Hell (detail) by Anonymous 16th Century 1 of 2 (582x800)

In Christian theology, Hell is the place or state into which, by God's definitive judgment, unrepentant

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

ners pass in the

general judgment General judgment is the Christian theological concept of a judgment of the dead. When the individual dies, general judgment holds that the person's final dispensation will await the general judgment of the dead at the end of the world, rather than ...

, or, as some Christians believe, immediately after death ( particular judgment).Cross, F. L., Livingstone, E. (editors), ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press. 2005), article "Hell"
/ref> Its character is inferred from teaching in the biblical texts, some of which, interpreted literally, have given rise to the popular idea of Hell. Theologians today generally see Hell as the logical consequence of rejecting union with God and with God's justice and mercy. Different Hebrew and Greek words are translated as "Hell" in most English-language Bibles. These words include: * "

Sheol Sheol ( ; he, ''Šəʾōl'', Tiberian: ''Šŏʾōl'') in the Hebrew Bible is a place of still darkness which lies after death. Although not well defined in the Tanakh, Sheol in this view was a subterranean underworld where the souls of the ...

" in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Hades" in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

. Many modern versions, such as the New International Version, translate Sheol as "grave" and simply transliterate "Hades". It is generally agreed that both ''sheol'' and ''hades'' do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the grave, the temporary abode of the dead, the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

. * " Gehenna" in the New Testament, where it is described as a place where both

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and body could be destroyed ( Matthew 10:28) in "unquenchable fire" ( Mark 9:43). The word is translated as either "Hell" or "Hell fire" in many English versions. Gehenna was a physical location outside the city walls where they burned garbage and where lepers and outcasts were sent, hence the weeping and gnashing of teeth. * The Greek verb (''tartarō'', derived from

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

), which occurs once in the New Testament (in 2 Peter 2:4), is almost always translated by a phrase such as "thrown down to hell". A few translations render it as "Tartarus"; of this term, the

Holman Christian Standard Bible The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004. Beginnings The roots of the HCSB can be traced ...

states: "''Tartarus'' is a Greek name for a subterranean place of divine punishment lower than Hades."

Jewish background

In ancient

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

belief, the dead were consigned to ''Sheol'', a place to which all were sent indiscriminately (cf. ; ; ; ). ''Sheol'' was thought of as a place situated below the ground (cf. ), a place of darkness, silence and forgetfulness (cf. Job 10:21). By the third to second century BC, the idea had grown to encompass separate divisions in ''sheol'' for the righteous and wicked (cf. the Book of Enoch),''New Bible Dictionary'' 3rd edition, IVP Leicester 1996. "Sheol". and by the time of Jesus, some Jews had come to believe that those in Sheol awaited the resurrection of the dead either in comfort (in the

bosom of Abraham "Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in the biblical Sheol (or Hades in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew scriptures from around 200 BC, and therefore so described in the New Testament) where the righteous dead abided prio ...

) or in torment. In the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

word ''Sheol'' was translated as '' Hades.'' By at least the late or saboraic rabbinical period (500–640 AD), ''Gehinnom'' was viewed as the place of ultimate punishment, exemplified by the rabbinical statement "the best of

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s are destined to Gehinnom." (M. Kiddushin 4:14); also described in Assumption of Moses and

2 Esdras 2 Esdras (also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra) is an apocalyptic book in some English versions of the Bible. Tradition ascribes it to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the , but scholarship places its composition between 70 and . It ...

.''New Bible Dictionary'' 3rd edition, IVP Leicester 1996, "Hell".

New Testament

Three different

words appear in most English translations as "Hell": The most common New Testament term translated as "Hell" is ('' gehenna''), a direct loan of Hebrew גהנום/גהנם ('' ge-hinnom''). Apart from one use in , this term is found exclusively in the synoptic gospels. ''Gehenna'' is most frequently described as a place of punishment (e.g., Matthew 5:22, ; ); other passages mention darkness and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (e.g., ; ).''New Dictionary of Biblical Theology''; IVP Leicester 2000, "Hell" Apart from the use of the term ''gehenna'' (translated as "Hell" or "Hell fire" in most English translations of the Bible; sometimes transliterated, or translated differently) the Johannine writings refer to the destiny of the wicked in terms of "perishing", "death" and "condemnation" or "judgment".

