You always have the right to debate or question that traditional belief in eternal hellfire. So these ten (10) Hellbusters defended the truth that Hell is not real. They can no longer be silenced. Learn how they've put the fire of hell out forever.
Mark Strauss
It was Augustine of Hippo and his book, City of God, published in A.D. 426, that set the tone for official doctrine over the next 1,500 years. Hell existed not to reform or deter sinners, he argued. Its primary purpose was to satisfy the demands of justice. Augustine believed in the literal existence of a lake of fire, where "by a miracle of their most omnipotent Creator, [the damned] can burn without being consumed, and suffer without dying."
In theological circles this doctrine is known as Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). Critics fault it for its lack of proportion. Why would a loving God punish a single lifetime of sin with endless lifetimes of torture? And, among sinners, does an adulterer merit the same punishment as a murderer? And what about the billions of people whose only sin was to follow a different faith?
Source: The Campaign to Eliminate Hell
Drew Stedman
It is not intellectually honest to claim something is true in the first place without evidence to back it up. Show me evidence of Hell first and then we'll talk. I spent much of my life floating around in Churches that preach Hell, and I have yet to see something that would qualify as real evidence for its existence to any self-respecting skeptic. That it is often further claimed that a non-believer's disbelief is actually them CHOOSING to spend an eternity in Hell further exacerbates this problem. I will not accept some cosmic or eternal responsibility for not believing in something for which there is no evidence. If a God exists and my eternal fate depends solely on me believing in him, then I would have to expect that, if he is a good and just God, he would not fault me for not believing in things for which there is no evidence.
When I am asked if I have evidence that Hell doesn't exist, I respond that I am under no obligation to provide evidence for its non-existence. This is not the way evidence works. This is a logical fallacy known as an appeal to ignorance. This is where the burden of proof is placed on the wrong side of a claim. The burden of proof rests with the positive claim. In this case, the claim is that Hell exists. This is an extraordinary claim, and the burden of proof lies purely with those who would claim that Hell is real. Because there is no evidence in favor of the positive claim that Hell is real, I feel perfectly comfortable in making the positive claim that Hell isn't real because I never had reason to assume its existence in the first place.
Source: Can You Prove That Hell Isn't Real?
Jayson Bradley
I can't resolve the idea that this God, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, intends to torture people forever for simply not believing. If you were to introduce me to a deity like that from any fantasy novel I'd say that god was diabolic.
Source: 5 Philosophical Arguments against an Eternal Hell
Josh de Keijzer
Those who reject the notion of eternal torment in hell do so because the Bible does not give enough warrant to believe that such a place with such torment actually exists or that it should be part of Christian doctrine. Of course these rejectors don't think there's no punishment, no justice, or setting the score straight. Of course these rejectors have a healthy respect for God's wrath against iniquity. But they just don't buy the whole eternal-torment-in-hell concept. Believing such a thing is believing more than is revealed and going further than Jesus' teachings. The Bible actually warns against adding to the Gospel (Revelation 22:18). On that basis many a doctrine ought to be removed from Christian theology.
Source: 6 Reasons Why Hell is Not Real
Justin Wesbow
Most Christian believers in the idea of Hell will tell you that it's a place of punishment for sinners and evildoers. But does that idea have a scriptural basis? According to Romans 6:7, "he that is dead is freed from sin." So if a person's sins are cleared with his or her death, then what's with the additional punishment of Hell? Well, Romans 6:23 goes on to state that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Note that there is no mention of sinners being condemned to everlasting torture, they simply don’t get the reward for living a righteous life. Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says that the punishment for those deemed wicked is not fiery torture, but destruction, "shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."
Source: 10 Biblical Reasons Why Hell Might Not Exist
Brett Gallaher
Now obviously many of you may be worried about "spiritual fire". Your body may be gone but your soul remains, right? God is pissed and wants your soul to suffer for all that crap you did with that filthy body of yours. Well, think about what "spiritual fire" would mean. If you are a soul and you can still feel pain, still have thoughts, still experience suffering and all the stuff that comes along with a spiritual Hell, then...
C'mon, people... you know this one...
If your soul provides all the comforts and discomforts of a body... then you never needed a body in the first place. God made the Earth for a bunch of meat-sack soul-containers to bump into each other and start wars and buy over-priced health insurance, for no reason. If God wanted you to suffer after you die, then why make a physical you at all? Why make a physical universe at all? If the universe matters at all, it matters more than our own physical presence within it.
Source: Four Reasons Why You Are Probably Not Going to Hell
John Wright
Even if we did decide that retribution is a valid form of divine justice, it cannot be disproportionate and also just. Evangelicals believe that the least of their sins would warrant Hell, all by itself. So a child who lies about doing their homework, for example, would be deserving of eternal torment just for that alone, rather than the punishment being, say, merely to be lied to in return. Not even those most committed to retributive justice would accept this utterly disproportional form of it if they didn't feel they had to. Moreover, when we see disproportional punishment within human societies, we instinctively and rightly consider it injustice. (Take Hitler, for an oft-cited example. He brutally slaughtered millions, out of what seemed like pure evil. But he didn't do it forever! His ovens have long been cold, his guns silent. His actions lasted a finite time. So, even eye-for-eye retribution against Hitler would only allow us to 'kill him back' a finite number of times. Hell for eternity – even for Hitler – would be disproportionate punishment for his sins.)
Source: 10 reasons I don’t believe in Hell
John Shore
To sentence to hell ninety-five percent of all people who ever lived for no other reason than that they died without being a Christian is absolutely and unequivocally wrong. It was wrong yesterday, it's wrong today, it will be wrong throughout all eternity.
If it's not wrong, then love has no meaning. Righteousness has no meaning. Justice has no meaning. Then no words, concepts or truths can have any meaning at all, since to God they must all mean something radically different from what they mean to us.
Source: If hell is real, then love has no meaning
Carol Meyer
Believing in hell doesn't promote righteous living or love of God, but an unhealthy fear for those brainwashed to believe it is true. It is especially cruel to inflict this terror on innocent children and the uneducated and susceptible. Didn’t Jesus go around saying over and over not to be afraid? Moving from fear to love and trust in God is a central message of the New Testament. I can't imagine how many lives have been ruined or devoid of joy because of all the fire and brimstone hurled at them.
We can readily see the arrogant and callous self-righteousness that a belief in hell engenders. The "saved" proudly assert that they are going to heaven, with nary a care that everyone else will suffer for eternity. They might even glory in the damnation of others. Come on. Can that kind of attitude, with its smugness and indifference to (or even glee in) the pain of others, possibly have a place in heaven and be pleasing to God? I think belief in a God who sends people to hell, no matter how cloaked in theological sweetness, creates cruel people. And it's been the justification for terrible atrocities throughout history.
Source: Debunking the myth of hell
Mercy Aiken
The Church has gotten used to thinking of God as Someone who designed a grotesque punishment called Hell and will send the majority of His creation there. It's as if to say, "God did the best He could". This is totally against the scriptural view of a wise and loving God who is sovereign, all-powerful, merciful, and victorious.
Source: A Case Against Hell
Whenever doomsayers insist that Hell is real and you're in danger of hellfire, let's quench their flame and remind them that God's true message is his undying love, not unending fiery anger. Then get out of Helldom, keep away from hot-tempered people!