Why The Christians Were Wrong About Hell
How Traditional Views Fail the Test of Biblical Truth
Hell.
Growing up in the conservative evangelical church, I was taught that Hell was a very real place of eternal conscious torment, where those who refused to believe in Jesus were cast into a lake of fire to suffer forever. The message was clear: believe the right things, follow the right path, or face unimaginable agony. Sermons, Sunday school lessons, and youth group gatherings all reinforced this idea — Hell wasn’t just a metaphor; it was a terrifying reality looming over every decision.
The fear of Hell shaped much of my early faith. It wasn’t about loving God or doing good. It was about avoiding punishment. In fact, when I became a “Christian” at the age of six, my only reason for making that choice was to avoid Hell, if I am honest. From then on, I lived in a state of perpetual anxiety: Was I saved enough? Did I believe hard enough? What if I doubted? What if I sinned?
As I got older, though, I started to question the narrative I’d been fed my whole life. I began to wonder why a loving God would create a place of eternal torment for people who, for reasons beyond their control, didn’t fit into the narrow path I had been taught. What about people born into different faiths or those who never had the…
