How is the teaching of hell moral?

Question

This is one thing that Christians are talking about and debating a lot. The threat of eternal punishment serves to control people by fear.

If you believe the bible then realize that when the Bible speaks of hell the word is used and is refering to a trash dump in Jerusalem that was burned and sometimes got so large that the fires burned for days and even months at a time. The condemned of the society were actually throwen into what must have looked like a "lake of fire". Also realize that if there really is free will then this place doesn't exist. Free will is not come to me and love me or burn forever in the worst possible torment you choose. That is a threat. Also the stuff about god not sending people there but allowing them to freely choose to go there on there own. That doesn't make it love. In what way is that love or a choice if god really is all powerful and can prevent all that.

FREE CHOICE DOESN'T EXIST IN CHRISTIANITY.

Answer 1

It's moral if hell really exists. The existence of hell isn't in any way contingent upon your wishes or beliefs; it either is or isn't a reality. If it is a reality, as many believe, then they are acting morally by warning you of a real danger.

Answer 2

Yeah, it's mean and cruel just like school is. The teachers threaten you with failing grades if you don't pass a test. They threaten you with keeping you back and have to take the grade all over again if you keep flunking tests and show that you didn't learn anything.

It's kind of like those mean bosses at work that fire you if you don't do your job, or do your job but you do it wrong. Or, they fire you just because you miss a lot of work or if they catch you stealing something. Yeah, it's like they punish you if you just because you mess up sometimes. I know a guy that drove 110 miles an hour and a cop gave him a ticket for it. Just because he was in a hurry and went too fast they made him pay a bunch of money---it just ain't fair.



Hey man, face it. There is such a thing as punishment for doing wrong and/or not following directions. Maybe God means what He says. You DO have the choice to do things one way or another but you know the consequences if you do the wrong thing. No one is forcing you to do things. You make your own choices in life.

Answer 3

You don't need to be a Christian to realize that freedom of choice doesn't mean freedom from consequences. It depends on how you choose to view it; for Christians God is an obvious choice, for those of other faiths and and Atheists/Agnostics, then the "You're going to Hell for not believing what I do" is really frustrating.



If you break a law, you go to jail. Most people don't view this as a threat since they're not going out of their way to break laws. It just happens that in this case two different viewpoints disagree on what the laws are.

Answer 4

If we study the Srimad bhagavatam, that is far more ancient than the Bible, the description of Hell is much more detailed and explained. Also eternal in Hell means there is not Sun or Moon, a clock, so people there don't have the sense of day or night, no sense of time, thus seems eternal - but it is not.

SB 5.26.37: My dear King ParÄ«ksÌ£it, in the province of Yamarāja there are hundreds and thousands of hellish planets. The impious people I have mentioned — and also those I have not mentioned — must all enter these various planets according to the degree of their impiety. Those who are pious, however, enter other planetary systems, namely the planets of the demigods. Nevertheless, both the pious and impious are again brought to earth after the results of their pious or impious acts are exhausted.



SB 5.26.6: The King of the pitās is Yamarāja (the Lord of Death), the very powerful son of the sun-god. He resides in Pitṛloka with his personal assistants and, while abiding by the rules and regulations set down by the Supreme Lord, has his agents, the Yamadūtas, bring all the sinful men to him immediately upon their death. After bringing them within his jurisdiction, he properly judges them according to their specific sinful activities and sends them to one of the many hellish planets for suitable punishments.



SB 5.26.7: Some authorities say that there is a total of twenty-one hellish planets, and some say twenty-eight. My dear King, I shall outline all of them according to their names, forms and symptoms. The names of the different hells are as follows: Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, Raurava, Mahāraurava, Kumbhīpāka, Kālasūtra, Asi-patravana, Sūkaramukha, Andhakūpa, Kṛmibhojana, Sandaḿśa, Taptasūrmi, Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī, Vaitaraṇī, Pūyoda, Prāṇarodha, Viśasana, Lālābhakṣa, Sārameyādana, Avīci, Ayaḥpāna, Kṣārakardama, Rakṣogaṇa-bhojana, Śūlaprota, Dandaśūka, Avaṭa-nirodhana, Paryāvartana and Sūcīmukha. All these planets are meant for punishing the living entities.



EX: SB 5.26.11: In this life, an envious person commits violent acts against many living entities. Therefore after his death, when he is taken to hell by Yamarāja, those living entities who were hurt by him appear as animals called rurus to inflict very severe pain upon him. Learned scholars call this hell Raurava. Not generally seen in this world, the ruru is more envious than a snake.



SB 5.26.12: Punishment in the hell called Mahāraurava is compulsory for a person who maintains his own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment him and eat his flesh.

Answer 5

Hell is man's common grave, nothing more nothing less. The clergy are to blame for the false teachings of hell fire for eternity.



Hell:

A word used in the King James Version (as well as in the Catholic Douay Version and most older translations) to translate the Hebrew sheʼohl′ and the Greek hai′des. In the King James Version the word “hell” is rendered from sheʼohl′ 31 times and from hai′des 10 times. This version is not consistent, however, since sheʼohl′ is also translated 31 times “grave” and 3 times “pit.” In the Douay Version sheʼohl′ is rendered “hell” 64 times, “pit” once, and “death” once.



