Where did the idea of a burning torture pit originate? And why do Christians use this "hell" as a threat?

Question

Where did the idea of a burning torture pit originate? And why do Christians use this "hell" as a threat?

Answer 1

How about the promise of release from "hell" should you become an enlightened being? Personally, I think we're in hell right now. What is hell? Hell is eternal suffering. Sure we put lakes of fire, brimstone valleys and the devil in the mix just to give the place some zing for our imaginations, but honestly? Who writes this sh*t? Obviously not someone familiar with the human condition and our amazing ability to adapt to and live through almost any experience. Seeing as how we'd already be dead in this eternity of pain and suffering, it stands to reason that after enough torture had passed, we would cease to suffer and simply be bored. But if you were to take the Buddhist understanding of the word "suffering" and instead replace it with the word "dissatisfaction", you would have a better grasp of what an eternity of suffering really means. We live in a state of constant discontent. We always want more of something. When we get something we want, we lose interest in it after a while and want something else. I'm not saying that you should buy totally into Buddhism, shave your head and put on some orange robes. I'm just saying that this is one way of looking at the world and the question of the afterlife. Buddhists believe that all souls are trapped in this state of eternal dissatisfaction, called samsara, where we are born into life, mingle for a time in that state of discontent, die and are reborn. A Hindu belief regarding reincarnation is karma, the idea that based on the quality of life a being has lived, they will either be reborn as a higher being, the result of having lived a good life, or a lower being, the result of living a bad life. We are all trapped in this state by our desires for things attached to life which are ultimately meaningless; family legacies, power, fame, wealth, respect, admiration. To simply see the triviality of such desires is a tremendous step towards nirvana for the individual, and I must stress here, it IS a journey of the individual; no religion will teach us what we cannot learn from honing our skills of self-reflection. "Trust a man who claims to seek truth, never trust a man who claims to have found the truth" as my grandfather used to say. To bring this all back to Christianity, which I do not particularly subscribe to, disregarding all the sh*t in the OT, the teachings of Jesus are not at all inconsistent with the teachings of Buddha. It's the dogma that is stacked on top of the teachings and sold as religion that muddle everything up for people on their journey for enlightenment. The truth eventually becomes self-evident to the person who is looking for it.

Answer 2

Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once. Is that simple enough for you.



Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again in the spirit to be saved. (Romans 10:8-10). The story of Nicodemus is in a couple of the gospels, read John as I am sure you will find it there.



Once born again, you become indwelt by God's Holy Spirit and with Him comes an ability to read the bible which otherwise is spritually discerned and not open to your understanding. Do this and read for yourself.



If you are not saved when you die then your spirit will join satan and his minions in the lake of fire. The first death is your human bodily death, the second death is your spiritual death. If you have a spiritual rebirth before you die the human death you will not have a second death. You are saved. Hallelujia.



I hope I have been courteous enough. I really hate to coat the truth with sugar to make it palatable to anyone.

Answer 3

The traditional concept of 'Hell' has sinners tortured with fire for eternity. They are assumed to feel searing pain, yet their flesh is not consumed.

Few question why sinners are not burnt to ashes in a fiery Hell, or why eternal life, which is promised only to the faithful, is seemingly given to sinners ... just to be tortured? A study of the scriptures can resolve these and other contradictions.

The traditional concept of Hell does NOT come from the inspired Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. It is a pagan myth adopted as Christian doctrine in the third century by church fathers ( see Greek mythology and underworld).

The Hell doctrine was adopted and used to gain new converts by false greedy teachers. Apostles of Jesus Christ who were chosen directly by our Lord never preach "eternal torture in hell" and warn us in 2Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with him .



In English, commonly use the term "hell" in place of "grave"or "Gehenna." The name derived from the burning garbage dump near Jerusalem were the bodies of dead animals and dead criminals were burned also. Jesus uses word Gehenna as a symbol for the Lake of Fire (which is the Second Death) where He will destroy all those who's name were not found in the Book of Life (destruction of both body and soul ).

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall be] as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. Psalms 37



God Bless

Answer 4

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever beleiveth in shall not perish but have everlasting life.



