Hell is not real. That’s a very hard truth to try and acknowledge if you’re a Christian or have been a Christian at any time. Damn near impossible if you’re raised in it. H-E-Double Hockey Sticks is perhaps the most effective tool in Christianity’s arsenal for keeping inquisitive minds from looking too closely at its validity. After all, would you want to risk going to Hell just to answer a few questions?
This is a long journey, and it’s one that has many stops. Is Hell real? No. But that “no” shouldn’t just be shown in one way. So, I’ve devised stages in answering this question. And all of my stages deal directly with Christianity’s claims about Hell. My answers will range in who they address, from the ardent Christian to the agnostic Christian.
STAGE 1: Hell has no moral justification
I’m going to start with this one first, because I can argue this point without pointing out the historical and fundamental discrepancies/mistakes of the Bible. In fact, for this argument, let’s assume that Scripture is indeed true. That the Bible is the ultimate truth, and Christianity is the correct branch of the religion to stem from it.
I’m going to start with this one first, because I can argue this point without pointing out the historical and fundamental discrepancies/mistakes of the Bible. In fact, for this argument, let’s assume that Scripture is indeed true. That the Bible is the ultimate truth, and Christianity is the correct branch of the religion to stem from it.
But taking from this truth, that tells us that God is just, we run into a problem. If he’s just, why do people go to Hell? Even the worst of people. If someone does something evil – let’s say kill somebody – do they actually deserve Hell? Their actions led to pain for another individual and ultimately death. But Hell will supposedly torture him for eternity. The action he took had a beginning and an ending. But the reaction is infinite? How is that just?
Here’s a list of synonyms for the word JUST:
Upright
Equitable
Fair
Impartial
Legitimate
Legal
Accurate
Exact
Honest
Merited
Appropriate
Does an eternal burning lake that does not allow you to die but instead be tortured forever and ever and ever sound just for any crime? Unfortunately, this Hell is not for just criminals. In fact, good people can go there, too. If you don’t believe in a god, you go to Hell. If you don’t believe in the right god, you go to Hell. If you commit adultery, fornicate, do drugs, are an alcoholic, are a glutton, are homosexual, or belong to any other religion or creed, you will burn in Hell for all time along with the evil. There’s forgiveness, of course, but that only comes with belief, and it also presumes the truth behind those things being sins. But, if we go ahead and presume that they are, then the truth is clear. All sin is equal because the punishment is equal. Both the fornicator and the serial killer share the same fate. Both the glutton and child molester share the same fate. Both the religious Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Mormon, Scientologist, Shaman, and Hindu are all going to the same place as Hitler. As far as God is concerned, leading a moral, productive, positive life as a Tibetan Monk is as bad as being a genocidal megalomaniac responsible for killing over six million Jews, and millions of others through a war whose intent was to advance the Arian race over all other races.
Can anyone really call that just? Do any of the synonyms on that list fit?
How about benevolence? According to dictionary.com, benevolence means: desire to do good to others; goodwill; charitableness. How is God being benevolent in sending people to Hell? How about merciful? Is that his/her idea of mercy. Loving? That's what you would consider loving?
God, supposedly, is infinitely more loving, merciful, benevolent, and just than any human being. Yet, if you were to give a moral human being all of God’s powers, he or she would most certainly not send anyone to Hell. It’s a repugnant idea to consider, even for your worst enemy. There’s absolutely no moral justification for it. EVER.
Now, I’ve heard the following apposing term a thousand and one times. “God doesn’t send you to Hell, you send you to Hell.”
Really? How? Isn’t God responsible for everything, including Hell and sin? Isn’t he the judge? If it weren’t for him, would I be going to Hell? If God is all knowing, then he knew that his creation would falter. In which case, he knew they would be condemned to Hell. Did he not create this Hell? And why does his failed creation have to be condemned to it?
Implying that it’s not God sending you to Hell is completely false, if the this God and Hell exist. Because God is supposed to be all powerful, yet he’s powerless to stop you from going to Hell. The only moral decision for an all-powerful being to do would be to destroy Hell or send no one there. And if he can’t do that, then he is not all powerful. And if he is the judge, he then therefore judges you and pronounces judgment. AKA - he sends people to Hell. So, no, God is the one to send people to Hell.
This vein of thought is specifically aimed at fundamentalist Christians who absolutely believe in a torturous, eternal fiery pit of despair from which there is no escape. I understand there are many more types of people out there that may believe differently or are unsure. When I was a Christian, I was never sure about Hell, though I was terrified of it. Eventually, as I got into my twenties, I became less and less sure of Hell until I was fairly convinced that it wasn’t real. When I became an agnostic for all of two weeks before admitting that I was an atheist, I understandably viewed the reality of Hell as a steaming pile of caca.