In 1885, with the publication of the complete English Revised Version, the original word sheʼohl′ was in many places transliterated into the English text of the Hebrew Scriptures, though, in most occurrences, “grave” and “pit” were used, and “hell” is found some 14 times. This was a point on which the American committee disagreed with the British revisers, and so, when producing the American Standard Version (1901) they transliterated sheʼohl′ in all 65 of its appearances. Both versions transliterated hai′des in the Christian Greek Scriptures in all ten of its occurrences, though the Greek word Ge′en‧na (English, “Gehenna”) is rendered “hell” throughout, as is true of many other modern translations.



Concerning this use of “hell” to translate these original words from the Hebrew and Greek, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (1981, Vol. 2, p. 187) says: “HADES . . . It corresponds to ‘Sheol’ in the O.T. [Old Testament]. In the A.V. of the O.T. [Old Testament] and N.T. [New Testament], it has been unhappily rendered ‘Hell.’”



Collier’s Encyclopedia (1986, Vol. 12, p. 28) says concerning “Hell”: “First it stands for the Hebrew Sheol of the Old Testament and the Greek Hades of the Septuagint and New Testament. Since Sheol in Old Testament times referred simply to the abode of the dead and suggested no moral distinctions, the word ‘hell,’ as understood today, is not a happy translation.”

Answer 6

Hell is the state of self-exclusion from communion with God. God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel. God gave us freedom to do good or evil. The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. The choice to do evil is an abuse of freedom which leads to the slavery of sin. God will not force a person to love him and to be with him in heaven, because he respects the freedom of his creatures.

Answer 7

God sent Christ to die for our sins. In accepting Christ's gift of salvation you are choosing Heaven and an eternity with the Lord. In rejecting this freely offered gift you are choosing an eternity in hell as payment for your sins. Each and every single one of us are deserving of hell because we are all sinners and we all offend God by our actions. However, if you ask for forgiveness with true repentance in the name of Christ, forgiveness will be given to you.



You always have a choice - you may not like the choice but you always have one. If you can believe in Heaven and accept that God can reward you, why is it so difficult to accept that there is an equal correlation on the opposite end of the spectrum which results in Hell? God does not send you to Hell - it is a choice you make by rejecting the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ.



You expect to be forgiven and given everything you want when you want it simply because God loves you otherwise He isnt showing His love? God has provided the route to salvation - He Himself died on the cross for our sins - all we have to do is accept that sacrifice. How much more do you expect Him to do? You think you're worthy of an eternity in Heaven with God when you are unholy and a sinner AND rejected His gift? What makes you so special? We have been told time and again that the wages of sin is death and an eternity in Hell and that the only way into Heaven is through Jesus Christ because He has already paid that price on our behalf. You choose to reject it then you must pay your own debts and suffer in Hell on your own - its your choice.

Answer 8

true love is letting ppl go. let them learn on there own if they so choose to do so. a parent who loves there kids does not spoil them. you teach them. if all you do is tell a child not to do something but dont punish them when they do it. you dont love them then.



teaching about hell is not to scare ppl. you are scared because you are convicted. if you dont believe in heaven or hell then it wont bother you. if you are living a christian life then you should not fear hell then. if you are scared about hell you must be convicted of something. when i hear about hell it makes me realize there are many going and i must try to do something and go out and witness and save souls. its like an inspirational talk.



and letting your child choose something does not make you not love them. if you tell them the stove is hot and they still touch it, that does not make you not love them. it is almost the opposite it is them not loving or trusting you.



God lets you choose heaven or hell. if you choose hell that shows you clearly dont love God then. not the other way around. He still loves you.



to place ppl in heaven or hell is wrong. however to share the Word of God is not wrong. if i showed you scripture that says drunkards and adulters are none of his and wont make it into heaven, and if you are getting drunk everynight you might feel i am telling you that you are going to hell. that is your conviction.



a lot of christians were living in sin but a true christian changes his life and asks for those sins to be forgiven and then turns away from those sins as well.



but to say you are going to heaven or hell there is only one who will do that and that is Jesus.

Answer 9

When I was a child at school I behaved myself because of fear of being caned. At home I behaved myself because of fear of my father's hand or slipper. When I began work I worked well because I feared being sacked if I did not.



Life has its pecking order and we obey rules regardless of where we fit in society, until and unless we reach the top and can make the rules ourselves.



God is the ruler of all things and His rules are fair and just but there is punishment for those who break them or choose to ignore them because they believe He does not exist. It is the decision of the individual which way to choose.



I learnt long ago that God's love is stronger than my fear. He wants obedience, yes, but that is because He loves us and wants the best for us. He also wants us to dwell with Him eternally but it's our choice if we don't.

Answer 10

free choice does exist in Christianity

and yes hell does exist but I am not forcing others to go to my religion

those Christians you are talking about have pride in themselves

whenever they see an atheist they say some illogical stuff

Christians are supposed to have humility and keep their word to themselves not say illogical stuff

I agree with you but keep it to yourself like a cool mature person

Answer 11

You don't have to be afraid of hell if you believe in Jesus Christ. Just understand the christians that say you will go to hell. Their just trying to warn you about it.



Lets say you are heading towards a covered pit. A guy comes along and warns you about it. Would you get offended?

Answer 12

It's not moral. It's an archaic form of brainwashing and terrorism.

Answer 13

it is important to know where one might end up of one CHOOSES to deny Jesus...