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

speaks of "wrath" and "everlasting destruction" (cf. ; ), while the general epistles use a range of terms and images including "raging fire" (), "destruction" (), "eternal fire" () and "blackest darkness" (). The

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

contains the image of a " lake of fire" and "burning sulphur" where "the devil, the beast, and

false prophet In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneou ...

" will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever" () along with those who worship the beast or receive its mark (). The New Testament also uses the Greek word '' hades'', usually to refer to the abode of the dead (e.g., ; ). Only one passage describes ''hades'' as a place of torment, the parable of

Lazarus and Dives The rich man and Lazarus (also called the parable of Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives) is a parable of Jesus from the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells of an unnamed rich man an ...

(). Jesus here depicts a wicked man suffering fiery torment in ''hades'', which is contrasted with the

, and explains that it is impossible to cross over from one to the other. Some scholars believe that this parable reflects the intertestamental Jewish view of ''hades'' (or ''sheol'') as containing separate divisions for the wicked and righteous. In ''hades'' is itself thrown into the "lake of fire" after being emptied of the dead.

Parables of Jesus concerning the hereafter

In the eschatological discourse of , Jesus says that, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will separate people from one another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats, and will consign to everlasting fire those who failed to aid "the least of his brothers". This separation is stark, with no explicit provision made for fine gradations of merit or guilt: In a parable about "The Rich Man and Lazarus" in , the poor man Lazarus enjoys a blissful repose in the "bosom of Abraham" (), while the rich man who was happy in life is tormented by fire in Hades (), the two realms being separated by a great chasm ().

Eastern Orthodox views

Some Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that Heaven and Hell are relations to or experiences of God's just and loving presence.God himself is both heaven and hell, reward and punishment. All men have been created to see God unceasingly in his uncreated glory. Whether God will be for each man heaven or hell, reward or punishment, depends on man's response to God's love and on man's transformation from the state of selfish and self-centered love, to Godlike love which does not seek its own ends. "Empirical Theology Versus Speculative Theology" by John S. Romanides part

/ref> There is no created place of divine absence, nor is hell an ontological separation from God. One expression of the Eastern teaching is that hell and heaven are dimensions of God's intensifying presence, as this presence is experienced either as torment or as paradise depending on the spiritual state of a person dwelling with God. For one who Misotheism, hates God and by extension hates himself as God's image-bearer, to be encompassed by the divine presence could only result in unspeakable anguish.Man has a malfunctioning or non-functioning noetic faculty in the heart, and it is the task especially of the clergy to apply the cure of unceasing memory of God, otherwise called unceasing prayer or illumination. "Those who have selfless love and are friends of God see God in light—Divine light, while the selfish and impure see God the judge as fire—darkness"

Aristotle Papanikolaou and Elizabeth H. Prodromou write in their book ''Thinking Through Faith: New Perspectives from Orthodox Christian Scholars'' that for the Eastern Orthodox: "Those theological symbols, heaven and hell, are not crudely understood as spatial destinations but rather refer to the experience of God's presence according to two different modes." Several Eastern Orthodox theologians do describe hell as separation from God, in the sense of being out of fellowship or loving communion.

Archimandrite Sophrony Saint Sophrony (23 September 1896, in Moscow – 11 July 1993, in Tolleshunt Knights), known also as Elder Sophrony or Father Sophrony was an archimandrite and one of the noted ascetic Christian monks of the twentieth century. He is best known a ...

