Christians now believe in Heaven, but not in Hell, unlike in the Middle Ages or even a century ago. Yet the situation is almost the reverse of this modern belief.

The pictures in National Geographic show lava lakes in volcano craters that provide a window on the interior of the Earth, which is remarkably like the popular image of Hell. The magazine itself makes that comparison. And C.S. Lewis said so in “Perelandra”.

But where is Heaven? Outer space may become the next battlefield, if the U.S. gets is way. (Cf. the paper by the us Space Command on plans for space domination.) Hell is both beneath our feet in the present and above our heads in the near future.

Perhaps Heaven is right here on our beautiful Earth, as Helen Brink once said. As long as it lasts.