Does “Hell” Really Exist?
Right before Easter the Pope was quoted as saying there is no hell! And if that wasn't enough, it’s claimed he added the fact that bad souls just disappear. Needless to say, the Vatican went ballistic—they immediately went into a crisis management mode and proceeded to begin “reframing” this controversial statement.
You can’t help but wonder just what Pope Francis was thinking when he said this, as was quoted in the La Repubblica newspaper. According to the journalist who wrote that piece, Pope Francis said, “a hell doesn’t exist,” and bad souls are “not punished.”
Well, not surprisingly, this story caught on and “took off” on many of the social mediums like wildfire and caused a lot of “buzz.” However, much of it was squelched by claiming the interview was never granted and was the result of a “reconstruction” from a 93 year-old atheist reporter with a reputation of not using a tape recorder, but working off hand-written notes during interviews.
But regardless, this story does present an interesting question about the subject of hell since so much of what we understand about it comes from a lot of pagan influence and tradition. Have you ever looked into what the Bible actually says about hell and compared that with the traditional characterization of what we’ve been taught it is? Does the standard Catholic and Protestant teaching about hell being a place of eternal torment square with what the Bible teaches? Can it be substantiated with Scripture? And if so, where is the chapter and verse located?
Take a few minutes to listen to what Bill has to say about this teaching and take up the challenge and compare your understanding with what the Bible really says about this church doctrine.