This presentation reconciles an all-loving and good God with the concept of Hell

2. THE QUESTION: Christianity says that God is all-loving and kind, but if that’s true, how can He send people to Hell to be tormented for all eternity? It seems God can’t be loving at all if He sends people to Hell. “ There is no doctrine I would more willingly remove from Christianity than [Hell], if it lay in my power…” - C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

5. The reality of Hell…

6. Recent surveys on belief in Hell Harris Poll, Winter 2007; Pew Forum, Spring 2008

7. What is the first doctrine of God that’s denied in history? “ The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” … “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” – Genesis 2:16-17; 3:4

8. Unitarian Universalists – one example of denying Hell The UU’s started back in 16 th century with Socinus. The Socinian movement, first, denied the Trinity and said there was only one entity called God. The end result of this was that Jesus was stripped of His deity and he became nothing more than an elevated ideal of humanity. This is where the Unitarian part of their name comes from. Next, Socinus understanding of God’s character was that His Justice and Mercy are not connected – they are optional. Now which part do you think people don’t like? Justice! So what Socinus did was elevate mercy, dispose of the need for justice, and since Christ died for the sins of the whole world, everyone is going to be saved. In other words, no Hell… Some emerging church leaders (such as Doug Pagitt) hold to this: when you die, your spirit goes to God, and whatever was bad about you gets resolved. Everyone ends up with God.

14. The purpose of Hell…

15. What does the Bible teach about the purpose of Hell? “ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels ;” – Matt. 25:41 Originally prepared for the devil and demons, Hell now also serves as punishment for those who reject God.

17. Annhilationism – The complete ending of a person’s existence This is the doctrine that the unsaved will not suffer an everlasting conscious Hell. Also called conditional immortality . Unbelievers will be put out of existence after the final judgment. One of the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

18. Annhilationism – The complete ending of a person’s existence Excerpt from : “Letters from a Skeptic – A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity” , by Dr. Greg Boyd “ Your last letter put my mind a bit more at ease about who is going to hell, but it didn’t address the problem of hell itself. This is really the more fundamental question.... Now tell me, what the hell (excuse the pun) would be the purpose of torturing someone eternally? What’s the point? Obviously there’s no “lesson” to be learned .... The character of God is on trial (emphasis mine) in my life, and this very relevant evidence which needs to be considered.” … Boyd responds with views of hell, one being Annihilationist… “ Dear Greg - Your response about hell really helped. I especially liked that “annihilationist” view you mentioned. That was a major obstacle for me..... It seems to be the only loving and just alternative. Letting someone go on... strikes me as sadistic. (Then he continues with a follow up letter to his son after becoming a believer….) Well, as I told you over the phone, I finally “took the leap.” Hallelujah! Looking back on it, it seems that things really began to change for me when you convinced me of the Bible’s inspiration and helped me make sense out of hell. I’m not sure why, but I think it was at that point that I really started to “see the light.”

19. The population of Hell…

26. Objections to Hell…

31. Motivation of Hell…

34. Conclusions about Hell…