How did I begin to doubt Hell’s existence even as a Christian? Well, that leads me to my next point.
STAGE 2: THE BIBLE GIVES NO REASON TO BELIEVE IN HELL
If you ever decide to “dive deep” into your faith, as I once called it, you will undoubtedly be compelled to enter theological study. At which point, you will have to understand where the foundation of your faith rests. And it rests upon Judaism. The Old Testament is a Jewish collection of books. Christianity claims the Old Testament as its own, though not completely. Christianity, for the most part, believes that the god of the Old Testament is God the Father, and that Jesus, the son of said god, fulfilled the law of the Old Testament. So, though the Old Testament is still used, preached from, believed in (though, I don’t know why), it’s the New Testament that really matter.
And there is a large contrast between the two. Including a change of language. A lot of what is meant in the Bible, both OT and NT, is lost in translation. Not to mention the context of the original meanings. One of the first things you have to understand is that the authors of whatever book you are reading of the Bible were not writing their words specifically for you and this time. There’s an incredible arrogance in that line of thinking. That’s why I stayed home on the Sunday’s that had the “End Times” sermon scheduled.
And there is a large contrast between the two. Including a change of language. A lot of what is meant in the Bible, both OT and NT, is lost in translation. Not to mention the context of the original meanings. One of the first things you have to understand is that the authors of whatever book you are reading of the Bible were not writing their words specifically for you and this time. There’s an incredible arrogance in that line of thinking. That’s why I stayed home on the Sunday’s that had the “End Times” sermon scheduled.
The authors of the books that you read today were writing them for and to the people of THAT day, not this day. Twisting their English meaning away from their original meaning in their original time is just moronic. Why not just make everything up and skip a step?
Back to Judaism. It may come as a shock that religious Jews don’t have much to say on the matter of the afterlife, and that they don’t believe in Hell. They’re quite liberal about the whole matter. A number of Jews do believe in a sort of afterlife called Olam Ha-Ba which is translated to mean “the world to come”. It’s a complex and wonderful sort of belief that I find much more satisfying and exact when compared to the Christian Heaven and Hell. Though, ultimately, still quite ridiculous.
If you don’t want to read the link, I’ll give you the short and sweet of it. Judaism is quite varied in their beliefs about the afterlife. Some Jews do not believe in an afterlife at all. Some do, and others actually believe in a kind of reincarnation. Interesting stuff. But, what they all agree on is that the chief concern of their lives should be about how they live now. This belief comes from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). It’s very specific in its instructions about living for the NOW.
By and large, Judaism isn’t all that concerned with the afterlife. Whatever happens happens. They trust that their god will take care of them if they are faithful and do good deeds. This is leading a moral life without expectation of a reward. Which is why, if you have a religious Jewish friends and ask them about Hell or the afterlife in general, they may appear to be somewhat taken aback.
The closest approximation of Hell that you come across in Judaism is Gehinnom, sometimes referred to as She’ol. And all souls, except for the very righteous descend to it. Once there, depending on your belief, several things may happen. A branch of Judaism believes that every bad action you make in this life creates a demon. Once you die, said demon punishes you. Some see it kind of like the Christian Hell - a place of severe punishment. Others see it as a place where you reflect upon your life.
Either way, you aren’t there more than 12 months. The very wicked souls might be there for the full year, and the more righteous might be there much shorter before ascending to Olam Ha-Ba. Some believe that the most wicked (Hitler, Stalin, Darth Vader) might have their souls destroyed, obliterated from existence so that they cannot take their place in Olam Ha-Ba.
That’s the short and sweet of it. If you’re Jewish, hopefully I didn’t completely butcher your belief system. I tried to do my research. But the point of all of this is, the belief of Hell, and Heaven for that matter, is a very Christian belief. One not based on the Old Testament. So, religiously speaking, it’s a recent belief and must have its source in the New Testament.
But before moving on to the NT, let me just provide one last look at the OT. Because maybe showing you that Judaism holds no belief in Hell isn’t enough. After all, what if the Jews are reading the Old Testament wrong? Although, to be fair, imagine a resident of Thailand picking up the US Constitution and forming a new nation out of it that holds completely different principles from its origin country, the U.S.A. and then saying, “No, America, you’re reading it wrong.”
