Born and raised in Charlotte...represent brother man!
Hell Does Not Exist
by megs 17 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Big Tex
Hell Does Not Exist
Define parameters please.
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Leolaia
the belief that hell is a fiery under world where the souls of the dead are tortured for eternity is from greek mythology
There was certainly some influence from Greek mythology (such as the reference to Adam's soul being washed in the Acheron in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve), and this influence increased as time went on, but the Jewish-Christian concept of post-mortem torture in a fiery eschatological place is NOT of Greek origin but rather arose through Persian influence much earlier in the post-exilic period (first attested in Trito-Isaiah in the fourth century BC). Moreover, it involved not the torture of souls (a Greek concept) but the torture of the resurrected wicked (cf. the Persian origin of the notions of resurrection and Judgment Day -- it was all part of the same apocalyptic package in Zoroastrianism and in Jewish apocalypticism). The development of the concept is pretty straightforward (omitting some of the variation found in sources):
Zoroastrian apocalypticism (probably prior to the third century BC): Ahura Mazda (God) and his agent Saoshyant (the Savior) have a final battle against evil, after which they resurrect the dead; the dead are then judged on Judgment Day, with the righteous being rewarded with eternal comfort while the wicked are burned in fire and molten metal to purify and cleanse them (until they are worthy to be forgiven by God).
Jewish apocalypticism (second century BC to first century AD): God (and his agent the Son of Man, cf. the Book of Parables of 1 Enoch) have a final battle against evil, after which they resurrect the dead; the dead are then judged on Judgment Day, with the righteous being rewarded with eternal life and bliss while the wicked are burned forever in Gehenna for their sins.
Early Christian apocalypticism (first and second centuries AD): God and his agent Jesus Christ (= the Son of Man), after triumphing over the powers of evil, resurrect the dead who are then divided in two groups on Judgment Day, with the righteous being rewarded with eternal life and bliss while the wicked are burned forever in Gehenna on account of what they had done.
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Burger Time
Either way I think that guy is awesome, I really dig his theology.
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heathen
Very nice bit of history leolaia but I was talking about the dantes inferno hell that christianity adopted at some point . The words death and hades are used in Revelation , the word hell being replaced for hades in some bibles but then they are thrown into the lake of fire , so I have to ask if hades is already a fiery prison for souls then how come it's destroyed in yet another lake of fire ? makes no sense to me .
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S3RAPH1M
He's honest about the guilt trip, the control, and the fear mongering.
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ecuador
stillin4now, I read the article you posted, and agree with some, but not all of it. While it is true that many "Christians" have taken liberty with the concept of hell, (including the 7 youths) this does not take away what the Bible actually does say about eternal punishment and judgement. One of the most attractive doctrines of the JW religion is that hell does not exist. The Bible does not teach that. You can call it what you want, Hades, Gehenna, etc. but Jesus clearly teaches that it is better to be maimed in this life than to suffer torment in the life to come. There is a coming judgement, and there is a lake of fire, and there is a torment forever and ever. We can bury our head in the sand and pretend it is not there, or we can accept the truth as the Bible teaches it. There is no lie the devil would like to propogate more than the idea of no eternal punishment for mankind. Jesus came to rescue us from this destiny.