Do all Christians believe in Satan and/or Hell? Is it a denominational thing?

[DreamTheater]

Satan is mentioned in the Bible. Hell is arguably mentioned in the Bible. Most Christians believe in both.

[memphis]

But is it worse than Oklahoma City?

Millions of times worse.  Oklahoma City is one of the best cities in the nation.

Can you name one single thing about OKC that is actually worthwhile AND can't be found better in a more civilized part of the country and/or world?

They have a Western art museum that I visited once. It was pretty nice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cowboy_%26_Western_Heritage_Museum

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

I've never heard of a Christian dominion that didn't believe in Satan. And he's clearly mentioned in the Bible. However what his role actually is differs. Some would say Satan and Lucifer is not the same creature, some would say Satan is not evil, merly a tool of God, and so on.

As for hell, that's definatley depending on what Christian theology you subscribe to. Jehovass Witnesses does not believe in hell for example. When people die, they die. The good ones will be brought back to life after the apocalypse, while the bad ones will simply remain dead. No one goes to eternal damnation.   

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

But is it worse than Oklahoma City?

Are you asking if Hell is worse than Oklahoma City, or if Essex is worse than Oklahoma City?

[Gustaf]

This is probably a stupid comment since no one else has mentioned it, but I thought the Catholic Church abolished the concept of Hell a few years ago?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

This is probably a stupid comment since no one else has mentioned it, but I thought the Catholic Church abolished the concept of Hell a few years ago?

No, but (possible oversimplification alert) there's been an emphasis on Catholic theology on the idea that some form of apocatastasis is a conceptual possibility (subject to 'hope', rather than 'faith', that it's the case) for a few decades now, and there's a noticeable trend in Catholicism to talk about damnation less--and, anecdotally, at least in some circles of American Catholicism, purgation a bit more.

[The Mikado]

Worth pointing out that early Christianity (and some early Christianity-style sects today) believed that death would put you effectively on stasis to the end of days depicted in the Revelation of John, resting in your coffin.  The dead would rise and be subjected to the last judgement after the end of days, after which they would either have eternal life in the New Jerusalem or be hellbound forever.  Note that the difference for the sinners here is that they don't end up in hell until the coming of New Jerusalem.

[TJ in Oregon]

This is probably a stupid comment since no one else has mentioned it, but I thought the Catholic Church abolished the concept of Hell a few years ago?

No, but (possible oversimplification alert) there's been an emphasis on Catholic theology on the idea that some form of apocatastasis is a conceptual possibility (subject to 'hope', rather than 'faith', that it's the case) for a few decades now, and there's a noticeable trend in Catholicism to talk about damnation less--and, anecdotally, at least in some circles of American Catholicism, purgation a bit more.

Emphasis perhaps, but it is dogma of Church (meaning a belief that all Catholics are required to have and if they don't they aren't Catholic) that hell exists and is understood as a physical place. There are some who will then become picky and say that being required to believe in the existence of hell isn't the same as being required to believe there's anyone in it, but the non-political-activist version is the understanding that there are people actually in hell.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

This is probably a stupid comment since no one else has mentioned it, but I thought the Catholic Church abolished the concept of Hell a few years ago?

No, but (possible oversimplification alert) there's been an emphasis on Catholic theology on the idea that some form of apocatastasis is a conceptual possibility (subject to 'hope', rather than 'faith', that it's the case) for a few decades now, and there's a noticeable trend in Catholicism to talk about damnation less--and, anecdotally, at least in some circles of American Catholicism, purgation a bit more.

Emphasis perhaps, but it is dogma of Church (meaning a belief that all Catholics are required to have and if they don't they aren't Catholic) that hell exists and is understood as a physical place. There are some who will then become picky and say that being required to believe in the existence of hell isn't the same as being required to believe there's anyone in it, but the non-political-activist version is the understanding that there are people actually in hell.

I wouldn't consider, for example, Hans Urs von Balthasar or Cormac Murphy O'Connor 'political activist-style Catholics', although obviously their positions within the church were inherently more political than that of your usual man or woman in the pew, but then I suppose these were people who expressed hopes and possibilities rather than advancing any form of universalism as a theory to which they subscribed; if I remember my reading of Balthasar correctly this was in part because there's an element of presumptive and judgmental pride to making any statements, absent revelation, about who is or might be in Hell.

[TJ in Oregon]

This is probably a stupid comment since no one else has mentioned it, but I thought the Catholic Church abolished the concept of Hell a few years ago?

No, but (possible oversimplification alert) there's been an emphasis on Catholic theology on the idea that some form of apocatastasis is a conceptual possibility (subject to 'hope', rather than 'faith', that it's the case) for a few decades now, and there's a noticeable trend in Catholicism to talk about damnation less--and, anecdotally, at least in some circles of American Catholicism, purgation a bit more.

Emphasis perhaps, but it is dogma of Church (meaning a belief that all Catholics are required to have and if they don't they aren't Catholic) that hell exists and is understood as a physical place. There are some who will then become picky and say that being required to believe in the existence of hell isn't the same as being required to believe there's anyone in it, but the non-political-activist version is the understanding that there are people actually in hell.

I wouldn't consider, for example, Hans Urs von Balthasar or Cormac Murphy O'Connor 'political activist-style Catholics', although obviously their positions within the church were inherently more political than that of your usual man or woman in the pew, but then I suppose these were people who expressed hopes and possibilities rather than advancing any form of universalism as a theory to which they subscribed; if I remember my reading of Balthasar correctly this was in part because there's an element of presumptive and judgmental pride to making any statements, absent revelation, about who is or might be in Hell.

Sorry, that was a bit of an exaggeration on my part. But it does take a little bit of an agenda IMO to read the Church's teachings (or the Bible for that matter) and come to the conclusion that no one is actually in hell. That's not to make a judgement about whether any particular person is in hell since we can't possibly know what confusion or mitigating circumstances may have been present in their actions. But to think no one is there just doesn't match up with passages like:

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[DINGO Joe]

There have always been movements that don't believe in Hell or more accurately believes God saves everyone whether or not you believe or have even heard of him or have heard of him via Hinduism or Buddhism, etc....  It's currently referred to as the gospel of inclusion and Rob Bell and Carlton Pearson are probably the best known current proponents.  They basically say God wouldn't condemn for eternity anything he created.


Of course, many denominations believe you can be the worst person in the world, but if you accept JC just before they hang you for all your bad works, you don't go to hell.

[DINGO Joe]

If there is a Hell, it probably involves endlessly driving the highway loop of some city like Houston.  I'm sure if Dante had written his Inferno today it would have included something along those lines.  Something on OKC too.