(Sakharov) spoke of "the hell of separation from God". Paul Evdokimov stated: "Hell is nothing else but separation of man from God, his autonomy excluding him from the place where God is present." According to Theodore Stylianopoulos, "Hell is a spiritual state of separation from God and inability to experience the love of God, while being conscious of the ultimate deprivation of it as punishment." Michel Quenot stated: "Hell is none other than the state of separation from God, a condition into which humanity was plunged for having preferred the creature to the Creator. It is the human creature, therefore, and not God, who engenders hell. Created free for the sake of love, man possesses the incredible power to reject this love, to say 'no' to God. By refusing communion with God, he becomes a predator, condemning himself to a spiritual death (hell) more dreadful than the physical death that derives from it." Another writer declared: "The circumstances that rise before us, the problems we encounter, the relationships we form, the choices we make, all ultimately concern our eternal union with or separation from God." Chudo yudo

The Eastern Orthodox Church rejects what is presented as the Roman Catholic doctrine of

purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

as a place where believers suffer as their "

venial sin According to Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell as an unrepented mortal sin would. A venial sin consists in acting as one should not, without the actual inc ...

s" are purged before gaining admittance to heaven. Contrary to

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

, both Roman and Protestant varieties, the Christians of the East emphasize the mystery of God in his pre-eternal transcendence and maintain a tradition of apophatic theology, while the technical, cataphatic theology of scholasticism tends to be downplayed or viewed as subordinate. Thus, there is no single "official" teaching of the church apart from apostolic doctrine received and, when necessary, defined by Ecumenical Councils. The Eastern Orthodox positions on hell are derived from the sayings of the saints and the consensus views of the Church Fathers. They are not in agreement on all points, and no council universally recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Churches has formulated doctrine on hell, so there is no official doctrine to which all the faithful are bound. Beliefs concerning the nature and duration of hell are considered ''theologoumena'', or theological opinions, rather than dogmas of the Church.

Images

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...

pictured Hell as associated with "unquenchable" fire and "various kinds of torments and torrents of punishment". Depiction of Hell

Eastern Orthodox

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...

of the Last Judgment, most notably in the Slavic traditions, often depict tormented, lost sinners in Hell. Pages 66–69 o
John-Paul Himka's ''Last Judgment Iconography in the Carpathians''
provides an illustrated description of some such 15th-century Carpathian icons based on a northern Rus' prototype (p. 193). The depiction in these particular icons, a depiction that may have developed from 12th-century Greek and South Slavic depictions differentiating sinners and their punishments (p. 68), is referred to by Himka as "the new hell", "because various sinners are being punished in a squarish area with torments that did not appear in the standard Byzantine iconography" (p. 42). Icons based on '' The Ladder of Divine Ascent'', by John Climacus, show

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s ascending a thirty-rung ladder to Heaven represented by Christ, or succumbing to the arrows of demons and falling from the ladder into Hell, sometimes represented by an open-jawed dragon.

Roman Catholicism

As self-exclusion or final impenitence

The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' defines hell as self-exclusion from Heaven, a freely chosen consequence of final impenitence, i.e., deliberately and willingly refusing to repent of

mortal sin A mortal sin ( la, peccatum mortale), in Catholic theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. A sin is considered to be "mortal" when its quality is such that it leads t ...

at death and accept divine mercy: : To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033
: erfect

contrition In Christianity, contrition or contriteness (, i.e. crushed by guilt) is repentance for sins one has committed. The remorseful person is said to be ''contrite''. A central concept in much of Christianity, contrition is regarded as the first ste ...

remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible. The prisoners of hell are the impenitent, such as Satan; Satan's fall from Heaven is irrevocable because he chooses not to repent. No one is predestined to commit sin or to go to hell. After death, repentance is impossible.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

uses an analogy of buoyancy regarding damnation:

As a place or a state

State

The

Baltimore Catechism ''A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, Prepared and Enjoined by Order of the Third Council of Baltimore'', or simply the ''Baltimore Catechism'', was the national Catholic catechism for children in the United States, based on Robert Bellarmine's 161 ...

defined Hell by using the word "state" alone: "Hell is a state to which the wicked are condemned, and in which they are deprived of the sight of God for all eternity, and are in dreadful torments." However, suffering is characterized as both mental and physical: "The damned will suffer in both mind and body, because both mind and body had a share in their sins."

