Hell is a Hoot

Oh yeah, I couldn’t resist. In the Celestine Chronicles; it’s a seven book series of Children of Adonai, I’m revisiting book 2, the Forgiven, where Lucifer has Miriam in Hell. He’d kidnapped her and after conversations galore and emotional challenges, surprise, surprise the two fall in love.
Then, the Lord of Heaven calls for her return to Heaven. Of course she was in hell in part because he allowed Lucifer to take her there to tempt her as he had Job centuries before. Not to test her faith but to test the devil himself to see if he could stand up to Miriam’s faith. He fell in love not having a clue he’s the one being tested here. 
Miriam’s also challenged seeing all the souls in hell and her compassion for them trips her heart. In wondering about hell and how we end up in that dark and fiery place, I went online and perused some of the reasons and I'm more confused by  what I read some of which will depend upon which church you attend or religion you believe in - one reason I gave this blog the title I did. Please don’t be offended or if you must....

1. Hell - unspeakable torment
The traditional perspective, the “traditional” view can be a cheap way - according to many (not all) evangelicals of trying to win the argument without proving the merit of their ideas.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has been around way longer, and have a different take on it. It doesn’t mean they’re right and evangelicals wrong, but let’s dispense with whose view is more “traditional.”
In any case, the “unspeakable torment” view says those who die without Christ experience unimaginable agony — and they’re fully awake for it. This view is the eternal conscious torment because most adherents believe it’s an unending state. There is no reprieve, no second chance.
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2. Hell - a ghost town - universalist
Christian vs generic universalism, both end in a nonexistent hell. Generic universalism says everyone is basically good and all paths lead to God.
Christian universalism says there’s only one way to God. It accepts the reality of hell, but believes those in hell are able to repent and escape.
There are, in fact, two varieties of Christian universalism:

• Confident: They are sure hell will be empty one day. God’s victory will be absolute and all-inclusive. 

• Hopeful: This is universalism. There is hope for everyone; it’s likely everyone will eventually embrace God.

​3. Purgatory now, hell later  
Those who die apart from Christ go to hell, though it isn’t hell - not yet.
Residents of this not-quite-hell can switch  from “damned” to “saved,” on an expiration date at final judgment, for all eternity.
Think of this hell as “Hades.” It’s rather like a waiting room for the dead.

4. Annihilation
Basically, unrepentant are ended at judgment, not endlessly tormented. Apparently it’s the official view of the Church of England. 

5. Conditional 
Not quite annihilation. Close. To most, annihilation implies God ends the unrepentant. Conditional immortality takes a different route to the same destination. It questions the assumption humans are inherently immortal. In fact, only God is immortal.
The notion we’re immortal — our souls cannot die — isn’t from the Bible. It’s from ancient Greek philosophy - everything physical is temporary (and evil), while everything spiritual is forever (and good). It’s known as Gnosticism, heretical according to the ancient church or whoever.

6. Subhuman existence
This view is something halfway between eternal conscious torment and conditional immortality. The more a person persistently, defies sins against God and others, the less they reflect the image of God so become less than fully human. They will persist in the afterlife as ex-humans. 
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And those are just the theories about the nature of hell. There are many more theories to consider about who will end up there.
Exclusivists say only those who consciously put their faith in Christ — or only those predestined to put their faith in Christ — go to heaven.
There are accessibilists who leave room in God’s kingdom for those who never had a chance to accept or reject Christ - God judges.
There are Christian pluralists who say God can save adherents of other religions — such people will meet Christ in the age to come and realize he was the one they were seeking.
There are weak and strong versions of Christian pluralism, with different understandings of just how far God’s undetected grace will extend.
And there are agnostics who insist we cannot know — like I used to say, “I’m just going to let God worry about it.” 
These views have found expression in the Christian tradition. Some are more popular than others. All of them appeal to Scripture for support and how they interpret scripture is individual and personal.
So when someone argues about heaven, hell, who goes where, and for how long — remember… it may not be as simple as we think. 

​      God knows so, put your trust in Adonai and his son Yeshu'a