on fire, brimstone, and the devil

yesterday i was speaking with three older women from church.  they're all probably in their mid-to-late 70s.  what i found curious was that they all shared a common dislike--actually, stronger than dislike--for condemnatory tones in church, especially the homilies.

i'm guessing that they're from a time in church history when fire-and-brimstone preaching was much more prevalent, and so they got turned off by it.

more curious to me, though, is that two of the women don't like to hear warnings about the devil.  so not only do they not like hearing about God's judgment, but they also view warnings about the ways of the devil as fear mongering.

i don't like over-emphasis on judgment either.  God is both just and merciful.  but most of all, God is love.  but when there's a balance, a certain amount of "fear of the Lord" and an awareness of the ways of the evil one is essential.

on a side, related note: the point of view of these women seems to be a tendency of their generation.  i hope the younger generations are doing better.