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

stated on 28 July 1999, that, in speaking of Hell as a place, the Bible uses "a symbolic language", which "must be correctly interpreted … Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." Some have interpreted these words as a denial that Hell can be considered to be a place, or at least as providing an alternative picture of Hell. Others have explicitly disagreed with the interpretation of what the Pope said as an actual denial that Hell can be considered a place and have said that the Pope was only directing attention away from what is secondary to the real essence of hell. Catholic theologian

Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, b ...

(1905–1988) said that "we must see that hell is not an object that is 'full' or 'empty' of human individuals, but a possibility that is not 'created' by God but in any case by the free individuals who choose it". The ''Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth'', with

imprimatur An ''imprimatur'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the R ...

of 2007, also says that "more accurately" heaven and hell are not places but states. Capuchin theologian Berard A. Marthaler also says that "hell is not 'a place'".

Place

Traditionally in the past Hell has been spoken of or considered as a place. Some have rejected metaphorical interpretations of the biblical descriptions of hell, and have attributed to Hell a location within the earth, while others who uphold the opinion that hell is a definite place, say instead that its location is unknown. In a homily given on 25 March 2007,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

stated: "Jesus came to tell us that he wants us all in heaven and that hell, of which so little is said in our time, exists and is eternal for those who close their hearts to his love." Journalist Richard Owen's interpretation of this remark as declaring that hell is an actual place was reported in many media. Writing in the 1910 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Joseph Hontheim said that "theologians generally accept the opinion that hell is really within the earth. The Catholic Church has decided nothing on this subject; hence we may say hell is a definite place; but where it is, we do not know." He cited the view of Augustine of Hippo that Hell is under the earth and that of

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

that hell is either on the earth or under it. The posthumous supplement to Aquinas' Summa theologiciaebr>suppl. Q97 A4
flags discussion of the location of hell as speculation: ''As Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xv, 16), "I am of opinion that no one knows in what part of the world hell is situated, unless the Spirit of God has revealed this to some one."''

Both

Other Catholics neither affirm nor deny that Hell is a place, and speak of it as "a place or state". Ludwig Ott's work "The Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma" said: "Hell is a place or state of eternal punishment inhabited by those rejected by God".

Robert J. Fox Robert Joseph Fox (December 24, 1927 – November 26, 2009) was an American priest of the Roman Catholic church. He was an author of religious books and tapes, and appeared on many Roman Catholic television programs and conferences. Fox also s ...

wrote: "Hell is a place or state of eternal punishment inhabited by those rejected by God because such souls have rejected God's saving grace." Evangelicals

Norman L. Geisler Norman Leo Geisler (July 21, 1932 – July 1, 2019) was an American Christian systematic theologian and philosopher. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries ( Veritas International University and Southern Evange ...

and Ralph E. MacKenzie interpret official Roman Catholic teaching as: "Hell is a place or state of eternal punishment inhabited by those rejected by God."

Nature of suffering

It is agreed that Hell is a place of suffering. The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states: Although the Catechism explicitly speaks of the punishments of hell in the plural, calling them "eternal fire", and speaks of eternal separation from God as the "chief" of those punishments, one commentator claims that it is non-committal on the existence of forms of punishment other than that of separation of God: after all, God, being above all a merciful and loving entity, takes no pleasure in the death of the living, and does not will or predestine anyone to go there (the Catholic stance is that God does not will suffering, and that the only entities known to be in hell beyond a doubt are Satan and his evil angels, and that the only suffering in hell is not fire or torture, but the freely-chosen, irrevocable and inescapable eternal separation from God and his freely given love, and the righteous, who are in heaven; thus the church and the popes have placed emphasis on the potential irreversibility of a mortally sinful life that goes un-absolved before one's death, and the dogma and reality of the place or state of hell). Another interpretation is that the Catechism by no means denies other forms of suffering, but stresses that the pain of loss is central to the Catholic understanding of hell. Augustine of Hippo said that the suffering of hell is compounded because God continues to love the sinner who is not able to return the love. According to the church, whatever is the nature of the sufferings, "they are not imposed by a vindictive judge" "Concerning the detailed specific nature of hell ... the Catholic Church has defined nothing. ... It is useless to speculate about its true nature, and more sensible to confess our ignorance in a question that evidently exceeds human understanding." In his book, ''Inventing Hell'', Catholic writer and historian

Jon M. Sweeney Jon M. Sweeney (born July 18, 1967) is an author of popular history, spirituality, biography, poetry, fiction for young readers, and memoir. His most frequent subjects are Catholic, particularly St. Francis of Assisi, about whom Sweeney has writte ...

is critical of the ways that Christians have appropriated Dante's vision and images of hell. In its review, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called the book "persuasively argued." An article on the same subject by Sweeney that was published on the Huffington Post's religion page was liked by more than 19,000 people, including

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels '' The Vampire Chronicles''. ...

