The concept of a physical place of eternal torture called Hell looms large in contemporary Christian pop-theology. And has for years. But is this because the Bible makes it central?
We're told - or assume - that "salvation" means "being saved from Hell". But if that is the sole focus of salvation, why is there so little talk of Hell in the Bible?
Out of curiosity I did a search of all mentions of "Hell" in the New Testament. I was shocked at the numbers.
First the gospels.
Matthew takes the lead with 7 uses of "Hell". And that is significant because they are all from the mouth of Jesus himself.
But Mark has just 3.
And Luke has just 1.
And John? John has zero.
Can you imagine? A gospel with no mention of Hell?
Then we move into Acts. With all the evangelistic preaching recorded throughout the 28 chapters of Acts there has to be quite a bit of Hell talk, right?
Acts also has zero mentions of Hell.
And how about Romans, where Paul lays out his theology in great detail? Surely some Hell talk there you would think.
Romans, too, has zero Hell.
In fact, look through the rest of the New Testament and you will find just two more references to Hell - one in James and one in 2nd Peter.
Compare those 13 mentions of Hell in the New Testament overall to the 137 references to "righteousness" and the 257 for "love".
I know this doesn't prove anything - and I have left out other references that could be read as synonymous to "Hell", such as "outer darkness" and "lake of fire" - but it still seems to me that Hell might not deserve the place of prominence it holds in our theology.
What do you make of the concept of "annihilationism" - the concept that those who die apart from faith in Christ do not suffer eternal torment in Hell but rather simply cease to be?
I don’t think the idea of annihilation satisfies the need for justice (Hitler killed 6 million people and simply ceased to be?). The wicked share the punishment prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41) and eternal punishment is paralleled to eternal life (Matt. 25:46), suggesting that both go on forever. I actually don’t think hell looms very large in most Westerners’ theology but it is probably actually a source of a certain kind of comfort to believers subject to horrible injustice in many parts of the world today. Darkness will be named and know itself to be punished.
ReplyDeleteHitler is a bit of an outlier, isn't he? ;-) I could flip the question: What about millions or billions of other souls who worked their jobs and paid their bills and raised their kids but never placed their faith in Jesus. They deserve the same fate as Hitler? Or is his section of the lake of fire extra hot?
ReplyDeleteAnd what do we make of the God who originated "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" as a limit to the severity of what punishment could be meted out being the same God who says in effect, "You turned your back on me for 80 years on earth, now you will spend billions and trillions of years being tortured to satisfy my wrath"? I just don't know how to process that.
Another question: why do we read "perish" in the context of God's judgment so differently than we would use the word otherwise. Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you too will perish." If my tomato plant "perishes", I don't mean that it is being tortured eternally. Peter refers to silver and gold as "perishable" things (I Pet 1:18). He says we have an inheritance that can never "perish" (I Pet 1:4). Paul refers to rules that are "destined to perish with use" (Col 2:22). In those cases, "perish" means to pass from existence. But in other cases it definitely should be read as "punished eternally"?
And what do you make of Matthew 10:28? "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
Admittedly, Hitler is an outlier but in the case of any sinner who rejects God, annihilation would be what they hope for, not what they fear. It would be a reward, not a punishment. Not to mention that Biblically, there is no one good. Apart from Christ, nothing good dwells in us (Rom. 7:18). We are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) in rebellion against a holy God. Punishments vary in this life according to the offense is against. Sinning against an infinitely holy God is an infinite offense and it merits an infinite punishment. And who’s to say people stop sinning in hell? Jesus described as a place of “gnashing of teeth.” Gnashing of teeth is an image of anger elsewhere in Scripture (Job 16:9). The wicked are not brought to repentance by their suffering (Rev. 16:11). They continue to hate and curse God in eternity.
ReplyDeleteYes, the word “perish” in certain contexts means to cease to live. However, it does not always mean that. Paul refers to those who “suffer eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thess. 1:9). Jesus speaks of being cast into eternal fire (Matt. 18:8; 25:41). John speaks of the second death in Revelation and “the smoke of their torment rising forever.” (Rev. 14:11). Even the passage you cited (Matt. 10:28) becomes redundant if killing the soul has exactly the same practical outcome as killing the body. The reason God is to be feared more than man is that God’s judgments are infinitely more to be feared than man’s.
I can't keep up with the new objections! ;-) But I will try to respond in coming days. I appreciate your thoughtfulness, John! And the challenge!
ReplyDeleteOn one particular point - Matt. 10:28 - I am not sure I am following your thinking. Jesus is talking to his disciples. And killing the soul is very different from killing the body for the believer! The enemy who can kill my body needs not be feared if I am a believer. That is merely a passage to eternal life. But I definitely don't want to be on the wrong side of the One who can kill my body AND my soul. And only God can do that.
ReplyDelete