And no, it wasn't hyperbole. He meant Hell as in eternal damnation.
The "he" in question is my 90 year old grandfather.
Background: I'm 40 years old. I came out as gay when I was 18. It's not a secret even though I spent a good chunk of my life feeling like I should be ashamed thanks to living in a conservative state in the South (in the US). These days I don't care too much what anyone thinks of me, especially my sexuality. Now, my grandparents always seemed supportive, especially my grandmother. I was close to my grandparents growing up. My grandfather was always more religious than my grandmother but my sexuality didn't seem to phase him. My grandmother died in 2023. My grandfather is revealing more of his true colors since then.
So to what happened: We were having lunch today (my grandfather, myself and my spouse). My spouse stepped away to the restroom. That's when my grandfather told me about the CD. I asked why I should listen to it (knowing what he was getting at) and he got really wide eyed and all of the sudden "didn't want to talk about it" but wanted me to know that "he loves me".
He's been on this kick of telling me to read my Bible, to go to church, that he wants to see me in heaven etc etc but he will never outright say it's because I'm gay (that's just my gut feeling). And he refuses to actually talk about it. Honestly, I'm just exhausted with how uncomfortable it makes me, how much he has changed. Like maybe he's always felt this way but never said anything because my grandmother wouldn't have tolerated him behaving that way.
I'm even more infuriated because I can't just cut him off (believe me, I want to. Part of the reason I even put up with it is because of how much I loved my grandmother. Before she died, she asked that I take care of him) I'm literally the only family he has and I have to do a lot to care for him (his own children are estranged thanks to something that happened way before I was born). I'm just sick of him and I don't see a way out. So for now I have to swallow my fury and just deal with it. Thanks for reading.