Visions

A number of Catholic mystics and saints have claimed to have received visions of Hell or other revelations concerning Hell. During various

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian a ...

s, such as those at Fatima or at Kibeho, the visionaries claimed that the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

during the course of the visions showed them a view of Hell where sinners were suffering. At Fátima in Portugal, it is claimed that she told

Jacinta Marto Francisco de Jesus Marto (11 June 1908 – 4 April 1919) and Jacinta de Jesus Marto (11 March 1910 – 20 February 1920) were siblings from Aljustrel (Fátima), Aljustrel, a small hamlet near Fátima, Portugal, who with their cousin Sister Lúc ...

; that more sinners go to Hell because of sins of impurity more than any other. The biblical

mentions a lake of fire where the beast and all those marked with his number were placed. Columba of Iona is alleged to have on several occasions even been able to name particular individuals who he said were going to end life in hellfire for their sins and accurately predicted the way they would die before the event had even happened. A story recorded by Cluniac monks in the Middle Ages claimed that Benedict of Nursia appeared to a monk on one occasion and told the monk that there had just been (at that point in time) a monk who had fled the monastic life to go back into the world, and the ex-monk then died and he went to hell.

Call to responsibility

The Catholic Church teaches that no one is predestined to Hell, and that the church's teaching on Hell is not meant to frighten but is a call for people to use their freedom wisely. It is first and foremost a call to conversion, and to show that Humanity's true destiny lies with God in heaven.

Predestination

The Catholic Church, and the Catechism, repudiates the view commonly known as "

double predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...

" which claims that God not only chooses who will be saved, but that he also creates some people who will be doomed to damnation. This view is often associated with the Protestant reformer John Calvin.

Protestantism

Brooklyn Museum - The Bad Rich Man in Hell (Le mauvais riche dans l'Enfer) - James Tissot - overall

In historic

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

traditions, hell is the place created by God for the punishment of the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

and fallen

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

(cf. ), and those whose names are not written in the

book of life In Christianity and Judaism, the Book of Life (Hebrew: ספר החיים, transliterated ''Sefer HaChaim''; ''Biblíon tēs Zōēs'') is the book in which God records, or will record, the names of every person who is destined for Heaven and th ...

(cf. ). It is the final destiny of every person who does not receive

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, where they will be punished for their sins. People will be consigned to hell after the last judgment. The nuances in the views of "hell" held by different Protestant denominations, both in relation to Hades (i.e., the abode of the dead) and Gehenna (i.e., the destination of the wicked), are largely a function of the varying Protestant views on the

intermediate state In some forms of Christianity the intermediate state or interim state is a person's existence between death and the universal resurrection. In addition, there are beliefs in a particular judgment right after death and a general judgment or last ...

between

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

; and different views on the

immortality of the soul Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the inte ...

or the alternative, the

conditional immortality In Christian theology, conditionalism or conditional immortality is a concept in which the gift of immortality is attached to (conditional upon) belief in Jesus Christ. This doctrine is based in part upon another biblical argument, that the human ...

. For example, John Calvin, who believed in conscious existence after death, had a very different concept of hell (Hades and Gehenna) to

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

who held that death was

sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

Eternal torment view

The historic Protestant view of hell is expressed in the

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the " subordinate standard ...