Anywho, please see the link: http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/tbhell.html
In the Old Testament, the word “hell” is always in reference to the Hebrew word “Sheol.” If you follow the above link you’ll see that Sheol is mentioned in the Old Testament a grand total of 64 times. In our English translation - I’m assuming KJV - “hell” is mentioned 32 times, “grave” is mentioned 29 times, and “pit” 3 times. But in the original Hebrew, they all said Sheol. A place or state of the dead. It doesn’t really mean an eternal torture pot. Both the good and the bad souls reside in Sheol.
In more recent translations of the Bible, scholars and translators have fixed this little blunder. Both the NIV and NASB translations of the Bible - both more accurate than the KJV - have 0 mentions of hell in the Old Testament. And correctly so. Sorry Christians, YOU’RE reading it wrong.
There’s simply no reason to think that the concept of Hell has any roots in the Old Testament. If that were so, why would Job beg to be hidden from suffering in hell?
That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!”
If you read the KJV, just remember that anytime you see the word “hell”, it actually means Sheol. A place of the dead. A word that is used both literally and metaphorically. The meaning can be stretched. For instance, it’s sometimes used by authors as a bad thing. But, as you can see above, Job saw it as a relief from his earthly torment.
You’ll want to continue following the second link that I gave, as I’ll be using it to show why even the New Testament really never addresses Hell. Not the way that the church, by and large, believe in it.
There are three different words translated as HELL in the New Testament. Hades and Tartarus which are Greek in origin, and Gehenna which comes from the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom which means “the valley of Hinnom.”
Hades appears 11 times in the New Testament, and is translated as “grave” once and “hell” ten times. But it always means Hades. And Hades is pretty much the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word Sheol. A place of the dead. All people, when they die, go to Hades. It’s the underworld. It, most certainly, is not Hell as the modern Christian imagines it.
If it helps, people of this time believed in a 3-story universe. You had the firmament above, which separated the waters above - where God dwelt - from the waters below. The earth was where we were, at the middle story. Hades or Sheol was below.
Tartarus is only found once, in II Peter 2:4. This passage refers to Tartarus, the place of imprisonment/suffering in the Greek underworld of Hades. But it’s a concept derived from the “heathen” and that’s probably more a reflection on the composition of II Peter, and just who wrote it and when. But that’s for another time and another blog.
The point is, the author is referring to a heathen hell, not a Christian one. And he wouldn’t believe in a heathen hell, so it can be pretty safe to assume that he’s speaking figuratively, not literally. But please click the link to really get a more in depth view of that, as it might require some extra reading.
Moving on.
Gehenna is written 12 times in the New Testament, and it is always translated as “hell.” This is probably the most significant little journey we will go on. And to do it, I’ll quote directly from the site that I’m referencing.
Here’s the link again: http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/tbhell.html
Quote: The following from Schleusner, a distinguished lexicographer and critic, will show the origin of the word, and indicate its scriptural usage: "Gehenna, originally a Hebrew word, which signifies valley of Hinnom. Here the Jews placed that brazen image of Moloch. It is said, on the authority of the ancient Rabbins, that to this image the idolatrous Jews were wont not only to sacrifice doves, pigeons, lambs, &c., but even to offer their own children. In the prophecies of Jeremiah (vii 31), this valley is called Tophet, from Toph, a drum; because they beat a drum during these horrible rites, lest the cries and shrieks of the infants who were burned should be heard by the assembly. At length these nefarious practices were abolished by Josiah, and the Jews brought back to the pure worship of God. 2 Kings xxiiI After this they held the place in such abomination that they cast into it all kinds of filth, and the carcasses of beasts, and the unburied bodies of criminals who had been executed. Continual fires were necessary in order to consume these, lest the putrefaction should infect the air; and there were always worms feeding on the remaining relics. Hence it came, that any severe punishment, especially an infamous kind of death, was described by the word Gehenna, or hell.”
So what am I getting at? Well, a lot of times when the New Testament references “hell”, it actually means this place. A physical place. Not an eternal torture chamber. Is it fair that some of the authors reference Gehenna in a spiritual manner as a place of suffering in the afterlife? Yes, that’s fair. But that’s also an admittance to reading the Bible more figuratively than literally, which is probably the author’s original intent.
For that to make sense, you have to understand a little more about the ancient world and the history of Christianity, along with pagan beliefs of the people surrounding them as well. This idea of “literal” is somewhat new. Early Christians probably thought more figuratively than you might think.
