Why Many Religions Teach the Nonbiblical View of Eternal Torment (Hell)

Why Many Religions Teach the Nonbiblical View of Eternal Torment (Hell)

 

Below is a careful, historical, and theological explanation of why some religions reject eternal hell and how the doctrine of eternal conscious torment emerged, with special attention to early Christianity and the influence of Greco-Roman philosophy. I’ll keep this clear, structured, and balanced rather than polemical.

1. Why Some Religions Reject Eternal Hell

Religions (and Christian movements) that reject eternal hell generally do so for four major reasons:

1. Different Views of God’s Character

Many traditions conclude that eternal conscious torment conflicts with God’s revealed character as loving, just, and merciful.

Key reasoning:

• Punishment is meant to be proportionate
• Justice in Scripture is often restorative, not endlessly punitive
• Eternal suffering with no redemptive purpose appears inconsistent with divine goodness

This concern appears early in Christian history and remains central in:

• Annihilationist traditions (e.g., Seventh-day Adventists)
• Universal reconciliation traditions
• Judaism, which rejects endless punishment outright

2. Different Understandings of the Human Soul

A major dividing line is whether the human soul is inherently immortal.

Religions that reject eternal hell often believe:

• Immortality is conditional, not automatic
• God alone possesses immortality
• Eternal life is a gift, not a default state

If the soul is not naturally immortal, then:

• Endless torment becomes theologically unnecessary
• Final destruction (death) becomes coherent
• Restoration becomes possible

This distinction is crucial for understanding early Christian debates.

3. Scriptural Language: Death vs. Endless Life

Groups rejecting eternal hell emphasize that Scripture repeatedly contrasts:

• Life vs. death
• Perishing vs. eternal life
• Destruction vs. salvation

Rather than:

• Eternal life in heaven
• Eternal life in hell

From this perspective:

• “Eternal punishment” refers to eternal consequences, not eternal experience
• Fire is often consumptive, not sustaining
• Judgment results in finality, not perpetual suffering

4. Justice as Corrective or Final, Not Vindictive

Many traditions see divine judgment as either:

• Corrective (aimed at repentance and restoration), or
• Terminal (ending existence)

But not endlessly retributive.

This view dominates:

• Judaism
• Eastern Christianity (to a degree)
• Universalist traditions
• Annihilationist Christianity
• Many non-Western religions

1. The Historical Emergence of Eternal Hell in Christianity

The doctrine of eternal conscious torment did not appear fully formed in the earliest Christian era.

It developed gradually.

III. Jewish Background: No Eternal Hell

1. Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)

Ancient Israel did not teach eternal torment.

Key concepts:

• Sheol: the grave, the realm of the dead
• No reward/punishment consciousness
• Death = silence, rest, non-being

Punishment in Hebrew thought was:

• Temporal
• National
• Corrective
• Earth-focused

Eternal hell as later defined does not exist in the Hebrew Scriptures.

2. Second Temple Judaism (Intertestamental Period)

During this era (roughly 500 BC – AD 70), Jewish thought diversified.

Some writings introduce:

• Post-mortem judgment
• Fire imagery
• Limited punishment

But still:

• Punishment is usually temporary
• Destruction or purification, not endless torment
• Resurrection is bodily, not immortal-soul based

Mainstream Judaism never adopted eternal hell.

1. Early Christianity: Multiple Views Existed

The first several centuries of Christianity held diverse views of final punishment.

There was no single doctrine of hell.

1. Three Major Early Christian Views

By the 2nd–4th centuries, three views coexisted:

1. Annihilation / Conditional Immortality

• The wicked are destroyed
• Only the saved receive immortality

Held or implied by:

• Ignatius
• Arnobius
• Some early African theologians

1. Universal Reconciliation

• Punishment is corrective
• All souls are eventually restored

Explicitly taught by:

• Origen
• Gregory of Nyssa
• Clement of Alexandria

Gregory of Nyssa was later declared a saint, showing this view was once mainstream.

1. Eternal Conscious Torment

• Endless punishment for the wicked

Advocated increasingly in the West

1. The Turning Point: Greco-Roman Influence

The dominance of eternal hell is closely tied to Greek philosophy, especially Platonism.

1. Plato and the Immortal Soul

Plato taught:

• The soul is inherently immortal
• The soul survives death naturally
• Punishment and reward occur eternally

This idea was foreign to Hebrew thought but deeply influential in the Roman world.

Once Christians adopted:

• Immortal soul doctrine
• Dualistic body/soul thinking

Then eternal hell became:

• Logically necessary
• Philosophically coherent

If souls cannot die, they must exist somewhere forever.

2. Augustine: The Pivotal Figure

Augustine of Hippo (4th–5th century) was decisive.

He:

• Fully embraced Platonic soul immortality
• Argued eternal punishment must match eternal life
• Opposed universal reconciliation
• Used Latin translations that favored “eternal torment”

Augustine’s authority in Western Christianity:

• Cemented eternal hell doctrine
• Marginalized annihilation and universalism
• Shaped Catholic and Protestant theology

1. Why Eternal Hell Became Dominant

Several forces reinforced it:

1. Imperial Christianity

• Fear-based control became easier
• Eternal punishment discouraged dissent
• Clear boundaries enforced orthodoxy

2. Latin vs. Greek Christianity

• Western (Latin) Christianity followed Augustine
• Eastern (Greek) Christianity retained mystery and nuance

This explains why:

• Western churches emphasize hell more strongly
• Eastern Orthodoxy speaks of experience of God, not torture

