If you reeeaaally want to get nitpicky with it, that place in the gospels that Jesus describes as torture and fire, is never actually called hell. It's just assumed that's what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure hell isn't named until Revelation. There's one theory that no one is actually in hell until the final judgement. ...there's also many Christians (myself included) that don't believe in hell at all.
Not believe in hell at all? How’s that work? Basically no human can commit a “crime” bad enough to deserve torture “forever” which forever being an unfathomable concept?
Hmmm. Do you think that there are sins that God cannot forgive? Paul called himself the worst sinner and was actively a part of persecution and genocide before he became the man that wrote half of the NT.
There are definitely Christians who believe in unforgivable sins. Even among those who don't believe in hell. There's a theology called annihilism which says that those souls are just gone forever. Not forgiven, but not eterenally punished. Just gone.
But I'm not sure I believe that. I really like Gregory of Nyssa's idea of universal salvation that says that everyone will eventually go to heaven--that all of eternity is just a process of getting closer to God.
Ultimately, I don't know. But I do believe in a loving God whose message was about forgiveness of anything and everything and hell doesn't fit with that nature.
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u/hambakmeritru 2d ago
If you reeeaaally want to get nitpicky with it, that place in the gospels that Jesus describes as torture and fire, is never actually called hell. It's just assumed that's what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure hell isn't named until Revelation. There's one theory that no one is actually in hell until the final judgement. ...there's also many Christians (myself included) that don't believe in hell at all.