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Originally Posted by Matthew Shea  Actually, your quote from John 5:28-29 contradicts your original statement. "those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgement" implies that a bad life can indeed lead to hell as a consequence of God's judgement. I would never call your argument hilarious, but Jesus himself warned of the dangers of Gehenna. As much as many people try to deny it, the idea of hell is central to Christian teaching as a consequence of not accepting Jesus. Interpretations of hell vary all over the map from a simple absence of God's presence to eternal fire and punishment ala Dante's Inferno, but the Bible is, in fact, clear on the existence of hell. |
The afterlife is presented in many different ways, though, depending on each part of the Bible. The OT is notably silent on the subject. Jesus speaks of 'Gehenna', which is quite different than the modern view of hell. The epistles do not mention hell, but rather destruction, which seems more like coercion than actual warning.