Editing Problem of Hell (section)

==Proposed answers==
===Annihilationism===
{{Main|Annihilationism}}
As with other Jewish writings of the [[Second Temple]] period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words, both translated "Hell" in older English Bibles: ''[[Hades]]'', "the grave", and ''[[Gehenna]]'' where God "can destroy both body and soul". A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the [[Lake of fire|Lake of Fire]] in a consuming fire, but which because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text has become confused with Greek myths and ideas. From the sixth century BC onward, the Greeks developed pagan ideas for the dead, and of reincarnation and even transmigration of souls. Christians picked up these pagan beliefs inferred by the Greek of immortality of the soul, or spirit being of a mortal individual, which survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, which is at odds and in contrast to the scriptural teaching that the dead go to the grave and know nothing and then at the end, an eternal oblivion of the wicked and an eternal life for the saints. Scripture makes clear that the dead are awaiting resurrection at the last judgment, when Christ comes and also when each person will receive his reward or are part of those lost with the wicked.

The Greek words used for those Bibles written in Greek, came loaded with ideas not in line with the original Hebrew, but since at the time, Greek was used as basically English is used today to communicate between people across the world, it was translated into these Greek words, and giving an incorrect understanding of the penalty of sin. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to [[Sheol]], the grave and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna which is the consuming by fire. So when the grave or the eternal oblivion of the wicked was translated into Greek, the word Hades was sometimes used, which is a Greek term for the realm of the dead. Nevertheless, the meaning depending on context was the grave, death, or the end of the wicked in which they are ultimately destroyed or perish. So we see where the grave or death or eventual destruction of the wicked, was translated using Greek words that since they had no exact ones to use, became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth associated with the word, but its original meaning was simple death or the destruction of the wicked at the end.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

[[Christian mortalism]] is the doctrine that all men and women, including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are not conscious after death. Therefore, [[annihilationism]] includes the doctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than [[tortured|tormented]] [[eternity|forever]] in traditional "Hell" or the lake of fire. Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]], the idea that a human [[soul]] is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the [[Second Coming]] of Christ and the [[resurrection of the dead]]. Such a belief is based on the many texts which state that the wicked perish:
:"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." {{bibleverse|John|3:16|KJV}} (KJV).
:"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been." {{Bibleverse|Obadiah|15–16|KJV|Obadiah 1:15–16}} (KJV).

Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked when they are consumed in the Lake of Fire at the end, leaving only the righteous to live on in [[immortality]].
Conditional immortality asserts that souls are naturally mortal, and those who reject Christ are separated from the sustaining power of God, thus dying off on their own.

This is seen in the texts making clear the alternatives at the end are to perish or to have eternal, everlasting life:
:"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." {{Bibleverse|Romans|6:23|KJV}} (KJV)

And that the consequence for sin at the day of judgment when God will judge both the living and the dead when He appears is death, not burning forever. God's gift is eternal life, different from the penalty of sin:
:"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." {{bibleverse|2 Peter|2:9|KJV}}. (KJV).
:"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." {{Bibleverse|Matthew|13:40|KJV}} (KJV).
:"So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." {{Bibleverse|Matthew|13:49–50|KJV}} (KJV).

The mortality of the soul has been held throughout the history of both Judaism and Christianity,<ref>{{Citation |quote= In the first place, there have not been a few, both in ancient and modern times, who have maintained the truth of a 'Conditional Immortality'. |last= McConnell |title= The Evolution of Immortality |page= 84 |year= 1901}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |quote= At the same time there have always been isolated voices raised in support of other views. There are hints of a belief in repentance after death, as well as conditional immortality and annihilationism. |last= Streeter |others= et al |title= Immortality: An Essay in Discovery, Co-Ordinating Scientific, Psychical, and Biblical Research |page= 204 |year= 1917}}</ref> with multiple biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text, have denied the teaching of innate immortality.<ref>{{Citation |quote= Many biblical scholars down throughout history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innate immortality. |last= Knight |title= A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists |page= 42 |year= 1999}}</ref>{{Sfn |Pool |1998 |p= 133 |ps= 'Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.'}} Rejection of the [[immortality of the soul]], and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the [[Reformation]] with [[Martin Luther]] himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his view did not carry into orthodox [[Lutheranism]]. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was [[Thomas Hobbes]] who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine.<ref>Stephen A. State ''Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion'' 2013 "The natural immortality of the soul is in fact a pagan presumption: "For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour, by contagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks, of an opinion, that the Souls of men were substances distinct from their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"</ref> Modern proponents of conditional immortality include as denominations the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Bible Student movement|Bible Students]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Christadelphians]], and some other [[Protestant]] [[Christians]].

