aragorn said:
But in fact the word the Son of Man used which has been translated into hell was "Gehenna" the name of the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem, where the fire burns and the worm does not die.
Thayer and Smith define Gehenna as such:
Hell is the place of the future punishment call "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire". This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction.
...and I tend to agree with them.
I don't believe that Jesus was speaking of a rubbish dump when He told the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. I believe, from His description, that He was speaking of what He believed to be a real place.
Nor do I believe that Paul or Jude, who I also cited, were speaking of this dump.
In fact the Son of Man was understood to mean that those who did not become sons and daughters of God would be thrown on the rubbish dump. Not tortured forever.
Given that Jesus repeats the idea that Hell is eternal elsewhere and Paul and Jude take Him literally (as well as John), I don't believe that He was understood to say this, except by you.
Which if you think about it makes a lot more sense, as a loving God would surely not wish any being to be tortured for ever.
Then you have misunderstood an elementary doctrine of Christianity.
God does not wish anyone to be tortured. This is why He gave His son as a ransom for all: so that we might be reconciled to Him and not be punished.
However, if God is just and righteous, then He
has to punish unrighteouness.
Hell as a place of everlasting punishment is a creation of the catholic church typically misrepresenting Christ, in order to scare people and present him as a stern dangerous, inhuman character.
I disagree on two points.
First, that Hell is eternal is taught in scripture, as evidenced by the passages I have cited (and the fact that you can cite none makes your argument all the more shaky).
Second, your mischaracterization of the Catholic church is both untrue and unfair.
I am not Catholic and, to be sure, there are many things to disagree with the Catholic church about, but their portrayal of Christ is not one of them.
Having had several years of Catholic school, I'm familiar with the Catholic teaching on Christ and what you say could not be further from the truth.
Christ is never depicted as stern, dangerous or inhuman. To the contrary! He is shown to be a loving God made flesh to redeem the world.
