Does Hell preexist the creation of Adam and Eve?

Question

If so, did God know he would need it?
If so why create a test, (the tree of knowledge) that he knew Adam and Eve would fail?

I'm an atheist...I ask this philosophically

Answer 1

OK, I am an atheist, but I am a Roman Catholic on paper with a degree in religious philosophy, so here ya go:

Before Adam and Eve, God was fighting the angel Lucifer for the World Heavywieght Champion of Heaven. Everyone showed up. All the Angels were there. God had 2/3 of them, and threw Lucifer and his lackeys out. He needed a place really deep and unpleasant and far away to lock this dude up and watch what he does. That being over, he locked the gates to Heaven COMPLETELY only to be re-open when his son swung by with the key. Thus, EVERYONE went to hell for like a billion years until Jesus decided that he would take a posse up for a gigantic party.

Anyway, that answers your question as to why Hell was created. As for the Tree of Knowledge, there were actually two trees. The tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge. God told the naked peeps not to eat it. He did it as a test of their free will. Then he got real mad and made them leave the Garden forever. Don't worry, cause they went to hell along with everyone else for a long time.

Hope I answered that for you as only another true atheist could.

Answer 2

Well you see, there's actually no such thing as Hell (in the sense that the majority of "Christians" consider it anyway).

God did not create Hell. Doing so would be like building a city and then building a torture chamber for all future offenders before the city has even become populated.

The Hebrew word "Sheohl" as well as the Greek words "Haides", "Ge-enna", and "Tartaroo" have all been mistakenly translated as "Hell" in many Bible translations. "Hell" comes from either the old English or Norse (I forgot which) "Hoelle", which refers to the common grave of mankind. Sheol and Hades are synonymous, which a few Biblical comparisons will confirm. They simply refer to the abode of the dead, the grave. Tartarus is only used once in the Bible, and it literally denotes a debased state or condition. This was used to describe the state of the rebellious angels (known as demons) who chose to follow Satan and thus lost God's favor. Gehenna is derived from the Valley of Hinnom, which was a site just outside Jerusalem where garbage, other rubbish, and the bodies of executed criminals were burned. Jesus used this term to convey the idea of everlasting destruction. Anything pitched into Gehenna would be completely consumed by the fire, which burned continuously, and would not be seen again. The punishment for sins is DEATH, which is nothing more than a sleeplike state, and all who die figuratively spend their time in Sheol/Hades (the grave) until they are resurrected by Jesus. Those who are unworthy of a resurrection are figuratively sent to Gehenna, meaning that they are annihilated without the possibility of being brought back to life.

Answer 3

I am an Atheist also. I have majored in world religions, but will not be lengthly in this answer. Hope this answer helps some.
Yes, hell does Pre-date the creation of Adam and Eve, in Genesis in the bible.
Hell was created by the a creator God for satan, and the third of the angels who followed him when he rebelled against God. Hell was not originally created for human beings who rejected Jesus through reason and logic.
According to Christianity's bible, those who reject Jesus, and those in the end times who accept the mark of the beast [666, on the forehead] = {worshipping an anti-christ), their names will not be found in the lamb's (Jesus') book of life, and they will be thrown into the lake of fire. Hell, itself will done away with, and everyone their in hell, will be thrown into a lake of fire for eternity.

The Christian God, though he knows before hand what will be chosen, nevertheless, still gives free will to humans. Christianity teaches that God knew from the beginning of time, that man would sin {rebel against his will, and commandments) & had it planned from before all time, to send Jesus as the sacrifice for sin, so anyone who accepts him as Lord, God and savior of their life, will not go to hell, later the lake of fire, but would go to heaven {which will someday come to the earth = New Heaven), and man will live eternity here on the New Heaven on Earth.

I am not negatively criticizing these beliefs, simply stating the facts, according to what I was taught majoring in the religions of the world.

Hope this helps you some. Take Care.

Answer 4

Philosophically , God does know what you are thinking but he doesn't know it until you actually think it. On that basis, He didn't know that they would fail the test until they actually decided to fail the test. God is very careful not to muck with somebodies free will, God's elect not withstanding. You may think this is lame but i feel it is fairly close to being on the mark. It is however a damn good question.

Answer 5

The real question is why the need for Hell? Who was it created for? Why will people end up there?

Hell was not created for man, but for the fallen angles. Men end up there by choice only.

Here is why.

Are you a good person? What a question, most of us believe that we are good people because we can look around and find someone that is far worse than we are. We can always point to the things that we think make us a good person.

But how good are we really? Dare we take this test and look at ourselves and see if we really are good? Hmmm.

If you are willing try this and see just how good a person you are.

The Good Person Test.

How will you do? Pass or fail?


Have you ever told a lie?
Doesn't matter how big or small, just a lie.
What does that make you? Before answering think about this, if I told you a lie what would you call me? A liar?

Have you ever stolen anything? Cost doesn't matter, a piece of gum, failed to give back an ink pen that you borrowed, anything.
What does that make you?

Jesus said, "You know the saying of old, you shall not commit adultery but I say that if look at someone to lust after them you have committed adultery in your heart.
Have you ever lusted?

Jesus said that hate is equal to murder.
Have you ever hated anyone?

See one day we all are going to stand before a Holy God on Judgment Day and he is going to judge us based on His Holy Law, the Ten Commandments. These are just 4 of them and how did you do? Guilty? I have broken all of these and more, what about you? How well will you do on Judgment Day?

If we break just one point of God's Law we are guilty of breaking all the law and Gods Wrath abides upon us all. Based on God's Law we are all guilty and all are deserving of punishment. But there is an out for us.

Jesus paid the price for each one of us, took on himself God's Wrath so we wouldn't have to face it on our own. Jesus was beaten, battered, bleed and died so we wouldn't have to face God's Wrath. He rose again so that we would life in his presence. Our crimes, His payment.

The real question is where will you stand on Judgment Day. Pay yourself or have it paid for you. Think about it.

Answer 6

Hell is mankind's common grave and none were needed until after Adam and Eve lost the right to live forever. The first one to be placed in (Hebrew)Sheol (in Greek Hades, or hell in the KJV) was Abel, who was killed by his brother, Cain.

Answer 7

God, long before time had Lucifer as his head angel. But Lucifer decided he wanted to be more powerful than God and he convinced a lot of angels that they should join his side. God, enfuriated at this cast Lucifer and his followers out of heaven into hell. So Hell was a storage bin for the trashed angels.

Answer 8

If God is outside time, then He can see the future and the past all laid out. From his perspective Hell must always have existed.

Answer 9

Yes, Heaven and Hell were created before mankind.

Foreknowledge of God does not mean determinism by God. God sees time as we see a mountain range in the distance. All at once. But as we get closer we see the mountains separated from one another by miles and miles. Time does not pass for God, as He exists in the eternal now.

For the philospohical aspects of God's attributes, please review the following:

Omnipotence:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/omnipotence/

Omnipresence:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/omnipresence/

The Problem of Evil:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/

Epistemology of Religion:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-epistemology/

Ontology:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logic-ontology/

Answer 10

Hell would have to pre-exist Adam and Eve because Satan pre-existed them. I don't think Adam and Eve went to hell though, they were just cast out of paradise.