A question for people who believe in hell?

Question

A few religious people, I've noticed, are saying such things as, oh well, if you don't believe in a God you'll go to hell.

But isn't there a huge catch here, considering some Christians believe that God is too kind to place an eternal punishment on someone such as going to hell, and so therefore it can't exist? If you don't believe in hell what do you think the 'punishment' is, if any?
Even for doing one thing wrong (e.g. pre-marital sex is a sin that you would go to hell for, no matter if that's the only 'bad' thing you ever do)

How can so many groups based on the same religion (in this case Christianity) have different beliefs on matters (e.g abortion)?

Answer 1

Hell is the state of complete and final self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed, reserved for those who refuse by their own free choice to believe and be converted from sin, even to the end of their lives

I like to think of it this way. The only way a person will go to hell is if they want to.

God in His (or Her) unlimited love has given us free will to choose. Our most important choice is to freely decide to accept or reject God's constant offer of spending eternity with Him in heaven. God will respect the choice to reject Him.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

A lot of these differences depend on how literally the particular sect of Christianity (or even, the individual church) interprets the Bible.
The Fundamentalist sects interpret the Bible very literally: Hell exists, you are born with sin and if you don't accept Christ as your savior, you will go to Hell when you die. No questions asked, no severity levels of sin. Accept Christ or face the flames.
The Liberal branches of Christianity treat the Bible more as stories, lessons, or metaphors and are less likely to believe in Hell at all, or if they do, to believe in a more just judgment as to whether someone is sent there after death. (i.e. people who have led mostly good lives or shown remorse for their sins might get a free pass)
Catholicism falls somewhere in between, and follows Papal edicts (the Pope can change the beliefs of the church to reflect certain changes in the world). There are specific rites to be followed in order to avoid the fires of Hell (baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, last rites, etc.)
The idea that God is too kind to condemn ANYONE to Hell is a belief of the Universalist church, which is now the Unitarian Universalist church and not technically a sect of Christianity, although many Unitarian Universalists do consider themselves Christian.
Wow, that was kinda wordy. Hope it helps.

Answer 3

The many groups are not based on the same religion. The word "Christian" applied by Christians and non-Christians alike without any qualifiers whatsoever. No single characteristic defines "Christian" by the modern use of the term - even groups who do not advocate any belief in Christ are still labelled "Christian," as are many historical figures who repeatedly renounced Christianity altogether.

Different Christian denominations were derived from different philosophical paradigms. We tend to think of all Christian denominations as "branches" from a central tree. The truth is that every denomination begins as a rejection of pre-existing beliefs, not an affirmation.

As for hell, the early Church maintained that God was incapable of handing out punishment, that hell was a temporary corrective state, and that all of creation would be saved (but not as the result an ontological necessity). This view is still maintained by the world's second-largest Christian denomination - but is rejected by the world's largest Christian denomination.

Answer 4

Hi ☼lola☼. Do not be deceived, God is vengeful and the unsaved of the world will face His wrath. Those who prefer to think of God as an "kindly Grandfather" who would never do such a terrible thing as condemn you to Hell for all eternity. These people are the unsaved of the world they do not want to face Judgment for there sins.

You can read Deuteronomy 28, from verse 15 to the end of the chapter, and you will see expression after expression of things that happen on this earth which are used to develop a picture of the awfulness of hell. I won't post it because it is a very long passage.

God does give us other scripture describing Hell in Revelation 14:11 God warns us:

"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night."

In Matthew 8:12 He tells us:

"But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness [hell]: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

God speaks of hell as a lake of fire in Revelation 20:10:

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

Salvation is a gift. The same gift of eternal life is given to every believer. Hell is payment for sin. We read in Romans 6:23:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

And yes one sin is enough to send you to Hell for eternity.

