Where Did Our Modern View of Hell Come From? | Rethinking Hell, Week 7

Many Christians assume their understanding of hell came directly from the Bible—but history reveals a far more complicated story.

In Week 7 of Rethinking Hell, we trace the ideas, language, and cultural influences that helped shape the modern Christian imagination of hell. We examine what Moses taught about Sheol, what Jesus meant by Gehenna, Hades, outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, and the furnace of fire—and why none of these terms should automatically be defined as eternal conscious torment.

We also explore the influence of Greek philosophy, the differences between the Hebrew hope of resurrection and the Greek concept of an immortal soul, and the diverse beliefs found among the early Church Fathers. Finally, we consider how Augustine, Dante’s Inferno, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, and modern evangelical preaching contributed to the picture of hell many people inherited.

The goal is not to attack tradition or dismiss history. It is to carefully separate Scripture from later interpretation so we can return to the biblical text with fresh eyes—and read it through the lens of Jesus Christ.

How much of what we believe about hell came from the Bible, and how much came from someone else’s imagination?