Now that I have your attention… :)

It’s a bold statement, for sure — especially considering the many years that Christian fundamentalism has taught the exact opposite. However, years of soul searching and countless days/nights reading through all of these supposed “hell texts” have proven… well, the exact opposite. It is nowhere to be found and is completely man made/fabricated!

As a Type-A personality, I simply want to know and understand the truth and to believe the truth. For 25-30 years of my life, I did believe that there was this place called hell which was reserved for all unbelievers to be burned/tortured forever (it churns my stomach to even admit that) — I was raised believing it and could reiterate that stance to anyone as a way of pressuring them into Christianity.

Let’s get started…

If you read below, you’ll learn that my unbelief in hell is not out of any selfish agenda, not part of an atheistic bend and not part of a liberal lifestyle. I’ve been called a heretic by some, but the original Greek form of the word means “to choose; to have a distinctive opinion” - so…. maybe I’m a heretic? :)

The amount of time I’ve spent reading and researching on this topic is the exact opposite of spiritual apathy and has required a great deal of devotion. It is simply the result of me wanting to understand truth, regardless of what it may be.

Nothing written here is intended to put down or cause ill with those that still hold these beliefs, but I would hope that this may challenge you to think differently.

So, if I haven’t lost you already, please continue…

To set the stage, please take 3 minutes and check out this video by Rob Bell, author of Love Wins. Put aside what any fundamentalist sources have said, whatever opinions you already have of him and please… just “listen” to what he is saying.

Why is “hell” in the modern translations of the Bible?

There was no concept, discussion and practice of an “eternal hell” until roughly 500 years after the death of Jesus. That is FIVE HUNDRED YEARS.. This was flat out not taught or believed by any followers of Jesus during that time.

First, some history: The Old English word “hell” was derived from the Old Norse Goddess named “Hel” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(being)). In its original use, the word means “to cover” or to “conceal” and may have referred to the ground covering a dead person. In Pagan cultures, they believed that “hell” was the underworld and was ruled by the “god of the dead”.

To be honest, when you look at the Bible as a whole, it is quite apparent that this construct of “hell” was a man-made belief, and not from any divine source. Aside from not existing in the Bible, it is not supported by any of the entirety of the gospel.

So where did it start?

Nearly 5 centuries after the death of Jesus, St. Augustine became the primary instigator in promoting “eternal hell” with the Western Church, not to mention being a significantly influential voice in with religious bigotry and hate-mongering the years following. Augustine used a combination of power and violence to force this concept of “eternal hell” into orthodoxy and to ensure it survived and was followed for years to come.

Augustine likely drew a lot of his inspiration from Tertullian, the “Father of the Latin Church”, who “envisioned hell being filled with every philosopher and theologian who ever argued with him”. Additionally, Tertullian “envisioned a time when he would look down from heaven at those people in hell and laugh with glee”. Augustine and Tertullian’s Latin-based “Bible” became a catalyst for scores of error-filled translations that are read around the world today. We would have been far better served to have translated from the Greek and skipped the Latin altogether.

The threat of this “eternal hell” was another ideal way for “Catholics/Christians” (especially church leaders) to increase power and profits. Sadly, the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus once said that "hell" was a good way to control the behavior of the unwashed masses, but that no wise man believed in it.

The foundation of this “hell” is quite pagan and has no origination whatsoever in any scripture. It originates primarily from Greek concepts and is the result of merging mythology and an immortal soul. The influence from Greek mythology and the Roman Empire cannot be understated. It is worth noting that many other pagan beliefs and practices originated over the next several hundred years and found their way into Christendom, bastardizing the first generation church model (read “Pagan Christianity” for more - https://www.paganchristianity.org/).

Sadly, Augustine’s doctrine of “eternal hell” has been used for many years to control uninformed believers and potential believers with a fear complex. It completely eliminates the ability to see a true loving God. Where hell is present in Christianity, there must also be a plethora of fear…. therefore, a Christianity without hell will be one without fear and that is one that is overflowing with love.

What did you believe about “hell” originally?

