To Hell with Hell!? (Does Hell really exist in Christianity?) (salvation, churches)
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Perhaps this is the cynic in me, but I do have to wonder whether ''hell' as believed and taught by the majority of Christian denominations is necessary to ensure continued membership. Take away hell and you also take away 'control'. I've seen and heard so many examples as to how a belief in hell and the avoidance of going there is at least one of the reasons behind church attendance of perhaps many people.
Perhaps this is the cynic in me, but I do have to wonder whether ''hell' as believed and taught by the majority of Christian denominations is necessary to ensure continued membership. Take away hell and you also take away 'control'. I've seen and heard so many examples as to how a belief in hell and the avoidance of going there is at least one of the reasons behind church attendance of perhaps many people.
More so in Protestant churches. In Catholic or Orthodox churches is less about fear of Hell and more about following Jesus' example. YMMV
Perhaps this is the cynic in me, but I do have to wonder whether ''hell' as believed and taught by the majority of Christian denominations is necessary to ensure continued membership. Take away hell and you also take away 'control'. I've seen and heard so many examples as to how a belief in hell and the avoidance of going there is at least one of the reasons behind church attendance of perhaps many people.
Curious logic.
My guess would be that (1) the emphasis on judgment and condemnation is because this was a major emphasis in Jesus' ministry; and (2) "taking away" hell would require rewriting Christianity. Perhaps we can expand on your, er, logic and suggest that the NT authors inserted the teachings about judgment and condemnation into Jesus' mouth because they knew that churches in future centuries would find this a useful tool to ensure continued membership. Ya think?
WHAT???
I attended Southern Baptist churches in Texas for quite a few years. I have been a member of some exceedingly conservative Christian organizations. I can honestly say that I don't recall hell ever being the focus of a sermon or discussion. Honestly - never. I listen to conservative Christian talk radio all the time. I'll bet hell is mentioned no more than twice a week, and pretty much never in any fear-mongering context.
I think this is another fantasy on the part of those who would like to think this is what Christianity is like. We're Christians mostly because we FEAR HELL. Our leaders play upon this deep fear to manipulate and control us. Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is pretty much what we still get from the pulpit.
This isn't even vaguely true, at least in my experience - virtually all of which has been in Texas, not exactly most peoples' idea of a model of progressive Christianity.
The oldest Christian manuscripts (epistles & gospels) do not contain any specific word that could be accurately translated into the European conception of 'Hell'. In the oldest manuscripts (written in Koine Greek) there are four words that often get translated into 'Hell' for European New Testament translations, and those words are:
-Sheol
-Gehenna
-Tartarus
-Hades
To the ancient Hebrews, Sheol was a resting place where everyone's soul was to go to after they died. Sometimes it is also translated as simply 'the grave'.
For the Hebrews, Gehenna was a place where the wicked go (after death) to be purified of their sins for a period of time (Some Jewish sources say for no longer than 12 months). Gehenna was also an actual place outside of Jerusalem were the dead were cremated and criminals were executed.
Tartarus comes from Greek mythology and refers to the deepest region of the underworld, where the Gods locked up their enemies, such as Titans, or locked up wicked people for punishment.
Hades is also derived from ancient Greek mythology and refers to the 'God of the Underworld'. Hades is also sometimes loosely used to described the entire underworld.
These are the four concepts that get combined and then translated into what modern Christians know of as "Hell". Keeping this in mind, does Hell really exist?
The world 'Gehenna' caught my interest.
In the Islamic and Arabic terminology the word 'Gehennam' (pronounced "Jehennam") is the word used for hell.
Well, you search the internet and found what you wanted.
I have never sat through a Mass where the sermon was on Hell.
Those sermons on Hell where from the fire and brimstone era.
Quote:
Preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield were referred to as "fire-and-brimstone preachers" during the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s. Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" remains among the best-known sermons from this period.
Here is a wikipedia list of fire and brimstone preachers:
Quote:
Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian.
William Patteson Nicholson (3 April 1876 – 29 October 1959[1]) was a Presbyterian preacher and evangelist born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the "Father of Old Revivalism."[1] Finney rejected much of traditional Reformed theology.
At last check, we are in the 21st century and not the 19th.
Quote:
Originally Posted by O'Darby
WHAT???
I attended Southern Baptist churches in Texas for quite a few years. I have been a member of some exceedingly conservative Christian organizations. I can honestly say that I don't recall hell ever being the focus of a sermon or discussion. Honestly - never. I listen to conservative Christian talk radio all the time. I'll bet hell is mentioned no more than twice a week, and pretty much never in any fear-mongering context.
Bart Ehrman has a fantastic book on this. I found it very interesting, it really turned the idea of Hell on its head, made it look like it was invented later than the Bible.
But I could be biased. I want the Bible to be better than it really is. I did used to think it was a "good" book after all. No matter how I look at it, Hell is horrible, unjustifiable. There is no human ever who deserves eternal torture. None. And I say that with the utmost confidence, even for the most awful of human beings past and present. At some point, the eternal torture becomes too much... because it's eternal. Add that with the fact that many Christians think that things that aren't even morally wrong in reality will land you in Hell, like not being a believer, being LGBT, etc. Just... Awful. Absolutely awful.
At last check, we are in the 21st century and not the 19th.
Amen!
I searched for about 15 seconds before I found catholic.com. Do you see that -- catholic.com.
It's not my fault if the catholic church remains living in a previous century.
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