This is the life that only comes through Jesus Christ and if you don't beleive on Him you will stay dead spiritually and unfortunately, without Jesus the Bible states that hell is real and if you read it correctly and pray about it God will show you what type of a place it is. Hell is a real place and it is a place for people who don't accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. God is a good and merciful perfect God who loves us and came so that we can have life eternally. It's our bad decisions that change this.

Answer 5

The word hell itself is the Norse goddess of the grave (generally spelled Hel or Hela).



The idea of burning torture is partly from a misuse of what gehenna is (the gehenna, lake of fire, gehenna of fire in the Bible) and Greek mythology.



The immortal soul doctrine held by churches as well as trinity are from Plato and his writings. The RC church even gives the soul/immorality definition in its encyclopedia by referring to Plato and no Bible writers or verses.



Plato/Greece also had a place of punishment called not Hades (the equivalent of Sheol or Hell, Hebrew for grave), but called tartarus (2 Peter 2:4). A place of darkness that was a temporary punishment.



As in all civilizations, they have their "last days" as the Bible calls it (decline and fall to historians or sociologists)....the Greek empire became hard to control, filled with crime and family problems, etc. so a stronger method of control was needed. They changed tartarus from being a place of darkness/surrounded by fire to a fiery pit of torture and changed it from being temporary to being eternal coping it would control people.



When RC church made the concordat with Constantine, they began adopting one pagan idea after another...Mithras birth became Christ's, Easter the fertility goddess' ceremonies became Christ's resurrection, the brand of tammuz the tau or cross became what Jesus was killed on, punishment for disobeying the church went from being eternal death to eternal torture in burning fire, etc.



People now, don't know and are probably to scared of the hellfire to research and question. Often their churches tell they will go to hellfire even for questioning.



They put a Pascal's Wager on their faith saying "If I'm right, you'll burn forever, if you're right, I'll only die and be painfree forever so I'll take this religion just in case"....



They really do not appreciate Jehovah's creation or want eternal life, they just want to avoid eternal burning pain.....



Debbie

Answer 6

Luke 16:24





The Rich Man and Lazarus

19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.



22“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.23In hell,[1] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.



24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’



27“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’



29“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’



30”‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’



31“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”



New International Version



The punishment of seperation from God is ETERNAL. I'm not sure why this wouldn't be clear to anyone, other than they're not being a STUDENT of God's Word.

Here's a few more scriptures: Matthew 25:41/ Matthew 25:46/ Jude 1:7/ 2Thessalonians1:9/ Hebrew 6:2/ and Revelations 14:11.

Answer 7

The existence of hell is proved first of all from the Bible. Wherever Christ and the Apostles speak of hell they presuppose the knowledge of its existence (Matthew 5:29; 8:12; 10:28; 13:42; 25:41, 46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Revelation 21:8, etc.). A very complete development of the Scriptural argument, especially in regard to the Old Testament, may be found in Atzberger's "Die christliche Eschatologie in den Stadien ihrer Offenbarung im Alten und Neuen Testament", Freiburg, 1890. Also the Fathers, from the very earliest times, are unanimous in teaching that the wicked will be punished after death. And in proof of their doctrine they appeal both to Scripture and to reason (cf. Ignatius, "Ad Eph.", v, 16; "Martyrium s. Polycarpi", ii, n, 3; xi, n.2; Justin, "Apol.", II, n. 8 in P.G., VI, 458; Athenagoras, "De resurr. mort.", c. xix, in P.G., VI, 1011; Irenaeus, "Adv. haer.", V, xxvii, n. 2 in P.G. VII, 1196; Tertullian, "Adv. Marc.", I, c. xxvi, in P.L., IV, 277). For citations from this patristic teaching see Atzberger, "Gesh. der christl. Eschatologie innerhalb der vornicanischen Zeit" (Freiburg, 1896); Petavius, "De Angelis", III, iv sqq.

Answer 8

There are two common words used for hell. Hades and Hell.



Hades. The region of departed spirits of the lost (but including the blessed dead in periods preceeding the Ascention of Christ). It has been thought by some that the word etymologically meant the unseen (from a, negative, and eido, to see), but this derivation is questionable; a more probable derivation is from hado, signifying all-receiving. It corresponds to "Sheol" in the O.T. In the A.V. of the O.T. and N.T., it has been unhappily rendered "Hell," e.g., Psa. 16:10; or "the grave," e.g. Gen. 37:35; or "the pit," Num. 16:30, 33; in the N.T. the Revisers have always used the rendering "Hades;" in the O.T. they have not been uniform in the translation, e.g., in Isa. 14:15, "hell" (marg., "Sheol"); usually they have "Sheol" in the text and "the grave" in the margin. It never denotes the grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost; in point of time it is, for such, intermediate between decease and the doom of Gehenna. For the condition, see Luke 16:23-31.



