Why do people even believe in hell?

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By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

I believe that the eternal patience and forgiveness of the Lord erases Hell as a theological necessity. Eternal Hell was invented by man to keep people in line, but it is inconsistent with a benevolent, merciful, eternally patient God. Your story will go on, because if there's not a happy ending, it is because God's ultimate plan has not yet been fulfilled.

That is not to say there will not be loss. And that loss may be simply having all of one's efforts in this life revealed as nothing more than selfishness and wasted potential.

There is uncertainty here, as with all things. But the more intimate I have become with my faith, the more I doubt the existence of eternal suffering, which neither corrects sin nor allows the sinner to repent for what they have done. It is purely a threat of retribution, not restitution.

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By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

I believe that the eternal patience and forgiveness of the Lord erases Hell as a theological necessity. Eternal Hell was invented by man to keep people in line, but it is inconsistent with a benevolent, merciful, eternally patient God. Your story will go on, because if there's not a happy ending, it is because God's ultimate plan has not yet been fulfilled.

That is not to say there will not be loss. And that loss may be simply having all of one's efforts in this life revealed as nothing more than selfishness and wasted potential.

There is uncertainty here, as with all things. But the more intimate I have become with my faith, the more I doubt the existence of eternal suffering, which neither corrects sin nor allows the sinner to repent for what they have done. It is purely a threat of retribution, not restitution.

How many times can you find the phrase "eternal hell" in the Bible or the word "hell" in the gospel of John?

"Hell" is simply a translation of "Sheol" (New Testament translation, which actually refers to the grave or temporary abode of the dead) or Gehenna, which was a physical place outside of Jerusalem where some of the kings of Judah sacrificed children, garbage was burned, and lepers and outcasts were sent. It was deemed to be cursed.

The underlying theme in the New Testament is that no matter how badly mortals treat you, they cannot destroy your soul. Therefore, God has final authority over all things.

But the harshest language in the NT is directed toward not the commoner, but the rich and powerful who are self-serving and oppress others (especially in God's name) using religious law. Notice how religious Judaism doesn't really give us a direct answer on Hell, or Heaven for that matter. So did Jesus invent the concept of everlasting punishment after you die? No. But the same God who is capable of frying your soul in a metaphorical brazen bull is the only one who can save you from entering that brazen bull yourself.

If the Kingdom of God lies within you (Luke 17:21), then so are those things which remove you from the Kingdom of God. And it is the "unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12) which only God can extinguish. The irony of the Pharisees and the Sadducees is that they believed they had inherited everything, including God's favor, when they did not.

If you want proof of Hell, look around you. I've met plenty of Christians who are in Hell right as we speak. They just don't realize it now.

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Look at John Shelby Spong statement on the issue of Hell. This man is a pastor and he even acknowledges the position of Hell was used as a scar tactic by the church, something that those who are serious about their faith should look into.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF6I5VSZVqc

As a card-carrying member of the Atlas Christian Left Gang™, I've never been a fan of Spong even though he's right that Hell has been and is used as a weapon to keep people in line. It is one thing to differ on the existence or nature of Hell, but flat-out denying the Resurrection or Divinity of Christ, as Spong has done, makes you an apostate. And it is his method of theology that has contributed to the bleeding of the Episcopal Church compared to churches which are more (small-o) orthodox.