3. Medieval Development

• Dante’s Inferno shaped imagination
• Art and preaching intensified fear imagery
• Folk theology hardened doctrine

VII. Why Some Religions and Christians Reject Eternal Hell Today

They reject it because:

1. It relies on Greek immortality, not biblical anthropology
2. It contradicts early Jewish belief
3. It was not universally held in early Christianity
4. It conflicts with God’s revealed justice and mercy
5. It often depends on metaphorical language treated literally
6. It creates theological problems:
   • Endless suffering with no purpose
   • Sin finite, punishment infinite
   • Victory of evil never fully undone

VIII. Summary Table

Issue	Eternal Hell View	Rejection View
Soul nature	Immortal by nature	Mortal unless given life
Justice	Retributive forever	Corrective or final
Fire imagery	Sustaining torment	Consuming or purifying
God’s victory	Evil preserved forever	Evil ultimately ended
Origin	Greco-Roman philosophy	Hebrew biblical worldview

 

Eternal hell is not the original or universal belief of biblical faith. It emerged through:

• Cultural translation
• Philosophical adoption
• Ecclesiastical authority

Religions and Christian traditions that reject it often argue they are not abandoning Scripture—but returning to its earliest moral and theological foundations.

If you’d like, I can next:

• Compare key biblical texts side-by-side
• Show how “eternal” was understood linguistically
• Or map which denominations historically shifted and why

 

The following is a  side-by-side comparison of the key biblical texts most often cited in the debate, showing how the same passages are read differently by those who teach eternal conscious torment (ECT) versus those who teach annihilation / conditional immortality or restorative judgment.
(Unless noted, Scripture quotations reflect the NKJV wording or its sense.)

1. Core Gospel Texts (Jesus’ Own Words)

Matthew 25:46

“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Punishment is everlasting in experience	Punishment is everlasting in result
Parallelism demands equal duration of torment and life	Parallelism is about finality, not identical process
Assumes immortal soul	Assumes immortality is only for the righteous

Key issue:
The Greek aiōnios (eternal) modifies punishment, not punishing. Scripture elsewhere speaks of “eternal judgment” (Heb 6:2) without judgment being an ongoing act.

Mark 9:43–48

“To go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Unquenchable fire means never-ending burning	Unquenchable means cannot be resisted until it consumes
Undying worm implies conscious suffering	Worm imagery signifies complete destruction (Isa 66:24)
Fire sustains life	Fire destroys, never sustains life in Scripture

OT background: Isaiah 66:24 describes dead corpses, not living sufferers.

Luke 16:19–31 (Rich Man & Lazarus)

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Literal description of afterlife torment	Parabolic warning using familiar imagery
Conscious suffering after death	Moral teaching about justice, not metaphysics
Intermediate state = final destiny	Intermediate state ≠ final judgment

Note: This occurs before resurrection and judgment, and uses imagery found in Jewish parables of the time.

1. Apostolic Teaching (Paul & Others)

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life…”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
“Death” = separation, not literal death	Death means death—loss of life
Both righteous and wicked live forever	Only righteous receive eternal life
Eternal life ≠ opposite of death	Life vs death is the core contrast

2 Thessalonians 1:9

“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord…”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Destruction means ruined but conscious	Destruction means destroyed
“Everlasting” modifies torment	“Everlasting” modifies destruction’s finality
Presence = separation	Destruction removes existence, not proximity

Philippians 3:19

“Whose end is destruction…”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Destruction = endless ruin	End means termination
End never actually arrives	End is literal

III. Universal Language About the Wicked

John 3:16

“…should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Perish = eternal conscious misery	Perish = cease to live
Both groups exist forever	Only believers receive immortality

Matthew 10:28

“Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Destroy = ruin without ending existence	Destroy = kill completely
Soul indestructible	Soul is destructible
Hell preserves life	Hell ends life

This verse is one of the strongest texts against inherent immortality.

1. Old Testament Foundations

Malachi 4:1–3

“The wicked…shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Metaphorical only	Literal final outcome
Fire never finishes its work	Fire completes its work
Wicked remain alive	Wicked become ashes

Psalm 37

“The wicked shall perish…they shall vanish…like smoke they vanish away.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Poetic exaggeration	Repeated literal emphasis
Disappearance ≠ nonexistence	Vanish = gone

1. Apocalyptic Imagery (Revelation)

Revelation 14:10–11

“The smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever…”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Torment continues forever	Smoke rises forever = memorial of destruction
Literal conscious suffering	OT imagery (Isa 34:9–10)
Fire never ends	Fire’s effects are eternal

Revelation 20:14–15

“This is the second death.”

Eternal Torment Reading	Conditional / Annihilation Reading
Death that never kills	Death that permanently kills
Metaphorical death	Literal final death
Life continues in misery	Life ends

1. Theological Summary in One Table

Question	Eternal Torment View	Annihilation / Conditional View
What is the penalty of sin?	Eternal suffering	Death
Who receives immortality?	Everyone	Only the saved
Meaning of fire	Sustains torment	Consumes completely
Meaning of “eternal”	Endless process	Permanent result
Final state of evil	Preserved forever	Eliminated forever

Final Observation

When Scripture is allowed to interpret Scripture:

• Life vs. death is the dominant biblical contrast
• Immortality is always a gift, never assumed
• Fire in Scripture destroys, it does not preserve
• “Eternal” consistently describes outcome, not ongoing action

This is why many scholars, early Christians, and entire denominations conclude that eternal conscious torment is not the clearest or earliest biblical teaching, but a later interpretive framework imposed on the text.