Biblical References
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages are from the NIVArchives
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Category Archives: hell
Inerrantists are My Brothers and Sisters in Jesus—Not My Enemies
I do not believe in biblical inerrancy. I think inerrancy is a very harmful belief, and I often demonstrate the errors of the assumption, or presupposition, of inerrancy. Of course, I get a lot of push-back from inerrantists and (though … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, fear, hell, inerrancy, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged angry God, enemy, homosexuality, John 13, LGBT, proof-texting, sexual abuse, spousal abuse
35 Comments
Belief in Biblical Inerrancy Must be the Second Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
Earlier we discussed that Angry God is a foundational harmful belief because it gives rise to other misguided, harmful beliefs. We can say the same about Inerrancy and for the same reason. In fact, the two are closely connected. Inerrancy leads … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, Bible, creationism, dispensationalism, evolution, fear, gays, God, hell, inerrancy, Jesus, legalism, love, Old Testament, Satan
Tagged angry God, Demons, LGBT, patriarchy, Penal Substitution, proof-texting, Rapture, YEC
84 Comments
A Gentle Alternative to Punishment in Hell for Those Who Reject God’s Offer of Eternal Life—Conditional Immortality
Some believers (like me) think it likely that everyone who ever lived will have opportunity, with a clear mind free of confusion and misinformation, to understand God’s love and his offer of eternal life. This might be during their lifetime … Continue reading
Posted in C. S. Lewis, conditional immortality, eternal life, hell, resurrection
Tagged Annihilation, free will, Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 19, John 3:16, Mere Chritianity, Plato, soul, universalism
81 Comments
Hopeful Universalism and a Gentle Alternative
Previously, we discussed whether God will punish anyone in eternal hell; and I concluded that the misguided idea of punishment in eternal conscious torment is inconsistent with God’s character and that the Bible does not even teach such a thing. … Continue reading
Posted in eternal life, hell, Paul, The Father
Tagged 1 Corinthians 15, 1 John 4, 2 Corinthians 5, C. S. Lewis, Colossians 1, John 12, John 3:16-17, Philippians 2, Romans 5, Romans 8, The Great Divorce, universalism
121 Comments
If We Are Free to Approach God Without Fear, What Becomes of Our Other Religious Fears—Like Hell?
To many believers God is love. This is the primary thing we know about God from Jesus—unconditional love. This is what Jesus told us about the Father and also what Jesus demonstrated in his own life as the representative of … Continue reading
Posted in atonement, fear, God, hell, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged angry God, Gehenna, Hades, Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 19, Penal Substitution
22 Comments
Belief in Angry God is Perhaps the Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
What is more central to our religious experience than our relationship with God? But some believers understand their relationships with God much differently than others do. Most of us believe God loves us and cares about us. We even talk … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, fear, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, Old Testament, The Father
Tagged angry God, Deuteronomy 28, harmful beliefs, Hebrews 10, Matthew 5, sermon on the mount
44 Comments
Judgment and Punishment in the Book of Enoch
Remember that Zoroastrianism contributed significant ideas to Jewish thought during the exilic and post-exilic periods that did not exist before in Judaism. Some of these ideas were current in Jesus’ day, such as: * A personalized adversary to God—Satan * … Continue reading
Posted in Enoch, God, hell, Jesus, judgment, Satan
Tagged 2 Peter 2, Book of Enoch, Book of Jude, Matthew 25, Michael, parable of sheep and goats, Raphael, Zoroastrianism
37 Comments
The Influence of Zoroastrianism on Jewish Thought in Jesus’ Time
In my first semester of college (1969) I wrote a term paper on Zoroastrianism. That paper affected my fundamentalist understanding of Satan and hell, though it did not come to fruition until several years later. It was clear to me … Continue reading
Posted in hell, Jesus, judgment, Satan
Tagged Ahura Mazda, Angra Mainyu, Babylonian Captivity, Chinvat Bridge, Demons, fallen angels, Zoroastrianism
49 Comments
What Did Jesus Mean by the ‘Eternal Fire Prepared for the Devil and His Angels’?
