Two issues drove me away from Evangelical Christianity. One of those reasons was the evangelical church—with a few exceptions—choosing to make a power-hungry, un-principled, unholy alliance with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. I’ve criticized that move on many occasions and will continue to do so. But here, my focus will be on my other reason for leaving. And this reason is based on the common Christian belief about the End Times in general and about hell specifically.
A Hellish Doctrine
Apart from a miniscule minority, evangelicals, en masse, believe that every human being who does not—or did not—believe and confess that Jesus, the Son of God, died for their sins will spend eternity being tortured in a lake of fire—never mind that most of those people never heard the gospel message. And, simultaneously, they also contend that the God who conceived of and is carrying out this vicious, diabolical punishment plan is also patient, compassionate, and merciful.
I know this to be true because, for fifty years, I embraced these contemptibly contradictory beliefs. Like most other Christians, every time these obviously conflicting beliefs crossed my mind, I dismissed them. I had to if I wanted to remain in good standing in the church. There is no room within evangelicalism for anyone who dares to contradict the notion that unbelievers will suffer eternal, hideous torture in a place conceived of and created by the God most Christians also refer to as just and merciful.
Like virtually all other Christians, I had to ignore this major tenet of the faith, because to dwell on it inevitably led to a horrifying, nearly debilitating despair. My mind told me plainly that God could not simultaneously be loving and merciful and also vicious enough to create billions of sentient beings knowing that most of them would spend eternity in inescapable, hideous torment.
But while my rational thoughts argued against these dichotomous doctrines, my desire to remain in good standing with my tribe convinced me to suppress reason. Until I reached the boiling point. I then began a quest to learn more about a different doctrinal stance, one called Annihilationism (also referred to as Conditional Immortality). For me, the best way to learn something is to prepare to teach it to others. So, I began preparing a PowerPoint presentation to show why the traditional belief about hell is wrong and Annihilationism is what the Bible truly teaches.
Not a Salvation Issue
After completing the presentation, I was granted permission to present it at one of our leadership meetings for the church I helped lead. After watching and hearing my presentation, every member of the leadership team agreed that it made perfect sense, that it likely was correct. But they also said they couldn’t embrace it or let me teach it because it’s—I’m paraphrasing here—too controversial. And it’s a topic we can agree to disagree about because it’s “Not a salvation issue.”
Not a salvation issue?! I heard that phrase all too often, but it’s especially odious regarding this issue. How can billions of “unsaved” human beings spending eternity burning in a lake of fire, unable to die, not be "a salvation issue"? How can people just shrug their soldiers and dismiss such viciousness as “not a salvation issue”?
But as pitiful as this doctrine is regarding the billions of human lives, it’s made even worse by the damage it does to people’s view of God’s character. Anyone who hears this diabolical doctrine can choose one of three ways to respond to it. 1. They can dismiss the whole thing as religious nonsense. 2. They can do what most Christians do: accept it as confirmed biblical doctrine and then choose to banish it from their thoughts. 3. They can read the Bible with no preconceived notions and see that it clearly teaches Annihilationism.
What the Bible Really Teaches
The most frequently cited Bible verse teaches annihilationism. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What are the two contrasting points in this verse? They are 1. perish or 2. eternal life. Perish does not mean “live to be tortured eternally.” Perish means die, end of life. Another of the most frequently cited verses for evangelical Christians is Romans 6:23. This verse says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Again, the contrast is between life and death. The verse says nothing about eternal punishment.
Similarly, James 1:15 says, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Sin gives birth to (leads to) death, not eternal punishment. In the same manner, John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” And James 5:20 says, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Saved from death, not from eternal punishment.
The apostle Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Again, “perish” means die, not eternal torture. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel wrote, “For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.” The one who sins dies, he does not spend eternity crying out for mercy from his torment in a lake of fire.
These are but a few of the many passages that disprove the notion of eternal conscious torment in a lake of fire. Yet nearly every evangelical church throughout the world continues to teach this disgusting, God-defaming doctrine that turns people away from the faith.
Christians willing to approach the Bible with an open mind should be able to see that they’ve been deceived—and who is deceiving them.