(1646), a Reformed confession of faith: : "but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." (Chapter XXXIII, Of the Last Judgment) The Book of Discipline of the Evangelical Methodist Church Conference similarly teaches: According to the Alliance Commission on Unity & Truth among Evangelicals (ACUTE) the majority of Protestants have held that hell will be a place of perpetual conscious torment, both physical and spiritual. This is known as the eternal conscious torment (ECT) view. This view is the traditional position of Anabaptist (Mennonite, Hutterite, Bruderhof, Amish, Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren and Apostolic Christian churches), Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Plymouth Brethren, Reformed (Congregationalist, Continental Reformed and Presbyterian churches), and Conservative Quaker denominations. Some recent writers such as Anglican layman C. S. Lewis and

J.P. Moreland James Porter Moreland (born March 9, 1948), better known as J. P. Moreland, is an American philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola Univ ...

have cast hell in terms of "eternal separation" from God. Certain biblical texts have led some theologians to the conclusion that punishment in hell, though eternal and irrevocable, will be proportional to the deeds of each soul (e.g., , ). Another area of debate is the fate of the unevangelized (i.e., those who have never had an opportunity to hear the Christian gospel), those who die in infancy, and the mentally disabled. According to ACUTE some Protestants agree with

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

that people in these categories will be damned to hell for original sin, while other Protestants believe that God will make an exception in these cases.

View of conditional immortality and annihilationism

A minority of Protestants believe in the doctrine of

, which teaches that those sent to hell will not experience eternal conscious punishment, but instead will be extinguished or

annihilated The eighth season of the television series, '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' premiered September 19, 2006 and ended May 22, 2007 on NBC. The series remained in its 10pm/9c Tuesday timeslot. With the introduction of a new partner for Detecti ...

after a period of "limited conscious punishment". A

phenomenalist view of immortality In metaphysics, phenomenalism is the view that physical objects cannot justifiably be said to exist in themselves, but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli (e.g. redness, hardness, softness, sweetness, etc.) situated in time and in sp ...

holds that there would be no experiential difference between eternal hell and limited conscious punishment. Prominent evangelical theologians who have adopted conditionalist beliefs include

John Wenham John William Wenham (1913 – 13 February 1996) was an Anglican biblical scholar, who devoted his professional life to academic and pastoral work. Two of his four sons, Gordon Wenham and David Wenham, are also noted theologians. Career Wenham wa ...

Edward Fudge Edward William Fudge (July 13, 1944 – November 25, 2017) was an American Christian theologian and lawyer, best known for his book ''The Fire That Consumes'' in which he argues for an annihilationist Biblical interpretation of Hell. He has been c ...

, Clark Pinnock, Greg Boyd, and

John Stott John Robert Walmsley Stott (27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011) was an English Anglican cleric and theologian who was noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He was one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974. In ...

(although the last has described himself as an "agnostic" on the issue of annihilationism). Conditionalists typically reject the traditional concept of the immortality of the soul. The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds annihilationism. Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as which states "the dead know nothing", and which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming. These verses, Adventists say, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber. Jehovah's Witnesses and

Christadelphians The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...

also teach the annihilationist viewpoint.

Other groups

Christian Universalism

Some today holding mostly Protestant views (such as

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational church, Congregational Minister (Christianity), minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature a ...

, Karl Barth, William Barclay,

Keith DeRose Keith DeRose (born April 24, 1962) is an American philosopher teaching at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he is currently Allison Foundation Professor of Philosophy. He taught previously at New York University and Rice University. ...

, Robin Parry, and Thomas Talbott) believe that after serving their sentence in Gehenna, all souls are reconciled to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and admitted to heaven, or ways are found at the time of death of drawing all souls to repentance so that no "hellish" suffering is experienced. This view is often called

Christian universalism Christian universalism is a school of Christian theology focused around the doctrine of universal reconciliation – the view that all human beings will ultimately be saved and restored to a right relationship with God. "Christian universalis ...

—its conservative branch is more specifically called 'Biblical or

Trinitarian universalism Trinitarian universalism is a variant of belief in universal salvation, the belief that every person will be saved, that also held the Christian belief in Trinitarianism (as opposed to, or contrasted with, liberal Unitarianism which is more usua ...

'— related to, but different from

Unitarian Universalism Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by ...

. See

universal reconciliation In Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ul ...