What Did Jesus Mean by the ‘Eternal Fire Prepared for the Devil and His Angels’? Last time we talked about the parable of the sheep and the goats. The parable is not about judgment or the end-times as many people … Continue reading
Posted in book of Revelation, hell, Jesus, Satan
Tagged 2 Peter 2, Book of Jude, Daniel 7, Isaiah 30, Matthew 25, Revelation 12, Revelation 20
32 Comments
Sheep, Goats, and the Bosom of Abraham
When I was a teenager, a guest minister preached on Sheol and hell pointing out that Sheol was transferred from where it was originally to somewhere else, and it was connected with the bosom of Abraham. He did not present … Continue reading
Posted in dispensationalism, hell, judgment
Tagged Bosom of Abraham, Luke 16, Matthew 25, parable, rich man and Lazarus, Sheep and Goats
121 Comments
If Most Everyone Will Have Eternal Life with God Anyway, then Why Do We Need to Share the Good News of Jesus?
Recently we discussed whether those who have not heard the good news or who even follow other religions might receive eternal life and live in God’s community after death—even if they never became followers of Jesus during this lifetime. My … Continue reading
Posted in eternal life, fundamentalism, God, hell, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, resurrection, the Good News, witnessing
15 Comments
Hell? Conditional Immortality? Something Else? What Happens to Those Who Reject God?
I agree with believers who suggest that God offers eternal life after death to everyone — even those who have never heard, and even those of other religions. Thus it is possible that all who ever lived could be part of … Continue reading
Posted in conditional immortality, eternal life, fear, hell, Kingdom of God, resurrection
Tagged Annihilation, Isaiah 66, Jeremiah 19, Plato, universalism
50 Comments
Doubting Thomas Could be My Patron Saint!
Do you have difficulty accepting some things believers claim with certainty as God’s very truth? Do you sometimes question things you were taught in church and Sunday school? Then you might be a doubter. Well I am a doubter too—and … Continue reading
Posted in doubt, hell, inerrancy, Jesus, legalism, resurrection
Tagged angry God, Doubting Thomas, John 11, John 14, John 20
21 Comments
Your Top 10 Favorite ‘Jesus Without Baggage’ Articles of 2016
Here are the top 10 Jesus without Baggage articles you made most popular last year. Most of them are from my series on sin early in the year. A couple are from 2013 but continue to make the top 10 every … Continue reading
Posted in favorite blogs, hell, Jesus, sin
Tagged Book of Enoch, crucifixion, loving the sinner, Old Testament God, Penal Substitution, sinner's prayer, the poor
1 Comment
5 Great Fears Believers Should Never Have
We mentioned before that many believers today are driven by fear—especially in very theologically conservative groups. This includes the fear of God, the fear of hell, the fear of making a mistake, the fear of being wrong, and the fear … Continue reading
How So Many Believers Completely Misunderstand God’s Love in John 3:16
I suppose most believers think John 3:16 is one of the most wonderful passages in the Bible—and I agree! This passage tells of God’s love for us in a very proactive way. This is why “John 3:16” is found everywhere: … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, baggage, God, hell, Jesus, love, The Father, the Good News
Tagged angry God, John 3:16, John 3:17-18, Penal Substitution
48 Comments
Has Some Believers’ Focus on ‘Getting Saved’ Replaced Jesus’ Message of the Good News?
When we are attracted to Jesus and want to follow him, how do we go about doing that? Many believers would answer, “Get saved by responding to a salvation presentation and praying some form of the sinner’s prayer admitting you … Continue reading
Posted in God, hell, Jesus, Kingdom of God, the Good News, the invitation, witnessing
Tagged Mark 1, Matthew 11, sinner's prayer
37 Comments
Isn’t it Violence for Jesus to Tell Us to Cut off our Hands to Avoid Punishment?–No!
Does Jesus promote violent acts? I don’t think so. Sometimes those who DO think Jesus promotes violence bring up a passage where Jesus tells us to severely injure ourselves. Mark 9 reports this saying of Jesus: If your hand causes … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, eternal life, hell, Jesus, Kingdom of God
Tagged Hebrews 12, Mark 10, Mark 9
27 Comments
“If There’s No Hell then I Will Sin All I Want!”
One day I spoke with an elderly believer who was a fundamentalist all her life, and the issue of hell came up in such a way that I shared with her that I didn’t believe eternal punishment in burning hell … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, sin, the Good News, witnessing
Tagged Do unto others, Love your neighbor as yourself, Mark 1, morality
62 Comments
The Best Blog Posts I Read in January-February 2016
Here is a list of some of the best blog posts I read in January-February that pertain to the themes of Jesus without Baggage. I hope you find a few articles here that are interesting and useful to you. Have … Continue reading
Posted in creationism, evolution, fundamentalism, gays, God, hell, inerrancy, legalism, love, Satan, sin
Tagged homeschooling, sexual abuse
11 Comments
Jesus Without Baggage 