Interesting fact? The word Gehenna is only used by two people in the New Testament. Jesus, who uses it most often, though because you have 4 gospels, most of the count is driven up by mere repetition. And other is James. Paul never mentions it in any of his letters, and neither does the book of Revelation.
So, why do you believe in Hell? I don’t know. Why the hell would you believe in hell?
STAGE 3: INSPIRING FEAR
The truth is, most of these non-Biblical doctrines like Heaven, Hell, and the Rapture are all inspired by misplaced context and passed on traditions inspired by the church after the Council of Nicea. There’s quite literally nothing in the Bible pointing toward a literal Hell where sinners and unbelievers will burn forever and ever. You can find it through stringing together different Scriptures and making assumptions based on the English language - not the original - while ignoring proper context.
But that’s rorschach theology. Seeing whatever you want to see.
You don’t learn this stuff in church, or even at Bible colleges. Considering that you do believe in a literal Hell, wouldn’t you want to know WHY you believe in it. Wouldn’t you want to know that when you see the word “hell” in the New Testament that it means either Hades, Tartarus, or Gehenna - all of which have three very different meanings and none of which match the modern Christian theology of Hell?
If there’s no moral justification for it, and the Bible - the book you claim to adhere to - does not show its existence, why do you believe it? Why? Why would you want to? Hell sucks. No one would want to believe in Hell, right? Who would want that?
Well, fear is powerful. And there’s nothing like fear to keep you from questioning something. For instance, if I were to raise a child and tell them that unicorns were real, despite him not being able to see them, hear them, feel them, or sense them in any way, I might expect that child to become skeptical at some point and then figure out that I’m lying. However, if were to not only tell this child that unicorns were real but also that if he stops believing in them, he will immediately be impaled by one and die a slow, painful death, I might expect that child to cling to his belief in unicorns.
He would be afraid to even be skeptical.
Quite motivating. It’s no wonder really why Christians as a whole have not dispensed with the doctrine. After all, if there’s no eternal punishment for not being a Christian, and no eternal reward FOR being a Christian - why be a Christian. And that’s really what Christianity is all about. Punishment and reward.
You don’t love God because you want to. At least I didn’t. I loved him because I had to, because I was afraid I would go to Hell. Why else? That’s a pretty good motivator.
But I would ask you, because all of the information I’ve laid out is just a Google search away, why haven’t you found this out? Why haven’t you questioned it? Why believe something for no other reason than to believe it? Is it because your pastors and ministers tell you that Hell is real? Shouldn’t they know better? Why do they continue to teach it if the Bible they teach it from doesn’t say what they say it says? Surely, a pastor would know the proper context.
So, why believe in Hell?
Simply because it works.
But that’s rorschach theology. Seeing whatever you want to see.
You don’t learn this stuff in church, or even at Bible colleges. Considering that you do believe in a literal Hell, wouldn’t you want to know WHY you believe in it. Wouldn’t you want to know that when you see the word “hell” in the New Testament that it means either Hades, Tartarus, or Gehenna - all of which have three very different meanings and none of which match the modern Christian theology of Hell?
If there’s no moral justification for it, and the Bible - the book you claim to adhere to - does not show its existence, why do you believe it? Why? Why would you want to? Hell sucks. No one would want to believe in Hell, right? Who would want that?
Well, fear is powerful. And there’s nothing like fear to keep you from questioning something. For instance, if I were to raise a child and tell them that unicorns were real, despite him not being able to see them, hear them, feel them, or sense them in any way, I might expect that child to become skeptical at some point and then figure out that I’m lying. However, if were to not only tell this child that unicorns were real but also that if he stops believing in them, he will immediately be impaled by one and die a slow, painful death, I might expect that child to cling to his belief in unicorns.
He would be afraid to even be skeptical.
Quite motivating. It’s no wonder really why Christians as a whole have not dispensed with the doctrine. After all, if there’s no eternal punishment for not being a Christian, and no eternal reward FOR being a Christian - why be a Christian. And that’s really what Christianity is all about. Punishment and reward.
You don’t love God because you want to. At least I didn’t. I loved him because I had to, because I was afraid I would go to Hell. Why else? That’s a pretty good motivator.
But I would ask you, because all of the information I’ve laid out is just a Google search away, why haven’t you found this out? Why haven’t you questioned it? Why believe something for no other reason than to believe it? Is it because your pastors and ministers tell you that Hell is real? Shouldn’t they know better? Why do they continue to teach it if the Bible they teach it from doesn’t say what they say it says? Surely, a pastor would know the proper context.
So, why believe in Hell?
Simply because it works.
