Christian Universalist FAQ > What Is Hell? Nature & Purpose of Hell

What Is Hell? -- The Nature and Purpose of Hell

by Eric Stetson

Fran S. asked Eric by email (March 19, 2005):

Can you explain to me, or forward me to a reasonably short article, explaining what hell is?

Hi Fran,

Thank you for your question. What is hell? I believe the answer is very simple: Hell is the condition of not feeling love. Not feeling love for oneself, for other people, for God -- and especially, not feeling that God loves you.

Therefore, believing in a harsh God who burns people alive for eternity is in and of itself, a form of being in hell. Feeling anger and hatred towards others. Feeling a burning vengeance and a desire to see others tormented for their sins. Feeling a burden of unresolved guilt for your own sins, feeling unforgiven, feeling unforgivable. Feeling that no matter how hard you try to win His love, it will never be good enough, that God will never love you again. That is hell.

And that is what Jesus came to earth to free us from. To free us from the hell that is within our own minds and our own souls. Jesus taught that "the kingdom of heaven is within you." (Luke 17:21). So also is the kingdom of hell within us, too, if we believe in it and dwell in it.

If we do not experience punishment on earth for our sins that changes us and turns us away from wickedness, then we will experience it in the afterlife. That is also hell, which Jesus warned about. He said that people who do not help others, are not charitable, and show hatred rather than love will experience "age-lasting chastisement," a period of punishment after they die. This has traditionally been translated as "eternal punishment" or "eternal damnation" but that is NOT a correct translation of the original Greek text. The purpose of hell is to teach us a lesson so that we may grow up to be like Jesus -- sons of God, our Father in heaven. God only subjects us to suffering to make us grow and return to Him. It is not to torment us without end.

That is a short summary of my beliefs on the subject of hell. Three good articles to read to get more of a Biblical perspective are the following:

God's Perfect Judgment, by Ken Eckerty. The church has misunderstood the purpose of God's judgment, and consequently had misrepresented His character to the world. Divine judgment is for saving man, not condemning him.
The Power of Life or Death in a Greek Four-Letter Word, by Gary Amirault. Mistranslation of certain words in the Bible has led to the doctrine of eternal torment, the concept of an unpardonable sin, and a spirit-killing misunderstanding of God and His plan. Includes historical discussion of how Christians came to believe in an endless hell and why this belief has persisted.
Hell, by J. Preston Eby. This is a longer article. A philosophical and scriptural critique of the traditional doctrine of hell. Includes an interesting discussion of the idea that Jesus went and preached in hell, as taught in 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6.

I hope this helps.

Peace in Christ,
Eric

Fran S. wrote (March 20, 2005):

Thanks Eric.

One more thing. Is the typical UR [Universal Reconciliation] belief that hell is a place where one is rehabilitated, or is it a state of being? In other words, is hell a place in a real location?

Hi Fran,

Christian Universalists have different views of the exact nature of hell. Some believe hell is a real location, others believe it is more of a state of being. It depends how literally you take certain passages in the Bible. My own view is that hell is more of a state of being, but it also includes rehabilitation. It is by dying to self that we can live in Christ. This ego-death process is hell, and it is very miserable while it's going on, but in the end it works to rehabilitate the soul to live in the new life of Christ. I suppose that in the afterlife, hell could be like a place of darkness where you have to stay until you repent of your sins. It could also be some kind of exercises designed to show a person how it felt like to be on the receiving end of sin, like the people one has sinned against. Those are some of my thoughts. Personally, I do not believe hell is a literal place of pain, like being in a fire. I think the imagery of fire and brimstone in the Bible is symbolic for destruction of evil, purging and cleansing of the spirit.

Peace in Christ,
Eric

Feel free to send comments or questions to Eric Stetson by email: info@christian-universalism.com

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