The true meaning of Hell?

[Foreshadow]

I am going to have a hard time managing 3 active threads at once but I will try.

In the bible it says hell is basically eternal suffering.However I have also heard that Hell is just being away from God. In this case I would gladly go to hell if this was all it was. My question is this: Is hell a place of eternal torment, or a pretty normal place but without God?

 

[seashale76]

God is Love and His presence is like fire. How one endures this fire has everything to do with how they were tempered in this life, just like the three righteous youths in the fiery furnace were able to joyfully walk around unharmed in the fire, so did others who didn't love God perish just being near the fire. The fire didn't change.

Here is a quote from an old Wikipedia article on the topic (that doesn’t seem to be around anymore) that I thought explained it pretty well: "For many ancient Christians, Hell was the same "place" as Heaven: living in the presence of God and directly experiencing God's love. Whether this was experienced as pleasure or torment depended on one's disposition towards God. St. Isaac of Syria wrote in Mystic Treatises: "... those who find themselves in Hell will be chastised by the scourge of love. How cruel and bitter this torment of love will be! For those who understand that they have sinned against love, undergo greater suffering than those produced by the most fearful tortures. The sorrow which takes hold of the heart, which has sinned against love, is more piercing than any other pain. It is not right to say that the sinners in Hell are deprived of the love of God ... But love acts in two ways, as suffering of the reproved, and as joy in the blessed!" This ancient view is still the doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church."

 

[Foreshadow]

So is hell eternal sorrow?

 

[Criada]

The bible really doesn't say a great deal about hell.. and it isn't, in my opinion, that important to know the details. It is obviously not a pleasant place/situation to be in.
But, really, there is so much to learn about God and His love and grace, that concentrating on hell seems rather a waste of time!

 

[Foreshadow]

How is it no important?

 

[Criada]

How is it no important?

I think it's more important to concentrate on the positive.. knowing details about hell does not help or hinder me. And given the very few references to it in scripture, I think it is probably impossible to know much about it. Most of the generally accepted theories about hell come from medieval art and literature rather than scripture.

 

[Foreshadow]

So is hell eternal torment or what?

 

[hogndog]

Its a place that burns with fire and brimstone.

Hogndog

 

[Foreshadow]

Why would hell have fire and brimstone when that isnt even scary or tormenting to many people?

 

[Foreshadow]

I see.
Any other thoughts from anyone?

 

[ebia]

I am going to have a hard time managing 3 active threads at once but I will try.

In the bible it says hell is basically eternal suffering.However I have also heard that Hell is just being away from God. In this case I would gladly go to hell if this was all it was. My question is this: Is hell a place of eternal torment, or a pretty normal place but without God?

What's normal without God?

Scripture is much more concerned with the Kingdom of God than with the alternative, except to make clear that there is an alternative for those who refuse to be part of God's Kingdom. That alternative is described only in figurative language (Jerusalem's rubbish heap, a winnowing fire for the chaff, a bonfire for the prunings, etc, etc).

But what I would say with some certainty is that what makes any of us human is the image of God. Whatever that alternative looks like, separation from God and/or his redeemed creation means ceasing to be in the image of God, and therefore ceasing to be human.

Lewis pictures it nicely in the "Great Divorce". Well worth a read.

 

[Sketcher]

Hell is the complete absence of God, and therefore the complete absence of pleasure.

 

[Foreshadow]

Wouldnt that mean that you and everyone of your religion has gone to and is in Hell?

 

[seashale76]

Wouldnt that mean that you and everyone of your religion has gone to and is in Hell?

Eucharist

 

[Sketcher]

Wouldnt that mean that you and everyone of your religion has gone to and is in Hell?

No, because we are not completely deprived of Gods glory here on earth.

 

[Foreshadow]

Where is it then?

 

[buzzini]

Hell is the opposite of Heaven. and a refuge for those who can not stand in the presence of God.

God is love, and in reality, we are also love, in a smaller form. Our love dominate by 2 forms, one is loving God and neighbors (which Jesus talk about), and loving ourselves and this world. For those who don't love God, God does not force them to be in His presence. So hell is not meant to be a torture, but a refuge. It is grace for God to provide a place for them to hide. If they can enjoy God's presence, they would be in heaven. But they themselves willingly throw themselves in hell to hide. Because they are comfortable there.

the problem is, Heaven is all things Good, and Hell is all things Evil, because loving oneself bring about all kind of evil; selfish, hate, greed, murder.... and hence the torment is from among others who live in hell. They love nothing but to rule over others, torture, murder, greed, taking advantage from you. Hence the torment is never ending. Whoever is more powerful, is the ruler, and submission is by fear.

 

[ebia]

Where is it then?

It isn't anywhere at the moment.

Hell isn't somewhere you go when you die any more than the Kingdom of Heaven is somewhere you go when you die.

The Kingdom of Heaven is God's future reign on earth and 'hell' is a way of talking about the alternative for those who choose not to be part of that Kingdom.

 

[Foreshadow]

I see. Thanks for the answers

 

[Stephen Kendall]

I have a Christian friend in India (around 70 years old) who was a Hindu, then a Muslim, then a Catholic and now just Christian Missionary. He believes that we make our own personal hells by our loveless ways. You might say we dig out our own pits and find ourselves in them supposedly forever. Our own conscience may well judge us into our own hell that we dug out throughout our lives. Can this be real? It would be God who would want us to advert from such a destructive path.

From this, hell would be just selfishness and a lack of any love. It would be dark, because love, which holds all good, would be lacking in such a place. It would be painful, because of the agony of a confused and desperate heart finding itself in it without any knowledge of a rectification of its predicament. If God were to separate the good souls from the bad ones, could a bad soul get any light, joy, hope, laughter or direction without God? They would be just thrown away.

Hell to me is a place to escape from. We do seem to make it in life by our maturing selfishness and hopeless nature. Jesus is a path away from our lost hopeless souls. He teaches us to love each other and believe in him, that he was dead and lives again and that we too can follow him to the Father, creator. Being with the Father starts with rebirth (being born in the sense of a love for the ways of God, ways of Christ, a love for others (unselfish love, upholding others above ourselves) and never it ends if we believe that God is faithful and we remain in our faith (teachings & commands of Christ Jesus).

I believe that things are meant to be a mystery for the purpose of us to discover things and to conquer ourselves (selfishness). Have a great day.