What is hell like?

[Cerebrum123]

CARM has an article on the different degrees of punishment in hell:

https://carm.org/questions/other-que...unishment-hell

To me a mental punishment would be greater than a physical punishment -- knowing I made a mistake and it was too late to do anything about it.

I am in intense physical pain every day, and I can tell you that emotional and mental anguish is far worse than any physical pain I've experienced. Having one on top of the other can get pretty close to unbearable.

[Christian3]

I am in intense physical pain every day, and I can tell you that emotional and mental anguish is far worse than any physical pain I've experienced. Having one on top of the other can get pretty close to unbearable.

Have you ever done something wrong in the past and you still beat yourself up for it years and years afterwards? I can be really brutal on myself. We know we are forgiven by God, but it is hard to forgive ourselves.

People who listen to errant pastors, rabbis, imans, have a responsibility to check out what they say in order to know if it is the truth, so they have some responsibility for their choices and can't blame it all on their spiritual leaders.

[hedrick]

I think the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus shows convincingly that there is physical punishment involved. However, it's likely that there are gradations in hell, and it's also likely that the Rich Man in that story was on the worse end of the scale.

I'm far from sure how literally to take parables, but if we take this one literally it doesn't quite show eternal punishment.

That parable shows the rich man in Hades, not Gehenna. It's temporary. That it isn't after the final judgement is clear from that fact that he wants to send a message back to his brothers, who are still alive and clearly haven't been judged.

[KingsGambit]

If you wanted to take the parable of the rich man and Lazarus literally, it could not represent the final state of punishment. The final judgment would not have taken place because people are still alive in this life on earth within the parable.

[Obsidian]

Yeah, but why would the final punishment be lighter and easier than the temporary punishment?

[KingsGambit]

Yeah, but why would the final punishment be lighter and easier than the temporary punishment?

You're assuming that the parable actually does accurately depict the intermediate state instead of just being a parable. There are good reasons to dispute that. For instance, few people would hold that the saved can communicate with the damned. I don't see any more reason to assume it is a literal story than I do to think that Judges 9:8 teaches that trees can literally talk.

I'd be interested in doing a formal debate on this.

[The Remonstrant]

I am in intense physical pain every day, and I can tell you that emotional and mental anguish is far worse than any physical pain I've experienced. Having one on top of the other can get pretty close to unbearable.

Whilst I cannot say that I am experientially acquainted with chronic bodily pain, without elaborating, I can say that I do have personal familiarity with ongoing psychological suffering.

[The Remonstrant]

[A]ll I know is it is someplace nobody wants to spend eternity in[.]

Your assertion presupposes (1) the irreversibility of eschatological punishment, and (2) the deathlessness (i.e. immortality) of those who will be cast off into the Gehenna of fire. Universalists contest the former supposition; annihilationists argue against the latter.

[Sparko]

Your assertion presupposes (1) the irreversibility of eschatological punishment, and (2) the deathlessness (i.e. immortality) of those who will be cast off into the Gehenna of fire. Universalists contest the former supposition; annihilationists argue against the latter.

[Thoughtful Monk]

I have read about many different descriptions of Hell - physical suffering, emotional shame and regret, annihilation, etc. I have realized that no matter which is correct, I don't want to spend eternity there.

[The Remonstrant]

[A]ll I know is it [hell] is someplace nobody wants to spend eternity in[.]

Your assertion presupposes (1) the irreversibility of eschatological punishment, and (2) the deathlessness (i.e. immortality) of those who will be cast off into the Gehenna of fire. Universalists contest the former supposition; annihilationists argue against the latter.

Yes[,] it does. Because there is no indication otherwise in the [B]ible[,] as far as I can see.

⁹¹⁰¹¹[*]

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

[* All scriptural references are taken from the New International Version (2011).]

For an expansive, up-to-date study which demonstrates the scriptural support for the doctrine of annihilationism, see Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3^rdThe Evangelical Quarterlyhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2001-1_021.pdfRethinking HellRethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism

[Sparko]

For an expansive, up-to-date study which demonstrates the scriptural support for the doctrine of annihilationism, see Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3^rdThe Evangelical Quarterlyhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2001-1_021.pdfRethinking HellRethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism

wel i dont know if hel iz a litural playce of fyer and brimstown oar knot but I dew gnow that it iz nowt a plac i whant to vizit.*




*I just wanted to give you some more pleasure in correcting my spelling and grammar.

[Rushing Jaws]

Annas and Saphira being struck dead, the Philistine tumors, bear attacks, global flood, 10 plagues of Egypt etc. I don't see any evidence in the Bible that supports that God wouldn't use physical punishment, and a lot that shows He's used it in the past.

[The Remonstrant]

wel i dont know if hel iz a litural playce of fyer and brimstown oar knot but I dew gnow that it iz nowt a plac i whant to vizit.*




*I just wanted to give you some more pleasure in correcting my spelling and grammar.

[The Remonstrant]

Yes, there is the heavenly kingdom to be gained and the Gehenna of fire to be shunned.