The Friday night before Thanksgiving break, my friend Taylor and I sat in Sanderson 215
excited to watch The Christians by Lucas Hnath — Covenant Theatre’s second live performance
of the year. The show was directed by theatre professor Camille Hallstrom and included an
incredible cast of Covenant students and a gospel choir led by James Ward.
Jackson Murray (’22), playing Elder Jay, warmly welcomed the audience to the production. And then Ray Lantrip (’23), Pastor Paul, came to the pulpit and asked us to pray. Not to really pray (it was part of the script) but still everyone bowed their heads. We weren’t really praying, but the play was so immersive, and I felt so like a congregant, that I thought we were for a split second.
As Pastor Paul begins his sermon, it’s a day of celebration for his mega church. The building mortgage is finally paid off, and the church is a thriving home to thousands of members. Pastor Paul has a vibrant church family, wonderful leadership, and a loving wife, Elizabeth (Cara Smole ’22). What can go wrong?
Everything is going great until Pastor Paul shocks us all. He ends his sermon with these words: “I say we are no longer a congregation that believes in Hell.”
When talking to Professor Hallstrom about The Christians, I asked her why she chose to
direct it. She said that she’s “always keeping an eye out for plays that make the audience think…good art does not answer questions, it asks questions.” The Christians raises serious questions. When we truly contemplate Pastor Paul’s beliefs, his beliefs may challenge our own. Do we believe in heaven? Do we believe in hell? And why?
image by Stephanie Smole
In the play, Pastor Paul decides that he no longer believes in hell because he can’t understand why a good God would send “good” people to a place of eternal suffering. His doubt causes him to tell his congregation that God told him there is no hell. Instead, everyone is in heaven, automatically saved through Christ. Pastor Paul’s struggle is relatable. No matter how strong our convictions, no matter how well we know our Bibles, there will always be a small part of us that will never understand the idea of hell. There will always be a small part of us that wants to deny the reality of such a cruel place. It’s especially heart-breaking to imagine non-believers we love, non-believers who even do “good” things, going to hell.
However, our Covenant community may better relate to associate pastor Joshua (Jonathan “JJ” Hazen ’25). JJ describes his character as “fiery, passionate, faithful, and convicted as he fights for the truth.” Joshua argues against Pastor Paul and leaves the church in opposition. He tells the congregation that Scripture is clear: Hell exists, and it is the price we pay for our sins.
While Joshua may have strong convictions, he shows us we are allowed to have doubts. In a moving confrontation with Pastor Paul, Joshua explains that growing up in a broken and non-Christian household made being a Christian and the reality of hell costly. It means he will never see his deceased, unbelieving mother again: “It’s not easy for me to believe there is a Hell. It doesn’t make me feel good to believe there is a Hell…Show me. Show me. Show me that there is no Hell…” This is moving. Sometimes, we want God’s Word to be wrong. We want heaven to be all there is. But in the play, congregant Jenny (Leila Vaughn ’22) shows this is impossible.
Her scene is the turning point of The Christians. It is here where we and Jenny realize that hell must exist because evil exists. For Jenny and Joshua, hell is real because they have experienced the real consequences of suffering and faith. They understand the punishment Jesus endured to save them. As Professor Hallstrom aptly put it: “We must contemplate that the only price that can pay for our sin is for an infinitely good and beautiful being to die of torture.”
After his conversation with Jenny, Pastor Paul’s life begins to fall apart. His church board stops supporting him. His other associate pastors, Ken (Samuel Hammock ’24) and Will (John Sunder ’24), quit their jobs. The choir and musicians walk out mid-service. And his loving wife, Elizabeth looks on in dismay.
Elizabeth doesn’t understand how her marriage and husband’s beliefs could change overnight. Her husband breaks her heart. Cara Smole said about her character, “[Elizabeth] ultimately prioritizes her dedication to God.” Elizabeth tells Paul, “I believe in Hell. I believe in the Devil. I believe that believing in Jesus, believing that He’s the son of God, and believing that He died for your sins is the only, the only thing that can earn you a place in Heaven.”
The reality of heaven and hell shouldn’t make us complacent. It should call us to action. When speaking to Ray Lantrip about the play, Ray said: “As Christians, we believe that non-believers will go to hell, so why aren’t we more concerned?” This question was one I had after seeing the play. I still believed in heaven and hell, but my question was: If my beliefs are true, what are the implications? How should my beliefs about heaven and hell affect how I live my Christian life and how I relate to others?
JJ Hazen said that “The Christians is a lot about how we perceive things, how we make “truth” what we want to be true. But that’s not true. It’s just feelings taking over what we know.” Cara also expanded on this point. She said that what stands out to her about the play “is the recurring theme of how do we know what we believe?...It’s hard to distinguish the voice of God and the voice in our head.” And according to Professor Hallstrom and Ray, the beauty of Hnath’s play is that Hnath doesn’t tell us what or how to believe. He doesn’t tell us what “truth” is.
If The Christians is all about the consequences of our beliefs, the question is: What do we believe? Do we believe God’s Truth or ours? I think the answer may be found in Joshua’s words: “And in turn, what God asks of us - all he asks of us - is to just believe that he is there, and repent, and that is so little to ask to become cleansed--to say yes, I accept that you sacrificed your son on the cross, and we are saved from Hell.” In this sentence, Hnath portrays the Gospel. And as Professor Hallstrom asked me (and all of us): “Do we really believe the Gospel?” I considered this question walking back from Sanderson that Friday night, and I hope all who saw The Christians did so too.