The word is used four times in the Gospels, and always by the Lord, Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; it is used with refrence to the soul of Christ, Acts 2:27, 31; Christ declares that He has the keys of it, Rev. 1:18; In Rev. 6:8 it is personified, with the signification of the temporary destiny of the doomed; it is to give up those who are therein, 20:13, and is to be cast into the lake of fire. ver. 14.



Note: In I Cor. 15:55 the most authenic mss. have thanalos, death, in the 2nd part of the verse, instead of Hades, which the A.V. wrongly renders "grave" ("hell" in the marg.).



Hell. Geenna represents the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom (the Valley of Tophet) and a corresponding Aramaic word; it is found twelve times in the N.T., eleven of which are in the Synoptists, in every instance as uttered by the Lord Himself. He who says to his brother, Thou fool, will be in danger of "the hell of fire," Matt. 5:22; it is better to pluck out (a metaphorical description of irrevocable law) an eye that causes its possessor to stumble, than that his "whole body be cast into hell," ver. 29; similarily with the hand, ver. 30; in Matt. 18:8, 9, the admonitions are repeated, with an additional mention of the foot; here, too, the warning concerns the person himself (for which obviously the "body" stands in chap. 5); in ver, 8, "the eternal fire" is mentioned as the doom, the character of the region standing for the region itself, the two being combined in the phrase "the hell of fire," ver. 9. To the passage in Matt. 18, that in Mark 9:43-47, is parallel; here to the word "hell" are applied the extended descriptions "the unquenchable fire" and "where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."



That God, "after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell," is assigned as a reason why He should be feared with the fear that keeps from evil doing, Luke 12:5; the parallel passage to this in Matt. 10:28 declares not the casting in, but the doom which follows, namely, the destruction (not the loss of being, but of well-being) of "both soul and body."



In Matt. 23 the Lord denounces the Scribes and Pharisees, who in proselytizing a person "make him two-fold more a son of hell" than themselves (ver. 15), the phrase here being expressive of moral characteristics, and declares the impossibility of their escaping" the judgment of hell." ver. 33. In Jas. 3:6 hell is described as the source of the evil done by misuse of the tongue; here the word stands for the powers of darkness whose characteristics and destiny are those of hell.



For terms descriptive of hell, see e.g. Matt. 13:42; 25:46; Phil. 3:19; II Thess. 1:9; Heb. 10:39; II Pet. 2:17; Jude 13; Rev. 2:1; 19:20; 20:6, 10, 14; 21:8.

Answer 9

The honest reason Christians use hell as a threat is because we truly don't want to see anyone go there. Yeah even the Christian bashers of R&S and those who will rate this post down.

Answer 10

You are not the only one who reads the bible and it says "Those in Christ have eternal LIFE. Anyone else- eternal DEATH. Yes I see it too. Eternal life or death- not eternal life for everyone!



Those hating God go to be destroyed in the lake of fire. Not to live forever.



I also am no JW because I also see that Jesus is who he said- the Son of God, not Micheal the angel.

Answer 11

Revelation 20:11-15 (New International Version)



11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Answer 12

Hell is talked about in the bible more than anything else....



and it is not a threat....it is a warning from God/Jesus!

Answer 13

"Fear not man who can kill the body only, but fear God who can kill the body and soul, in the lake of fire that burns forever, and who smoke rises every more."





"cast this worthless servant into outer darkness, where there will be crying and gnashing of teeth"





"depart from me, you worker of iniquity, I never knew you"

Answer 14

Jesus refers to hell as torment and weeping and gnashing of teeth.What are you talking about? Read the Bible,throw away the Awake and Watchtower magazines.

Answer 15

I think your deaply confused. Hell is real, and that's where those who reject Jesus Christ will be the moment they die. If you have any other thoughts on why Christianity is "fake". Or, at least you think it's fake.

Answer 16

It was an Egyptian belief....