, ''

apocatastasis In theology, apocatastasis () is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection. In Christianity, it is a form of Christian universalism that includes the ultimate salvation of everyone—including the damned in hell and the devil. The ...

'' and the

Problem of Hell The problem of Hell is an ethical problem in the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, in which the existence of Hell (aka Jahannam or Sheol) for the punishment of souls in the Afterlife is regarded as inconsistent with the noti ...

. Though a theological minority in contemporary Western Christianity, many global Christians held this view throughout history (such as

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

, etc.) and some Orthodox theologians argue that it was once the theological majority view. Christian Universalism teaches that an eternal Hell does not exist and is a later creation of the church with no biblical support. Reasoning by Christian Universalists includes that an eternal Hell is against the nature, character and attributes of a loving God, human nature, sin's nature of destruction rather than perpetual misery, the nature of holiness and happiness and the nature and object of punishment.

Christian Science

Christian Science defines "hell" as follows: "Mortal belief; error; lust; remorse; hatred; revenge; sin; sickness; death; suffering and self-destruction; self-imposed agony; effects of sin; that which 'worketh abomination or maketh a lie.' " ( Science and Health with Key to the Scripture by

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning se ...

, 588: 1–4.)

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in an immortal soul that survives after physical death. They believe the Bible presents "hell", as translated from "

" and " Hades", to be the common grave for both the good and the bad. They reject the idea of a place of literal eternal pain or torment as being inconsistent with God's love and justice. They define " Gehenna" as eternal destruction or the "

second death The second death is an eschatological concept in Judaism, Christianity, and Mandaeism related to punishment after a first/initial death on Earth. Judaism Although the term is not found in the Hebrew Bible (the Canonical collection of Hebrew scri ...

", which is reserved for those with no opportunity of a resurrection such as those who will be destroyed at

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that others who have died before Armageddon will be resurrected bodily on earth and then judged during the 1,000-year rule of Christ; the judgement will be based on their obedience to God's laws after their resurrection. The

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...

view is broadly similar to the Jehovah's Witness view, except for the fact that it teaches the belief that the resurrected will be judged for how they lived their lives before the resurrection.

Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) teaches that the word "hell" is used scripturally in at least two senses. The first is a place commonly called Spirit Prison which is a state of punishment for those who reject Christ and his Atonement. This is understood to be a temporary state in which the spirits of deceased persons will be taught the gospel and have an opportunity to repent and accept ordinances of salvation.Doctrine and Covenants section 138
Latter-day Saints teach that it was for this purpose that Christ visited the Spirit World after his crucifixion (1 Peter 3:19–20, 1 Peter 4:5–6). Modern-day

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

clarifies that while there, Christ began the work of salvation for the dead by commissioning spirits of the righteous to teach the gospel to those who didn't have the opportunity to receive it while on earth. Latter-day Saints also believe that righteous people will rise in a "first

" and live with Christ on earth after His return."Chapter 46: The Last Judgment"
''

Gospel Principles ''Gospel Principles'' is a book that sets out some of the basic doctrines and teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The book is published by the LDS Church and is provided to its members as a personal study guid ...

'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2011). After the 1000 years known as the

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the individuals in spirit prison who chose not to accept the gospel and repent will also be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) and receive an immortal physical body, which is referred to as the "second resurrection". At these appointed times of resurrection, "death and hell" will deliver up the dead that are in them to be judged according to their works (Revelations 20:13), at which point all but the sons of perdition will receive a degree of glory, which Paul compared to the glory of the sun, moon, and stars (1 Corinthians 15:41). The Church explains biblical descriptions of hell being "eternal" or "endless" punishment as being descriptive of their infliction by God rather than an unending temporal period. Latter-day Saint scripture quotes God as saying "I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—Eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment." Latter-day Saints also believe in a more permanent concept of hell, commonly referred to as

outer darkness In Christianity, the "exterior darkness" or outer darkness is a place referred to three times in the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, and 25:30) into which a person may be "cast out", and where there is " weeping and gnashing of teeth". Generally, ...

