I'm going to have to disagree with my fellow Christians on this issue (in a loving spirit, of course; I trust that no one will assume I hold hostility against any of you).
The Christian notion of hell isn't any better. It says:
I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (St. Matthew 8:11-12)
There is also the description in the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' (St. Luke 16:22-26)
We also have John's description:
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." (Revelation 14:9-11)
It seems to me that the hell preached by Christ Jesus our Lord, and his Apostles, is not significantly better than the one preached by the false prophet Mohammad.
But Yahweh does the same thing.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (St. Matthew 10:28)
Some mainline Christian denominations teach that everyone goes to the same place after death, and that unbelievers will feel God's love as a torment. But here and in the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, it seems clear that heaven and hell are different places, and that God destroys the soul of the unbeliever in hell. In the hell of the Quran, the false prophet Mohammad describes physical calamities such as shakles and poisonous food. But Jesus tells us that God will destroy the very soul of the unbeliever in hell. This is infinitely worse than punishments that afflict only the flesh.
Actually, this isn't the most fair comparison between Christianity and Islam. As my pastor recently pointed out, Jesus discussed hell even more than heaven.
It seems to me that Christians are attacking the Quranic account of hell for the sole purpose of attacking Islam. I would encourage you all to reconsider this position. The Quran makes true statements and false statements. For example, Elijah recently pointed out that the Quran claims that the whole of creation is a sign of God's glory. This is true, for "the heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1).
The fact that a book makes true statements does not imply the divine inspiration of the book. Mathematics textbooks also contain entirely true statements, and they are not given to us by God either. The falsehood of Islam is not negated by any true statements which may be in the Quran. Therefore, let us make legitimate polemics against Islam, and not appeal to the unbiblical desires of man in order to prove Islam's falsehood. We know that unbelievers find hell to be an unpopular doctrine, and here were are capitalizing on it in order to discredit the religion.
But beware, for in denying the entire Quran as an utterly false document, we deny whatever truth it happens to contain. How can we attack the Islamic notion of hell, and defend the Christian doctrine of hell? Hell is an important doctrine in Christianity. It is important to make much of the agony of hell, because hell is the just reward for all sin. Emphasizing the torturous nature of hell teaches us the true nature of sin. And more importantly, it teaches us the infinite value of Christ's blood for our salvation. One cannot understand salvation without understanding hell. Therefore, let us not attack Islam in the same way that the world attacks Christianity.
