Hell-- Is It Eternal?

Even if hell is forever you will eather burn to a crisp and wont feel the fire or you eventually get use to the heat.

That's a misunderstanding of the context of the quote, this will explain it,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehenna

The quote is referring to this literal alley in jerusalem.

I voted 'no'. Seeing as I don't believe in the existence of hell, I don't believe it to be eternal. (Eternally nonexistent, perhaps.. but I'm guessing that's not the answer the poll was going for.)

It's depicting gehenna in jerusalem. It was as the wikipedia article shows where false prophets, beasts, criminals (false prophet = criminal for that time) where there bodies would be dumped.

I can see three options...

1. There is no afterlife.
2. God is at least as compassionate as a typical human and hell either does not exist, or exists but is not eternal
3. God is a sadist, or could just care less about humans and hell both exists and is eternal.

I tend to go with number 1 myself...

Lord_Marx said:

I can see three options...

1. There is no afterlife.
2. God is at least as compassionate as a typical human and hell either does not exist, or exists but is not eternal
3. God is a sadist, or could just care less about humans and hell both exists and is eternal.

I tend to go with number 1 myself...

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Dont give humans so much credit... I know several who think with glee at the idea of an eternal hell. ("And I will enjoy watching you suffer for all eternity, as I enjoy paradise with God above."-Quite a memorable thing someone told me)

Put me in the 'hell is eternally nonexistent' camp.

No. Hell isn't even as people think....it's not a pit of eternal punishment and pain. Get real people, thats just the sick human mind at work, bad interpretation of ancient texts, and generation upon generation of really bad teachings and ignorance.

The interesting thing is that some people seem to need this particular idea to be true in order to have the whole Christan thing make sense. Isn't that weird?

^How do you base your belief?
Is it just to "mean" for you?

^How do you base your belief?
Is it just to "mean" for you?

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Well, I don't start out with the idea that the Bible is somehow the actual, factual, words of a supreme creator who left it for us as a users manual.

Then I just base my belief on what actually IS, what is KNOWN, and what has been proven to BE. Nobody I know ever seen an eternal pit of torment.

It's not that it's to 'mean', it's really just too 'human'. It's exactly the kind of idea man would come up with. I'd expect more from a god. And many biblical scholars disagree with the hell concept, at least the way it's often taught in sunday school.

I should HOPE so!

The Bible says Hell is eternal; Jesus says Hell is eternal; Revelations says that "the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." and who are we to question God on what He says is TRUE and awaits the unrighteous?

yasic said:

Dont give humans so much credit... I know several who think with glee at the idea of an eternal hell. ("And I will enjoy watching you suffer for all eternity, as I enjoy paradise with God above."-Quite a memorable thing someone told me)

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I don't think anyone would really want people to suffer forever. I have more faith in people then that. I don't think anyone could be that heartless...

lioninoil said:

I should HOPE so!

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If Hell exists, it is eternal more than likely.

PaladinDoodler said:

If Hell exists, it is eternal more than likely.

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Bacause? :o

And flicka, what proof do you have of the texts being misread? I can get copies of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and we'll look through all the hell verses word for word, if you'd like.

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I didn't present proof. I'm not a biblical scholar even though I did study the Greek NT for 3 years back in my Baptist High School days. However, I have read what actual scholars have said, and some Christan's right here on CF who are incredibly well educated, and there is certainly enough doubt among them about Hell being an place of eternal torment to convince me. Remember, I never believed it was real in the first place.

Check out what other Christan's think, they don't all believe in Hell. And I'm pretty sure you would be alot more open to what they (Christan's) say than someone like me. I'm really have no interest in doing a word for word translation on a forum with you. Sorry.