A Widespread Belief - THINK!! - WOULD A GOD OF LOVE TORTURE PEOPLE?

[Bible Speaks]

A Widespread Belief - THINK!! - WOULD A GOD OF LOVE TORTURE PEOPLE? -

Learn from your own Bible the answer! 
“I had nightmares of burning in hell! I dreamed of being thrown into a fiery place and would wake up screaming. Needless to say, I tried very hard not to sin.”—Arline.

DO YOU believe that hell is a place of torment reserved for sinners? Many people do. For example, in 2005 a scholar at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland found that a third of the Scottish clergy believed that those separated from God would suffer “eternal mental anguish in hell.” A fifth believed that those in hell would suffer physical torment.

In many countries, belief in hell is widespread. For instance, in the United States, a Gallup poll conducted in 2007 found that about 70 percent of those surveyed believe in hell. Even in predominantly secular countries, belief in hell lingers. A Gallup poll in 2004 found that in Canada, 42 percent of the people believed in hell. And in Great Britain, 32 percent were sure that hell exists.

What the Clergy Teach
Many of the clergy have backed off from teaching that hell is a place of literal fiery torment. Rather, they promote a definition similar to that expressed in a Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994. “The chief punishment of hell,” states that reference, “is eternal separation from God.”

Even so, belief that hell is a place of mental or physical suffering persists. Those who promote this doctrine claim that such a teaching is based on the Bible. R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, asserts: “It’s simply a fact of Scripture.”

Why Does It Matter What You Believe?
If hell really is a place of torment, you certainly should fear it. However, if this teaching is not true, religious leaders who teach the doctrine create confusion and cause needless mental anguish to those who believe them. They also defame God.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HELL
ROOTS IN PAGAN BELIEFS: The ancient Egyptians believed in a fiery hell. The Book Ȧm-Ṭuat, dated 1375 B.C.E., speaks of those who “shall be cast down headlong into the pits of fire; and . . . shall not escape therefrom, and . . . shall not be able to flee from the flames.” Greek philosopher Plutarch (c.46-120 C.E.) wrote of those in the world below: “[They] raised a cry of wailing as they underwent fearful torments and ignominious and excruciating chastisements.”
SECTS OF JUDAISM ARE INFECTED: The historian Josephus (37-c.100 C.E.) reported that the Essenes, a Jewish sect, believed that “the souls are immortal, and continue forever.” He added: “This is like the opinion of the Greeks . . . They allot to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments.”
 

INTRODUCED INTO “CHRISTIANITY”: In the second century C.E., the apocryphal book Apocalypse of Peter said of the wicked: “There is spread out for them unquenchable fire.” It also stated: “Ezrael, the angel of wrath, brings men and women with the half of their bodies burning and casts them into a place of darkness, the hell of men; and a spirit of wrath chastises them.” During the same time period, writer Theophilus of Antioch quotes the Greek prophetess Sibyl as foretelling the punishments of the wicked: “Upon you burning fire shall come, and ever ye shall daily burn in flames.” These are among the words that Theophilus says are “true, and useful, and just, and profitable to all men.”
 

HELLFIRE USED TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES: Mary I, queen of England (1553-1558), known as “Bloody Mary” for burning nearly 300 Protestants at the stake, reportedly said: “As the souls of heretics are hereafter to be eternally burning in hell, there can be nothing more proper than for me to imitate the Divine vengeance by burning them on earth.”

A RECENT DEFINITION: In recent years, some denominations have revised their teaching about hell. For example, the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England said in 1995: “Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being.”
 

What Really Happens at Death?
Does a dead soul know or feel anything? God’s Word says: “The living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, NAB) 

Describing what happens to a man at death, the Bible states: “He returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalm 146:4, KJ) If the dead “no longer know anything” and their “thoughts perish,” how could they sense any torment in hell?

Jesus Christ likened death, not to some form of consciousness, but to sleep.* (John 11:11-14) Some may object, though, saying that Jesus did teach that hell was hot and that sinners would be cast into hellfire. Let us consider what Jesus actually did say about hell.
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