Heh, I just posted this in another thread, but it is probably more appropriate in this one. According to the Bible hell is basically death rather than eternal suffering. I won't deny that there is a long prevelant teaching of eternal suffering in the Christian church, but I don't believe that is what the Bible teaches. Here is what I posted in another thread:
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My point though is that the Bible doesn't depict hell as eternal torture. It depicts it as death or destruction, i.e. being destroyed by fire.
"Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." Matt. 10:28 (emphasis mine)
Consider also these two well known passages:
"...whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 (again empasis mine)
Preachers often portray the choice as being between heaven and hell. However the Bible portrays the choice as being between life and death. The alternative to life is not torture. It's death. Some people reinterpret death to mean torture. I don't. I believe death literally means death.
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