Quote Originally Posted by Pleater View Post
Is Hell actually mentioned in the bible, or is it something the church thought up? I tend to just remember the good bits these days.
It is, but probably not in the way(s) that many people seem to think it is. Without getting into the etymology of the terms used in the Bible, suffice it to say that in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the Devil and Hell are mentioned very, very little. Some theologians say that the Jewish people never believed in hell or the Devil... Now, I don't exactly agree entirely -- I think that it's not that they didn't believe it, but rather that a) their conceptions and definitions were very different to that what is portrayed as the modern, Christian idea of hell and the Devil, and b) they had very little use for the ol' bugger and preferred to devote as LITTLE time, space, and energy to such things as possible.

I tend to agree with that philosophy. I really don't understand this preoccupation and fascination that many people have about hell and Satan. I really don't. The Bible even teaches us NOT to focus on such things. From the New Testament, Paul's letter to the Philippians has THIS to say:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)