Hell: Fact or Fiction?

Question

The bible contains the word hell, which was the name of the norse goddess of the underworld. Hell was not originally part of chirstianity. Originally the bible contained, in the Old Testament, Sheol, which is the hebrew word for the Grave, and in the New Testament, Geheena. Geheena was a landfill outside Jerusalem where the city's trash, and the bodies of executed criminals were burned. Thus the stories of the flames of hell filled with the damned. Before you answer, please take a look at this site: http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com

Those who choose fact: please provide some evidence to back up your claims.

Jason M:
1.Gehenna (Greek): The place of punishment (Matthew 5:22,29; 10:28; and James 3:6)
*Yes, Geheena which was explained on the site.
2.Hades (Greek): The abode of the dead (Matthew 11:23; 16:18, Luke 16:23; Acts 2:27)
*Hades, the greek underworld. Abode of the dead=grave.
3.Sheol (Hebrew): The grave (Psalm 9:17; 16:10)
*Correct.

Eternal fire was because the trash was so large it burned for days. When the bodies would burn they would twist and move as if they were alive. It is all meant to be metaphorical.

Answer 1

I have a quote for you, written by Anne Frank.
"People who are religious should be glad, since not everyone is blessed with the ability to believe in a higher order. You don't even have to live in fear of eternal punishment; the concepts of purgatory, heaven, and hell are difficult for many people to accept, yet religion itself, any religion, keeps a person on the right path."

Answer 2

FACT

There are three words translated "hell" in Scripture:
Gehenna (Greek): The place of punishment (Matthew 5:22,29; 10:28; and James 3:6)
Hades (Greek): The abode of the dead (Matthew 11:23; 16:18, Luke 16:23; Acts 2:27)
Sheol (Hebrew): The grave (Psalm 9:17; 16:10)

There are those who accept that hell is a place of punishment, but believe that the punishment is to be annihilated—to cease conscious existence. They can’t conceive that the punishment of the wicked will be conscious and eternal. If they are correct, then a man like Adolph Hitler, who was responsible for the deaths of millions, is being "punished" merely with eternal sleep. His fate is simply to return to the non-existent state he was in before he was born, where he doesn’t even know that he is being punished.

However, Scripture paints a different story. The rich man who found himself in hell (Luke 16:19–31) was conscious. He was able to feel pain, to thirst, and to experience remorse. He wasn’t asleep in the grave; he was in a place of "torment." If hell is a place of knowing nothing or a reference to the grave into which we go at death, Jesus' statements about hell make no sense. He said that if your hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin, it would be better to remove it than to "go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43–48).

The Bible refers to the fate of the unsaved with such fearful words as the following:

"Shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2)
"Everlasting punishment" (Mathew 25:46)
"Weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:51)
"Fire unquenchable" (Luke 3:17)
"Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish" (Romans 2:8,9)
"Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
"Eternal fire...the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 7,13)

Revelation 14:10,11 tells us the final, eternal destiny of the sinner: "He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone...the smoke of their torment ascended up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night."

Answer 3

There is no physical place called "hell". It is a metaphor for a state of mind. "Burn in hell forever" simply means one does what one does for as long as it takes to figure out that it isn't working and changes course. Heaven is also not a place. The kingdom of heaven is within. It is spiritual harmony with the All Knowing Higher Power. One does not go to heaven or hell, it is lived or not lived on a daily basis. And... Satin is ego - the cause of so many problems.

Answer 4

It is clear -you can call it lake of fire,
you can say eternal flames
you can call it where worm keeps eating the flesh

you can call it seaseme street 24/7 the word is not important. The concept is the same, through many langauges we like the word hell.

The question is - do you have your ticket to get out?

Answer 5

it isn't elementary to describe yet -- lots of the sinners defined were historic persons and there develop right into a real sense the position he develop into writing truth as he understood it. at the same time he develop into using legends and consciously transforming into a literary paintings. call it someplace in between actuality and fiction.

Answer 6

It is fact, try explaining Revelation 20:15 " And all who were not found in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire."

Answer 7

Fact

Answer 8

Fiction

Answer 9

Fiction: Most of the modern views of hell were created in medieval churches to draw in crowds.

Answer 10

take a look for yourself. this is a small example:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/images/sun-soho011905-1919z.jpg

in Islam, the fire on this earth is equal to 1/70 compare to the Hell.