Shoud Hell be in the Bible??
I grew up in orthodox doctrine and tradition without ever hearing anyone challenge such beliefs...except...denominations, all under the "orthodox umbrella", coming against each others doctrine and tradition in order to strengthen their own particular doctrine and tradition. Doesn't such shenanigans put holes in the "orthodox umbrella" making their doctrine and tradition vulnerable?
"Orthodox Christianity" has deceived us in believing there has always been this harmonious consensus regarding "orthodox truth", and if you question that premise you will be single-handedly going against 2,000 years of what “those who are in the right and who are following the Spirit of God” believe and accept as truth...while in fact...even "Orthodox Christianity" do not agree on what is orthodox!
While I do believe that tradition and orthodoxy has a place in preserving the truths of God, much of what is called "Christian Orthodoxy" has persevered and has strongly implemented what man propagated to be doctrinal truth so has to put the fear of God in people by fear-mongering them in order to manipulate and control them, as a way to protect one's name-tagged groups own brand of orthodoxy...and to discourage valid questions from being asked about what their orthodox truth.
Because of the electronic information age we live in, there is no excuse for not confirming if the orthodox doctrines we believe are based on hearsay that is firmly ingrained in our minds as having "always being this way."
Take the doctrine of hell for instance, I have been warned by people that if one questions hell, they are rejecting what has always been a orthodox belief and have even been told that I am a prime candidate for such a place, yet the doctrine of the torture chamber of hell was not a widely held view for about five hundred years after Christ, particularly in the teachings of the early apostles and "Church fathers" such as Paul, Clement of Alexandria, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, and others.
It is said that the expansion and proliferation of the hell myth as the eternal abode of the vast majority of God's crowned creation, as a place of eternal punishment and suffering, originated in the Western Religion, namely by "Latin theologians and Church leaders from Rome..."most likely because of political expediency and as a means to control masses of people with fear of impending doom. Later it became an accepted partially because of the added fuel to the fire through imaginative works like Dante’s Inferno."
Dr. Ken Vincent, retired psychology professor from Houston Community College, and author of over one hundred books in the fields of psychology and religion, notes: The first person to write about “eternal hell” was the Latin (West) North African Tertullian (160–220 A.D.), who is considered the Father of the Latin Church. As most people reason, hell is a place for people you don’t like! Tertullian fantasized that not only the wicked would be in hell but also every philosopher and theologian who ever argued with him! He envisioned a time when he would look down from heaven at those people in hell and laugh with glee!
Dr. Vincent goes on to say, "By far, the main person responsible for making hell eternal in the Western Church was St. Augustine (354–430 CE). Augustine...was made Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. He did not know Greek, had tried to study it, but stated that he hated it. Sadly, it is his misunderstanding of Greek that cemented the concept of eternal hell in the Western Church. Augustine not only said that hell was eternal for the wicked, but also for anyone who wasn’t a Christian. So complete was his concept of God’s exclusion of non-Christians that he considered un-baptized babies as damned. When these babies died, Augustine softened slightly to declare that they would be sent to the “upper level” of hell. Augustine is also the inventor of the concept of “hell Lite,” also known as Purgatory, which he developed to accommodate some of the universalist verses in the Bible. Augustine acknowledged the Universalists, whom he called “tender-hearted,” and included them among the “orthodox.” Not only was Augustine somewhat the champion of the hell doctrine in the Western Church, he also had a major influence on the onset of religious bigotry and hate campaigns in the following centuries."
The English poet John Milton (1608– 1674) said, "...none of our concepts of hell can be found in the teaching of Jesus Christ!
The greatest influence on today’s hell theology via most modern Bible translations is attributed to Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. Jerome translated this version of the Scriptures from a very inferior Latin text in the late 4th century. According to Wikipedia: For over a thousand years (c. AD 400–1530), the Vulgate was the definitive edition of the most influential text in Western European society. Indeed, for most Western Christians, it was the only version of the Bible ever encountered. The Vulgate’s influence throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance into the Early Modern Period is even greater than that of the King James Version in English; for Christians during these times the phraseology and wording of the Vulgate permeated all areas of the culture.
When you realize that the hell doctrine was so late in being adopted by the Church and Scriptures, not to mention the introduction of a host of other vague “Christianized” words and concepts, the poorly constructed walls of orthodoxy are shaky to say the least. It was several hundred years after Jesus and the apostles that men began formulating many new Church doctrines and creeds, many are still a part of Christendom orthodoxy to this day. Had our old English Bibles been translated directly out of the Greek instead of Latin, it’s very probable that the doctrine of eternal torment would never have found its way into our modern Bibles and preaches as the Gospel truth.
As time went by, the Bible was translated and re-translated into Latin (mainly from Greek), and more than twelve centuries later translated into English (from Greek and Hebrew) with the advent of the original King James in the 1600s.
I wonder...did the morphing of people's beliefs and language changes influenced each Bible version that came along. In his book, The Bible in English: its history and influence, David Daniell notes that when King James gave the translators instructions for working on his King James Authorized Version in 1604, he intended to make sure that the new version would “conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.” Since then, it has undergone over 400 more years of translator interventions and theological interpretations. When you think of how many people, opinions, doctrines, misunderstandings, language barriers, as well as political, theological and religious agendas may have worked into the mix over some 2,000 years, it’s hard to believe (and shouldn’t be believed) that the Bible maintained its inerrancy and infallibility or remained true to God's plan for humanity.
In fact, even Scriptures themselves never claim inerrancy. People primarily depend on two verses to build a case for Bible inerrancy. “All Scripture is inspired by God” (lit. “God-breathed,” 2 Tim. 3:16), and “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:18).
Is either of those verses claiming biblical inerrancy? The Scriptures, as given originally, may be inspired; and nothing God has said will pass away until it is fulfilled. We have read too much into those verses. In fact, when 2 Timothy was written, the only Scriptures available were the first five books of the Old testament.
If our Bibles are truly translated accurately, without error and are the infallible "Word" of God, wouldn’t you expect that the different translations would have the same number of hell occurrences?
Here is the astonishing incongruity of how many times the word, “hell,” occurs in some of the more familiar versions:
KJV=54
NKJV=32
NLT=19
ES=14
NIV=13
Amplified=13
RSV=12
Darby=12
NABRE=0
WET=0
The New Testament in Geeek and English=0
YLT=0
TCNT=0
REB=0
WNT in Modern Speech=0
Jewish Publication Society Bible Olt Testament=0
And the list of translations that do not contain the word hell include many more.
If hell is really true and is such a major doctrine of the Gospel, why such inconsistency in different bible versions?
If God is actually losing most of His beloved creation, many of which are our beloved family members to suffer for eternity in the torture chamber of hell and only a few reaps eternal bliss, would that not make God the looser and Satan the winner?
What a devilish doctrine...in that...people actually believe that Satan is more powerful than God and damns more of God's loved people than God can save.
God forgive such people, for they surely do not know you or have confidence in your ability as the reconcile-er of ALL mankind as you said you are.
Well said.
ReplyDelete