===Free will===
Some apologists argue that Hell exists because of free will, and that Hell is a choice rather than an imposed punishment. Jonathan L. Kvanvig writes:<ref>{{cite book
| last= Kvanvig
| first= Jonathan L.
| title= The Problem of Hell
| publisher= Oxford University Press
|location=US
| year= 1994
| page= 120
| isbn= 0-19-508487-X}}</ref>

{{quote|[[C.S.Lewis|[C.S.] Lewis]] believes that the doors of hell are locked from the inside rather than from the outside. Thus, according to Lewis, if escape from hell never happens, it is not because God is not willing that it should happen. Instead, residence in hell is eternal because that is just what persons in hell have chosen for themselves.}}

Similarly, [[Dave Hunt (Christian apologist)|Dave Hunt]] (1996) writes:

{{quote|We may rest assured that no one will suffer in hell who could by any means have been won to Christ in this life. God leaves no stone unturned to rescue all who would respond to the convicting and wooing of the Holy Spirit.<ref>Dave Hunt ''In Defense of Faith'' Harvest House Publishers, 1996</ref>}}

Popular culture, for instance, the [[graphic novel]] series ''[[The Sandman (Vertigo)|The Sandman]]'', sometimes proposes the idea that souls go to Hell because they ''believe'' that they deserve to, rather than being condemned to it by God or Satan.<ref>Gaiman, Neil ''Season of Mists'' DC Comics/Vertigo, 1990 p. 18</ref>

===Universal reconciliation===
{{Main|Christian Universalism|Universal reconciliation}}
{{citations|date=October 2022}}
Universal reconciliation is the doctrine or belief of some Christians that all will eventually receive [[salvation]] because of the love and mercy of God. Universal reconciliation does not commit one to the position that one can be saved apart from Christ. It only commits one to the position that all will eventually be saved through Christ. Neither does universal reconciliation commit one to the position that there is no Hell or damnation—Hell can well be the consuming fire through which Christ refines those who turn from him (Matthew 3:11). Universal reconciliation only claims that one day Death and Hades themselves will be destroyed and all immortal souls will be reconciled to Him.

It was traditionally claimed by some western scholars such as the Universalist historian [[George T. Knight (Universalist)|George T. Knight]] (1911) and [[Pierre Batiffol]] (English translation 1914) that a form of universal salvation could be found among some theologians in early Christianity.<ref>Knight claims that in the first five or six centuries of Christianity, there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Cesarea, and Edessa or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality, and one (Carthage or Rome) taught the endless punishment of the lost. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc12.u.ii.html The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 1953, vol. 12, p. 96; retrieved 30/04/09]</ref> [[Origen]] interpreted the New Testament's reference (Acts 3:21) to a "restoration of all things", (Greek: [[apocatastasis]] of all things), as meaning that sinners ''might'' be restored to God and released from Hell, returning the universe to a state identical to its pure beginnings.<ref>Westminster Origen Handbook</ref> This theory of apocatastasis could be easily interpreted{{who|date=December 2010}} to imply that even devils would be saved, as was the case during the later Origenist controversies.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} Some Greek Orthodox scholars do not count [[Gregory of Nyssa]] (AD 331–395) as a believer in Universal Salvation,<ref>"We know well that all evil that happens admits of being annihilated by its opposite (Against Eunomius, Book I). Then he affirms apocatastasis stating that "The Son has accomplished the Father's will, and this, in the language of the Apostle, is 'that all men should be saved, '" (Against Eunomius, Book XII).</ref> although some do,<ref>e.g., [[Andrew Louth]], [[Hilarion (Alfeyev)|Hilarion Alfeyev]], [[Kallistos (Ware)|Kallistos Ware]], [[John Behr]], et al.</ref> given that multiple passages in his writings appear to explicitly affirm [[apocatastasis]].<ref>''Catechetical Discourse'', 26.8-9; ''Life of Moses'', 2.82, etc.</ref>

