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¶ … Hell
Over the decades, theologians have been constantly debating the various interpretations of hell. This is because some will provide different explanations to understand what is happening and the lasting effects on the mindset of individuals. For instance, certain philosophers believe that hell is place full of flames, smoke and tremendous amounts of heat. They feel that its intensity increases the overall amounts of eternal suffering. This serves as a cautionary tale about what sinners can look forward to.
However, there are others who think that hell has a different look and feel. In some cases, they believe that it is: an analogy, a concept of purgatory or conditional immortality. To fully understand these contrasting interpretations requires comparing them with each other. This will be accomplished by examining the ideas from the book Four Views on Hell. Together, these elements will illustrate the shifting views and interpretations.
Brief Summary
The book is discussing different philosophies on hell and its actual meaning in religious doctrine. The most notable include: the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial and conditionalist views. Each one of these areas, provide unique insights about the concept and the impact it is having on theologians.
The literal views are supported by John Walvoord. He believes that hell is a place filled with flames, heat, smoke and tremendous amounts of oppression. This is based upon various passages from the Old and New Testaments (i.e. Exodus, Deuteronomy, Job and Isaiah). At the same time, he thinks that many Christians struggle with the concept of eternal life, living with God and the other alternatives. This is what creates tremendous amounts of confusion and debate.
The metaphorical perspective is taking a modernist interpretation by redefining...
In this case, William Crocket feels that hell is a place of continuous punishment. However, where he differs, is that many of the images and descriptions are utilized figuratively to demonstrate what will happen to those who go against God's philosophies on life.
The purgatorial views, believe that eternal destiny is determined the moment someone dies. In this situation, Zachary Hayes feels that there are varying degrees in deciding who will go to hell or heaven. This takes place by categorizing an individual, based upon their actions in varying degrees. Those who are not bad or good enough, will often go through some kind of cleansing process to get into heaven (i.e. purgatory).
The conditionalists believe there is a conscious torment in their lives. Clark Pinnocock argues that God is using hell as an avenue to perpetuate a continuing existence of everlasting life. This is takes place with God creating a sense of fear. Yet, the basic definition and images are continually evolving.
Critical Interaction
These different interpretations are showing how there are contrasting viewpoints about hell and the impact it is having on religious doctrine. For instance, Miles (2010) determined that the language and images in the Bible are designed to serve as a cautionary tale. This is taking place with key concepts showing tremendous amounts of pain and suffering. The main idea is to illustrate the way these insights will influence the actions of individuals. As a result, theologians will take a limited approach in understanding the role of hell. This is supporting a combination of the metaphorical and literal concepts.
Moreover, Khalil (2013) determined that different interpretations will often focus on religious doctrine. For instance, he found that Muslims will take a traditionalist view…
Bibliography
Kalil, Mohamed. Between Heaven and Hell. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kvanvig, Jonathan. The Problem of Hell. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
LeGoff, Jacques. The Birth of Purgatory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.
Miles, Todd. A God of Many Understandings. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010.
Biblical Interpretation In the Bible, there is a major focus on what is considered to be adultery and a woman who is taken as a part of these concepts. To fully understand different theological interpretations requires comparing the conclusions from Matthew 5: 17 -30, Job 31, John 8: 8- 12. Genesis 38, Number 5: 11 -- 31 and Hosea 4: 14. These insights will illustrate specific practices which are considered to
Hell Critical interaction with author's work Four Views in Hell is an anthology of four different kinds of views on Hell. The book was published in 1996 (originally in 1992) and was edited by William Crockett. The views presented in this book are literal, metaphorical, conditional, and purgatorial. All four authors have described the subject from different directions. Views are all based on teachings of Bible and the four theological concepts
As noted, this is an interesting book. However, an introduction to the subject as well as concluding remarks by Crockett would have been helpful. The reader is left in limbo at the end without any concluding comments. The introduction could have provided more information as a foundation of Christianity and the notion of hell and perhaps even how other religions view this. In addition to these four perspectives, there are
Hinduism and Christian Worldview: A worldview can be described as a person's interpretation or perspective of the world around himself or herself. While this perspective or interpretation is developed over time, it's usually influenced by various factors including personality and the environment. However, this concept has several varying definitions because it includes a variety of emotions, meaning, and probable outcomes. In some cases, a worldview is described as the unifying outlook
Hell Debate The debate over hell is a complex one, not so different than the multi-layered aspects of the matters of the Charismatic Gifts, Christology, Providence or the fate of the non-evangelized, etc. There are different views and facets to the issue, however, what is all the fuss surrounding the concept of Hell? Is it just the possibility of such a place that makes people so uneasy? Are people afraid
" Paul is explicit: any deviation from not even the divine law but merely the natural law will result in expulsion from Paradise -- just as happened to the first man and woman when they violated the only law that God gave them. Or we may look at Paul's epistle to the Romans: "God has given them up to shameful lusts; for their women have exchanged the natural use for that which