. It is said that very few people who have lived on the earth will be consigned to this hell, but Latter-day Saint scripture suggests that at least Cain will be present. Other mortals who during their lifetime become sons of perdition, those who commit the unpardonable sin or sin "against the Holy Ghost", will be consigned to outer darkness. Near the end of his life, in a discourse called the King Follett Sermon, Joseph Smith taught that, "After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy." In other words, the unpardonable sin is committed by those who "den the Son after the Father has revealed him". However, according to the Latter-day Saint understanding, since most humans lack such an extent of religious enlightenment, they cannot commit the

Eternal sin In Christian hamartiology, eternal sin, the unforgivable sin, unpardonable sin, or ultimate sin is the sin which will not be forgiven by God. One eternal or unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), also known as the sin unto deat ...

, and the vast majority of residents of outer darkness will be the "devil and his angels...the third part of the hosts of heaven" who in the premortal existence followed

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

and never received a mortal body. The residents of outer darkness are the only children of God that will not receive one of three kingdoms of glory at the Last Judgment. It is unclear whether those in outer darkness will ultimately be redeemed. Of outer darkness and the sons of perdition, Latter-day Saint scripture states that "the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof". The scripture asserts that those who are consigned to this state will be aware of its duration and limitations.

Swedenborgianism

:''See Swedenborgianism § Hell''

Unity Church

The

Unity Church Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is an organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. It grew out of Transcendentalism and became part of the New Thought movement. Unity is known for its '' Daily Word'' devotional publi ...

of Charles Fillmore considers the concept of everlasting physical Hell to be false

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...

and contradictory to that reported by

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that the concept of eternal suffering is incompatible with God's character and that He cannot torture His children.https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/how-long-does-hell-burn They instead believe that Hell is not a place of eternal suffering, but of eternal death and that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such a
Ecclesiastes 9:5
which states "the dead know nothing", an
1 Thessalonians 4:13
which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber. Based on verses lik
Matthew 16:27
an
Romans 6:23
they believe the unsaved do not go to any place of punishment as soon as they die, but are reserved in the grave until the day of judgment after the Second coming of Jesus to be judged, either for eternal life or eternal death. This interpretation is called annihilationism. They also hold that Hell is not an eternal place and that the descriptions of it as "eternal" or "unquenchable" does not mean that the fire will never go out. They base this idea in other biblical cases such as the "eternal fire" that was sent as punishment to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, that later extinguished.

Biblical terminology

; Sheol:In the King James Bible, the Old Testament term ''

'' is translated as "Hell" 31 times, and it is translated as "the grave" 31 times. ''Sheol'' is also translated as "the pit" three times. : Modern Bible translations typically render ''Sheol'' as "the grave", "the pit", or "death". ; Abaddon:The Hebrew word ''

abaddon The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of de ...

'', meaning "destruction", is sometimes interpreted as being a synonym for "Hell". ; Gehenna:In the New Testament, both early (i.e., the

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

) and modern translations often translate '' Gehenna'' as "Hell".

Young's Literal Translation Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of '' Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible'' and ''Concise Critical Comments on the New Te ...

and the New World Translation are two notable exceptions, both of which simply use the word "Gehenna". ; Hades: '' Hades'' is the Greek word which is traditionally used in place of the Hebrew word ''Sheol'' in works such as the

, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Like other first-century Jews who were literate in Greek, Christian writers of the New Testament employed this usage. While earlier translations most often translated Hades as "Hell", as does the King James Version, modern translations use the transliteration "Hades", or render the word as allusions "to the grave", "among the dead", "place of the dead" or they contain similar statements. In Latin, Hades were translated as ''Purgatorium'' (

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

) after about 1200 AD,''Catholic for a Reason'', edited by Scott Hahn and Leon Suprenant, copyright 1998 by Emmaus Road Publishing, Inc., chapter by Curtis Martin, pg 294-295 but no modern English translations render Hades as Purgatory. ;Tartarus: Only appears in 2 Peter 2:4 in the New Testament; both early and modern Bible translations usually translate ''

'' as "Hell", though a few render it as "Tartarus".

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hell in Christian Beliefs Afterlife in Christianity Christian terminology