further interpreted as being the grave, aka, “Six Feet Under.” So, the dead lay awaiting Judgment Day. Only then will one rise and live again. At last God will judge who is worthy to live forever and who is not. Those damned will be destroyed. Not to burn forever, but to be completely consumed by fire, never to exist again, to die a second time.
Therefore, certain people should stop pointing fingers at sinners and condemning them straight to hell. It’s blasphemous to claim such knowledge. Some think we are already in hell, thanks to religious fundamentalism. Some think hell is the absence of God. I think cruel people worship a cruel God.

Lori Gilliland
P.O. Box 72
Clancy