A friend of mine defined hell as being locked in a room furnished only with a record player and a single album of Wayne Newton's greatest hits.

I am unsure as to how to avoid this or any other idea of hell, believing this to be as plausible as any. However, if my friend was even close to being right, and if there is a hell at all, it is something I would want very much to avoid.

However I think sin exists only if we believe it does. It logically follows that if hell is the price of sin, and if we believe in neither, then we need not pay them any attention whatsoever.

Personally, I enjoy reading silly parables like the one at the start of this thread. What I object to is the editorial comment at its end. It assumes that the reader is too ignorant to draw anything from the story other than the superficial. That, I find offensive! Give me a Br'er Rabbit story anytime. At least in those one was usually allowed to draw one's own conclusions.