Here is a good article I found online:
Do you believe in a Fiery Hell of Torment? Is there really a place where wicked and sinful people go to be punished after death by being burned alive forever and ever? Is this the act of an almighty God? Would he actually do something like that?
Once I had the privilege of being drawn into a conversation started by two fellow co-workers. One had gone out partying with friends the previous night and seemed to lead what might appear to some as a wild lifestyle. The other was admonishing her that she had better get her life right and stop all that partying or she would be burned in hell! Then she turned and looked at me and said, isn't that right? At first I was somewhat taken aback that she thought that I was some kind of authority on the subject since I had always tried to refrain from expressing my religious or political views and opinions (that has since changed as you can see).
Anyway, this particular person always carried with them a copy of the King James Version of the Bible, which is the standard Bible that most Christians seem to aspire to. At first I tried to skirt around the question but she insisted I respond by repeating herself. Hesitantly, I began, no, not my God who I know love and serve; he could never do anything like that. Oh my goodness, what had I done, I immediately thought as she turned and grabbed her Bible from the top of her desk (where she kept it most of the time). She quickly thumbed through it stopping to read a scripture which basically stated that God would destroy the wicked just as he had done during the time of the Israelites! There, she said proudly, looking as though she had just won the award of the day for being correct.
Here was my out! I could just smile and quietly walk away since I had no qualms with the scripture she'd just read or I could challenge her understanding of what she had just read. Me being me, I choose the latter. I have no problem with that scripture I said, what you read was the truth. At that point, she glared at me defiantly and said, but you just said that God could never do anything like that! Ok, I thought, too late to walk away now. Alright, I said, you read the scripture yourself, "He would destroy the wicked just as he had done during the time of the Israelites". Defending my position I continued, according to the dictionary, the word destroy means, "to get rid of, annihilate, and cease to exist". So, if God destroys the wicked, get rid of them, how can they be placed in a fiery hell of torment, or anyplace for that matter, when he has already destroyed them. They no longer exist! She just looked at me with utter disbelief! How dare I try to dismiss something she had believed in all her life! It is a fact, both Christians and many non-Christians believe in hell and that it is a place inhabited by demons and the wicked, after death, is punished with torment.
Definition and Origin of the word Hell
When asked to show me in her Bible where our living God says he will punish and torment sinful wicked humans, she began to read scriptures which included the use of the word hell. However, a clear and true meaning or understanding of what she read was lost in her translation of the word “hell”. The word “hell” is found in many Bible translations, however in the same verses other translations read “the grave,” the world of the dead”, etc. and not the word “hell”. In other instances, the original language words that are sometimes rendered as the word “hell” are simply transliterated or expressed with words of our alphabet but the words themselves are left un-translated. What are those words? The Hebrew word she’ohl’ and its Greek equivalent hai’des, which refer not to an individual burial place but to the common grave of dead mankind; also the Greek word ge’en na, which is used as a symbol of eternal destruction.
So where did the teaching of Hellfire and Torment originate?
According to ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the “neither world is pictured as a place full of horrors and is ruled with great fierceness and strength by gods and demons”. (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston, 1898, Morris Jastrow, Jr., p. 581). Also, found in the religion of ancient Egypt is early evidence relating to the aspect of hell. (The Book of the Dead, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1960 containing a introduction by E.A. Wallis Budge, pp. 144, 149, 151, 153, 161). It has also been found that even Buddhism, which dates back to the 6th Century B.C.E., came to feature both a hot and cold hell. (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 14, p. 68). Lastly, depictions of hell portrayed in Catholic Churches in Italy have been traced to Etruscan roots. (La civilta etrusca (Milan, 1979), Werner Keller, P. 389).
Although hellfire and torment seem to be deeply rooted in religious beliefs, no where can its literal existence be found as a fact of truth. In fact, Biblical scripture states just the opposite. It says that God torments no one. Jeremiah 32:35 supports this. This scripture states that the children of Judah decided to build a temple of fire in which to burn their children in sacrifice as an act of worship to God. But upon noticing what they were doing, "he became angry" and stated that this was something he had not requested them to do, "neither did it come into my heart". Even as an act of worship to him the thought of burning one alive was something God himself found incomprehensible, a detestable thing and not compatible with his personality.
No, I do not believe in a Fiery Hell of Torment. This is the biggest lie ever told on God and the real roots of this slandering and dishonoring doctrine originates with the chief slanderer of God. Satan the devil, whose name by the way means “slanderer” also called “the father of the lie” by Jesus at John 8:44. There is no such place as a Fiery Hell of Torment and to tell you the truth, most clergymen, pastors, preachers, reverends, etc also know this. But it’s the shouting of the Fire and the Hell and the Brimstone from the pulpit that packs most churches. Packed churches means full collection plates and full collection plates mean that pastor, preacher or reverend can continue to live in the manner in which he has become accustomed. The manners in which his parishioners have made him become accustomed. Expensive suits and shoes. A big expensive home, in some cases more than one. An expensive car, in some cases two or three. Going on vacations two or three times a year. Taking family and friends out to expensive dining and picking up the tab to further impress them. These are just some of the reasons why religious leaders have continued to jeopardize their own salvation so to speak, but scripture refers to them as "false prophets" and we should be on guard for them.