I was taught at a young age that if I didn’t “accept Jesus in my heart”, I’d go to hell where I would be burned for eternity. I still remember at age 6, the Wisdom Worksheet the Bill Gothard based curriculum that showed a black and white picture of demons pulling a soul down into a fiery arena. It created a lot of fear, anxiety and stress for many years to come. So, it created a “belief” founded deeply in “fear” (though not only fear if I am to be honest). —fast forward— As my wife and I started having children, (and as she was raised with a very similar belief) we started teaching our kids (Zachary, at that time), the same thing.

What triggered your unbelief?

Around 2009-2010, Zachary and I were sitting at our fire pit in our backyard. Zachary was around 8-9 at the time and was/is an incredible artist. After some time of silence staring into the fire, he said: “Dad, I would never burn up my drawings, because I created them and love them. Why would God ever allow us to be burned alive if He loves us?”. Now I now the typical response here is, “Son, He doesn’t do this to us — we decided ourselves.” Well, that just didn’t sit right with me anymore and I had to honestly tell him… “I don’t know, son.” :|

I think what made this time different is that at this time, I had four children already and I was passionately in love with all of them. I understand the pure desires of a father’s heart for his children. I understand admonishing them when they mess up and extending UNCONDITIONAL forgiveness to them, regardless of their choices. Again: UNCONDITIONAL

After all - is that what the Bible teaches us? Turn the other cheek? Forgive 70x7? Forgive? FORGIVE? NO MATTER WHAT is done to us?

And yet — the modern Christian’s God is somehow held to a different, more destructive and painful standard?

It just didn’t resonate in my soul anymore — the teachings I was raised with, and the way I lived for several decades all of a sudden became putrid to me. That night I started researching every passage in the Bible that mentioned hell, I joined forums to ask others who were in the same spot as myself, I read book after book, I went back and translated more passages from Hebrew and Greek.

And my findings were this:

Hell, as a lake of fire for eternal punishment, does NOT exist!

Why does unbelief in hell matter?

Oh my… this matters so much. Aside from your own soul’s condition and health, it will so significantly affect how you treat other people. It will affect how you raise your children. I am very passionate about this as I saw how both the belief and unbelief in hell altered my outlook and actions.

With a belief in hell as a lake of fire set aside for eternal punishment for those that “do not believe in God”, you tend to treat “unbelievers” as “subjects” — they are a means to an end, a soul to save! You know the words, routines, verses and ways to pressure and sell them on it; and when they refuse… well, walk away and find the next one!

If you abandon this belief, then you’ll automatically notice that “unbelievers” all of a sudden look different to you. They are now real people… with real hurts; real needs. You don’t have to convert them anymore, you just have to love them. Your love to them, without any motivation, will stir about the greatest level of response, making them truly hungry for the real gospel that is motivating these acts towards them.

Without hell, what is the point of salvation?

Jesus never presented a message of saving oneself from eternal damnation; his whole message was one of saving oneself from… well, oneself and the hell that we put ourselves in with poor life choices. Salvation takes on a much deeper meaning when you actually understand history and what happened.

What does the Bible specifically say about hell?

So technically, the word “hell” or the possibility of suffering after a physical death does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), which is why most versions after the King James Version dropped it from their translations. But hey — I want this to be a complete commentary on my opinion, so I’m going to even find those instances and prove the misinterpretation.

Nothing like "eternal lake of fire/hell" was even remotely suggested to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Job, Moses, David, Solomon, Daniel… In fact, this concept was never even mentioned to the worst offenders in the Bible! There are also no Old Testament warnings in the Old Testament about the need to repent in order to avoid suffering (eternal or temporary) after death. In the Old Testament, when people were warned about needing to repent, it was to avoid suffering here on earth, in THIS current life.

Before we get into it, here are some critical initial notes to keep in mind:

The Hebrew word Sheol means "the grave," not "hell”.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheol)
The Greek word Hades means "the grave," not "hell".
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_Hades)
The Greek word Tartarus was a region within Hades, also not eternal and not meant for humans.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarus)
So, if you were to condemn someone to Sheol or Hades, it was to simply say they would die
Gehenna is a physical place in Israel, in the Valley of Hinnom
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna)

So here you go — all Old Testament/New Testament instances of “hell” in the King James Version of the Bible:

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Deu 32:22

For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.