In the 17th century, a belief in [[Christian universalism]] appeared in England and traveled over to what has become the present-day US Christian Universalists such as [[Hosea Ballou]] argued that Jesus taught Universalist principles including universal reconciliation and the divine origin and destiny of all souls. Ballou also argued that some Universalist principles were taught or foreshadowed in the [[Old Testament]]. Critics of universalism maintain that the Bible does not teach universal salvation,<ref>Robin A. Parry ''Universal salvation?: the current debate'' p. 55</ref> while proponents insist that it does.

Recent examples of advocates for the position are [[Kallistos Ware]], a [[Greek Orthodox]] bishop and retired [[University of Oxford]] [[theologian]] who states that some of the 'Fathers of Church' postulated the idea of salvation for all, and [[Saint Silouan]] of [[Mount Athos]], who argued that the compassion and love of those in heaven and on earth will extend to eliminating suffering even in hell. In terms of Biblical citations, Father David A. Fisher, Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua
Maronite Church and professor of philosophy at [[Ohio Central State University]], has argued that total reconciliation seems to arise from the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians]] such as {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:22|KJV}}, "As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ", and {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:28|KJV}}, "God will be all in all."<ref name=stmaron>{{cite web|url=https://www.stmaron.org/The_Maronite_Voice_for_December_2011.pdf|access-date=July 2, 2014|title=The Question of Universal Salvation: Will All Be Saved?|first=David A.|last=Fisher|publisher=The Maronite Voice, Volume VII, Issue No. XI.|date=December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508152506/http://www.stmaron.org/The_Maronite_Voice_for_December_2011.pdf|archive-date=May 8, 2013}}</ref> Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include {{bibleverse|Lamentations|3:31–33|NIV}} (NIV), "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love, For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.",<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+3%3A31-33&version=NIV |title = Bible Gateway passage: Lamentations 3:31–33 – New International Version}}</ref> {{bibleverse|1 Timothy|4:10|NIV}} (NIV), "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.",<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+4%3A10&version=NIV |title = Bible Gateway passage: 1 Timothy 4:10 – New International Version}}</ref> and {{bibleverse|Luke|3:6|NIV}}, "And all people will see God’s salvation."

=== Theodicy ===
With regards to the problem of hell, as one that can be traced to the more fundamental theological dilemma of God and the existence of good and evil, [[theodicy]] offers its own answers. The main issue holds that if God is all good, powerful, and perfect, then how can he allow evil and, by extension, hell to exist? For some thinkers, the existence of evil and hell could mean that God is not perfectly good and powerful or that there is no God at all.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.plato-philosophy.org/teachertoolkit/the-problem-of-evil/|title=The Problem of Evil {{!}} Plato – Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization|work=PLATO|access-date=2018-05-26|language=en-US}}</ref> Theodicy tries to address this dilemma by reconciling an all-knowing, all-powerful, and omnibenevolent God with the existence of evil and suffering, outlining the possibility that God and evil can coexist. There are several thoughts or theodicies such as biblical theodicy, the theodicy attributed to [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Gottfried Leibniz]], Plotinian, Irenean, and Augustinian, among others. These differ in their respective arguments but, overall, these theodicies—as opposed to a defense that demonstrates the existence of God and evil or hell—seek to demonstrate a framework where God's existence is plausible. It is, therefore, a logical instead of evidential answer to the problem. A theodicy explains God's reason for allowing evil, that there is a greater good that justifies such permission.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Calvinism and the Problem of Evil|last1=Alexander|first1=David|last2=Johnson|first2=Daniel|publisher=Pickwick Publication|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4982-8476-9|location=Eugene, Oregon|pages=41}}</ref>