Much of the talk about "Hell" in the Bible may very well be hyperbole. For example...
Matthew 5:29
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Jesus isn't literally saying that we should maim ourselves to ensure that we are saved. It's a calculated exaggeration. Hyperbole is defined as being:
hy·per·bo·le
[ hī púrbəlee ]
1.exaggeration: deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect, e.g. "I could eat a million of these"
When Jesus spoke of Hell, Jesus described a place where the punishment fits the crime and where the punishment eventually ends:
Luke 12:47-48
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
A literal approach to the Bible will create the most brutal of religions. When will we realize that "religion" is man's literalist attempt to interpret a spiritual divine revelation?
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