God Doesn't Send You To Hell -- YOU SEND YOURSELF TO HELL!

[LuminousTruth]

Originally Posted by hd4me

The only way that punishment of the wicked could be inflicted eternally would be to accept the Greek pagan viewpoint of immortality and indestructibility of the human soul and this is an idea that is not taught in scripture. Additionally, God would have to resurrect the "wicked" to immortal life so that they would be indestructible and hence undergo eternal punishment. However, the Bible tells us that only God has immortality within himself (1 Timothy 1:17) and that immortality is a gift (2 Tim 1:10). Also, while many view eternal punishment as a process the Greek adjective aionios( which is translated to eternal or everlasting in Matthew 25:46 ) when used with an action noun such as Kolasis (punishment in Matthew 25:46) refers to the result not the process. Christ is using a parable in Matthew 25:46 and he is contrasting two different pathways one leading to life without end and one leading to death without end. These are two results, two different destinations not processes. One additional thought is based on Moulton and Milligans Vocabulary of the Greek Testament which shows the meaning of the Greek word Kolasis was used to mean cutting out the deadwood or pruning. Hence, Kolasis used in Matthew 25:46 would be in line with the thought found in the Hebrew Scriptures about the wicked being cut off from God's people (i.e destruction not eternal punishment).

But then that idea would contradict with parable found in the Gospel Titled Luke of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Supposedly a Roman iteration of the Hebrew "Elazar," meaning "God aid" signifying anything from "El is my helper" to further than "El has aided"), unless there is some type of very long temporal hell that eventually leads to destruction.

They would have to be resurrected from unconsciousness of death, then punished, then destroyed (so they learn nothing from their punishment but are punished only as a basically needless castigation or vengeance even for crimes of negation). If death being real and final is the ultimate punishment, then the whole suffering of the rich who deny to help the poor would be a needless addition to their suffering for having made such unacceptable mistakes.

Of course, the parable is wrong because people would listen more the magical assertions from someone that clearly came back from the after-life (perhaps demonstrably immortal) in a miracle than from the writings of dead and gone spokesmen.

[hd4me]

Originally Posted by LuminousTruth

But then that idea would contradict with parable found in the Gospel Titled Luke of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Supposedly a Roman iteration of the Hebrew "Elazar," meaning "God aid" signifying anything from "El is my helper" to further than "El has aided"), unless there is some type of very long temporal hell that eventually leads to destruction.

They would have to be resurrected from unconsciousness of death, then punished, then destroyed (so they learn nothing from their punishment but are punished only as a basically needless castigation or vengeance even for crimes of negation). If death being real and final is the ultimate punishment, then the whole suffering of the rich who deny to help the poor would be a needless addition to their suffering for having made such unacceptable mistakes.

Of course, the parable is wrong because people would listen more the magical assertions from someone that clearly came back from the after-life (perhaps demonstrably immortal) in a miracle than from the writings of dead and gone spokesmen.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is the other Bible passage that is used to support the idea of hell found in Luke 16: 19-31. However, to understand it examine the context in which it is found because Jesus is talking about the Jewish religious leaders who enjoyed opportunities and spiritual advantages in contrast to the common people. If we back up a few verses and take note of Luke 16:14-15 we read the following, "Now the Pharisees (the Jewish religious leaders) who were money lovers, were listening to all these things and they began to sneer at him (Jesus). So he (Jesus) said to them: You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is considered exalted by men is a disgusting thing in God's sight." Soon after Jesus brings the point home in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man represents the Jewish religious leaders. Lazarus represents the Jewish common people who the religious leaders despised but who kept drawing near to Jesus. Despite the spiritual advantages and privileges the Jewish religious leaders enjoyed they have a change in circumstance from God's viewpoint. The rich man in hades (verse 23) represents the spiritual condition of those Jewish religious leaders. Also note that the KJV renders this verse as "and in hell he lifted up his eyes..." but the original copies of the Bible in Koine Greek use the word "ᾅδῃ" which is translated hades in English. Hades is the the correct translation not hell. Hades is not the same as hell. Hades simply means the invisible realm of all the dead. Thus the rich man (the Jewish religious leaders) are in hades (spiritually dead, deceased, degraded) in contrast to the common people who repent and follow Jesus (Lazarus) and enjoy a favored status from God's viewpoint.

Otherwise, if we are to take this parable as a literal description of a rich man in hell we would first ignore that the word hell is not in the earliest copies of the Greek text ( it's hades). Then, literally believe that plain water on one's fingertip would not quickly be evaporated by the fires of hell. That a mere drop of plain water could bring relief to a man suffering in a blazing fire and that all the people who are favored by God could literally fit in the bosom of a man. In light of all this one can reasonably conclude...it's a parable and it's not meant to be taken literally.