To Hell and Back

Did Jesus go to hell? If so, why? And knowing this today helps us how?

We start with a story of how Ian Rolland died, 4,500 feet below ground in a cave. And not just in a cave, but a sump. When it comes to exploring deep caves, a sump is a dangerous thing.

A sump is a low point in a cave passage -- in effect, like the j-trap under a bathroom sink. But instead of being clogged with hair and bobby pins, cave sumps are often filled with icy water, silt and stalactites, all in pitch blackness, so that getting through them is a matter of high risk. It requires the use of underwater lights, diving equipment, special garb to keep hypothermia at bay, the stringing of guide ropes for finding one's way back out and a steely grip on one's courage.

And rightly so, because cavers have died either trying to get through a sump or trying to return afterward.

A sump was the site of Ian Rolland's death in 1994. Rolland was part of a 45-member team under leader Bill Stone mapping, an uncharted cave called Sistema Huautla in Oaxaca, Mexico. They were not adventurer-seekers...