Is Hell Biblical?
Does the Bible really teach the doctrine of eternal punishment known as hell? If you believe in Calvinism then you must believe that God has predestined about 99% of humanity to hell before they are even born. When you factor in the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese, etc it is easily 99% of the worlds population that is/was not saved. They are all in hell forever? When Jesus was walking the earth there were people living in North and South America, China, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe all of which never even heard of Jesus.
In recent times many theologians are starting to question the doctrine of hell. Some of them are David Reagan, John Stott, and F.F. Bruce. To the right are some websites, books and articles to help you understand why. It was during the time of Greek rule and Antiochus IV that the belief in the afterlife found its way into some strands of Jewish theology. Martyrdom gave rise to the hope of a resurrection and vindication for those who gave their life for YHWH. Prior to this, any belief in an afterlife was denied in scripture (e.g. Eccl 9:3-6). |