Answer 5

I don't believe you go to hell for sinning because everyone sins. If we were able to be perfect then we wouldn't have needed a Savior. Hell is tfor the unbelievers who don't have faith in Jesus Christ. In God's eyes sin is sin. Someone having an abortion isn't no different then me cussing. We all need forgiveness. People who try to do away with hell and say God is to kind is breaking one of the 10 commandments. Idolatry. They've made up a God in their head to better suit them. God is a God of love, but He also is a just God and sin must be punished. God bless

Answer 6

There's no catch. Hell is real, God is kind, and living a life apart from God will result in eternal death. Please note, however, that if you wish to call it "punishment" (God calls it "wages", something one earns) you need to remember that it is only the "punishment" that is eternal, not the punishing. Hell is a real inferno...it burns things up. Those who don't wish to live eternally with God in the earth made new won't be made to suffer eternally, not in hell fire and not in a world of righteousness which to them would be equally as undesirable. Because they found no enjoyment in the things of God here on this earth, it goes without saying that they would also find no enjoyment in God's new world , either, so God spares them that which would indeed be punishment. Out of love, he removes his breath of life from them, then along with Satan and his angels, for whom the fires of hell are intended in the first place, and everything sinful, their corpuses will be consumed. God says he takes no delight in the death of the wicked, but wishes that all would repent, turn from their evil ways, and let the sacrifice of his Son cover their sins so they can be with him for eternity. He mourns over every one who refuses his offer of grace. It's not about punishment...it's about our happiness now and eternally. He has only our best interests in mind.

Different opinions within Christianity come about from reading the Bible to prove a preconceived and cherished opinion, to seek enablement to continue to live in sin rather than to seek correction and power to live apart from sin. To be understood, the Bible must be read with much prayer, an open mind, and sincerely pleading for the Holy Spirit to guide into truth. If everyone did this, we would all have the same interpretation.

Answer 7

I have never heard any Christian group saying they do not believe in Hell. I believe in Hell. God is kind but he gives us all a chance to make the choice to follow him or not to. Everyone who does not believe in God and has not asked Jesus to intercede before him will go to hell. It is not about whether you have done bad things. Everyone has sinned and everyone will sin in the future. We all deserve to go to hell. It is about finding forgiveness in Christ. There is nothing you could do that would save you from hell. The only way to be saved is by the grace of God.

Answer 8

Hell is an essential tool of fear; especially for the Vatican- the architects of most of human misery.

What is extraordinary is that today the Church of Rome states two positions- one the "watered down version" being a benign hell devoid of the presence of God, while Pope Benedict himself only recenty re-affirmed the Vatican's position of Hell being akin to the ovens of the German Concentration Camps- a place of great pain and horror.

I would be cautious of silver tongued apologists who write of benign statements concerning hell, for as long as organizations are in power with the capacity to purchase and finance hell on earth, we are all in risk of experiencing their horrible vision.

Answer 9

Hell shows God's justice. Hell is punishment for sin and God being perfectly just must punish sin. God showed his love by the cross. Jesus, who was without sin, died for our sins and everyone who would believe in Him would not be judged for sin but have eternal life. This is because Jesus Christ took the punishment for sin for us, all we have to do ask God for this free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ to avoid hell. If we do not we must pay for our own sins, this means hell. If there were no hell then God would loose his position of God because he would not be perfect in every aspect. What would you think of a judge who let a guilty man go free without punishment? Would that judge be truly loving? Is it love to let sin go unpunished? Surely not, God's justice and love go hand in hand. Since all have sinned we are all destined for Hell. However, God loved us so much, that He as Christ Jesus took the punishment for us so God's justice may be full filled. All we have to do is confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God did this for us and then rose to life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. As for your last question, I believe anybody who says they are a Christian but do not believe in Hell are not a Christian. Without Hell what did Jesus die for? I hope this explain the necessity of Hell and why it is there.

Answer 10

It does not depend on what people think, but about what the Word of God says, the Bible, which is important.

We have all fallen short of God's standard, and all deserve hell. But, Jesus Christ took the punishment which you and I deserved. He made a way for us where there was no way, to be reconciled to God.

Ask Jesus to forgive your wrong doing, repent, and live for Him, and you will be saved.