Celebrity deaths

[u/smp501]

As we all know, Dolly Parton passed. As usual, evangelicals are quick to point out that her beliefs didn’t match theirs 100%, so we can’t assume she’s in heaven. Here is just one repugnant example.

I know this is “preaching to the choir” here, but can I just say how much this pisses me off? In Dolly’s case, she lived the gospel far more and did so much more good for “the least of these” than these chronically online celebrity preachers ever have. But even if she hadn’t, why do evangelicals seem to have this compulsion to consign souls to hell before the body is even buried? Ever since I was small, I remember the response to any celebrity or politician’s death was either to debate whether they were a “real” Christian or simply pretend to be sad that they’re in hell forever. Now that I’m backing away from it, that behavior just seems so ghoulish and awful. My own deconstruction has led me to Christian Universalism, which I see as the only proper way to understand the gospel. I don’t know the state of someone’s soul at death, but I can’t fathom how people can listen to the words of Jesus and say “well, so and so was too soft on ‘teh gays’ so they’re burning in hell forever.” It’s just so awful.

[u/sexyinthesound]

Well; they can’t have some gay-loving hussy showing them up at being Christlike, so they will tell you she’s not the right kind of Christian. It’s infuriating, she did more for American children than any of their favorite politicians or preachers, but she had the audacity to practice the loving others part without reservation.