And when people raise their children on this stuff, it can scar them for life. I don't try to trash anybody's views. GROSS: Do you feel that believing in hell scarred you? EHRMAN: Yeah. According to Jewish tradition, Gehenna was a valley outside of the city walls of Jerusalem that doubled as a trash dump, where garbage was continually burned. The Easter story is a story of hope that - in the Easter story, death is not the final word, that there's something that comes after death. But the pandemic, for me, is simply making it crystal clear why these are issues for so many people. At age 15, he became a born-again fundamentalist evangelical Christian. We have climate change and extreme weather and earthquakes and volcanoes. Ancient Jews thought that was true of us all. And he started thinking that, surely, he's going to be in Christ's presence during that time. Topics: Hell. When he was on trial, on capital charges - so it was a death sentence awaiting him - he was talking with his companions about what death would be, and his view is that it's one of two things. It was not created to be a place of punishment for people. What do major religious texts say about heaven and hell? - Avarice and Prodigality: The place for the greedy and the ungenerous; they must smash heavy weights together again and again. And so in the Old Testament, there's no idea that your soul goes one place or another because the soul doesn't exist apart from the body. And who doesnt enjoy a good sleep? But eventually, in Christianity, the idea was that since the soul is eternal, it's either rewarded eternally or it's punished eternally. But I personally think, probably, this life is all there is. His books such as "Misquoting Jesus" and "How Jesus Became God" challenge a lot of beliefs and common wisdom. That also is the view of Paul, that people would be destroyed if - when Jesus returns. And so I think that hell is something we need to fight against; heaven, I'm all for. He's a distinguished professor of religious studies at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the author of many books about early Christianity. And if you're thinking, but what about this passage in the Old Testament or what about that passage in the New Testament, let me just say we only had time to touch on a few of the points in Bart Ehrman's book, so if you want to know more about what he has to say about the history of the afterlife, I refer you to his book. When earlier I was saying that Jesus was an apocalypticist who thought that the world was going to come to an end, that God was going to destroy the forces of evil to bring in a good kingdom, that is precisely what the author of the Book of Revelation thinks, that - and the book is a description of how it's going to happen. Later Christians who came out of gentile circles adopted this view for themselves, and reasoned that if souls are built to last forever, their ultimate fates will do so as well. In the ancient world (whether Greek, Roman, or Jewish), the worst punishment a person could experience after death was to be denied a decent burial. It doesnt exist any longer. And in most gnostic religions, the idea is to get out of the shell, to escape the shell. Edwards, Jonathan. Dont be deceived, but turn to Christ and accept the salvation He offers you today. GROSS: Are there things in the Hebrew Bible that still support the idea of heaven and hell as people came to understand it, things that you can extract from the Old Testament that might not literally mention heaven and hell but still support the vision that emerged of it? And right, it kind of seems like that when you read it - when you just kind of simply read it. And it's probably not a place that people go to, per se. Since your neighbor is anyone you know, see, or hear about, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, true love means helping everyone in need, not just those in your preferred social circles. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2018. Paul was not a follower of Jesus during his lifetime, during Jesus' lifetime. COPYRIGHT 2023 BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY 5614 Connecticut Ave NW #343, Washington DC 20015-2604, Explore the worlds most intriguing Biblical scholarship. And so I don't try to talk people out of their view of heaven, but I think, actually, it's better off, you know, not living for what's going to happen after you die; it's better off living for what you can do now. Socrates himself expressed the idea most memorably when on trial before an Athenian jury on capital charges. He wasn't one of the disciples. What were the explanations in the Hebrew Bible for plagues? I know you're on sabbatical right now. And so I really believe that, and I'll probably always believe it. GROSS: So what do you believe about death now, about what happens after you die? About 200 before Jesus was born, there was a shift in thinking in ancient Israel that became - it became a form of ideology, a kind of religious thought that scholars today call apocalypticism. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. EHRMAN: I do in some ways. The - there are several beings that go into the lake of fire, but they are not human beings; they are the antichrist, the beast and the devil, and they are supernatural forces that are tormented forever. You could, I suppose, use the word plague, and the word, you know, plague is in the Hebrew Bible. The Christian belief in hell has developed over the centuries, influenced by both Jewish and Greek ideas of the afterlife. Solicitation Disclosure Statement Here, the circles of hell are laid out as nine circles, each punishing greater wickedness, until Dante and his guide, the poet Virgil, reach the center of the earth: - Limbo: The unbaptized and the virtuous pagans; similar to earth, but sufferers live in sorrow for being forever separated from God. One is they based their predictions on the Book of Revelation. Photo credit:Getty Images/SIphotography. When Jesus Christ died His soul went into hell.And in Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says: "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the HEART OF THE EARTH. For Socrates, death will be one of two things. Or, in more normal times, try to laugh it off. I'm going to be tortured for 30 trillion years for those 30 years? What Is Hell? How Does The Bible Describe Hell? (10 Truths) Where did hell come from in the Bible? - Search Answer I probably would have subscribed - I would have subscribed to either the view that God was upset and we needed to repent so that he would relent, or that the devil - it was the devil doing it, and we needed to pray to God for mercy and for him to intervene on our behalf. But these passages are not actually referring to hell. The word Jesus uses is Gehenna. The term does not refer to a place of eternal torment but to a notorious valley just outside the walls of Jerusalem, believed by many Jews at the time to be the most unholy, god-forsaken place on earth. Because the fire never goes out. And she holds a kind of seance. It is true that some poetic authors, for example in the Psalms, use the mysterious term Sheol to describe a persons new location. None of us likes thinking about death, but there are times when we have little choice. And the most famous of the Gnostic Gospels is Thomas. But he was also, like Jesus, an apocalypticist who thought that at the end of the age, there would be a resurrection of the dead. I'll talk with David Nott, who's been a trauma surgeon in conflict zones, including Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq, and trains doctors in conflict and natural disaster zones. Even though God is the ultimate ruler over all, he has temporarily relinquished control of this world for some mysterious reason. So now we're faced with a pandemic. There is a small valley called the Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, thought to be cursed because some of the kings of Judah offendedGod by burning their children as sacrifices to false gods in that place. Professor Cargill walks you through, with specific examples, how all of this evolved. An Excerpt from Billy Grahams New Book, Where I Am, Franklin Graham: Korean Peninsula Tensions Very Dangerous. From at least the time of Socrates, many Greek thinkers had subscribed to the idea of the immortality of the soul. Jesus spoke frequently about the coming judgment, warning about the consequences of rejecting the salvation He would give His life to provide. But will people be there? Even though the human body dies, the human soul both will not and cannot. It does psychological damage. Death isn't the end; when we die, we will enter eternity either with God in heaven, or separated from Him forever in the place the Bible calls Hell. You get it everywhere in the writings of the prophets in Amos and Isaiah, etc. And more questionswith answers from Professor Cargill! You mean I've got to live in this thing forever? Yes, youre right up to a point; God is a God of love. Wood engraving by Gustave Dor depicting Dantes Inferno, Canto XXXIV, in which Dante and Virgil encounter Satan in the ninth circle of hell. The vast majority of these people naturally assume this is what Jesus himself taught. By Billy Graham This famous sermon includes the parable of the ten virgins and the ten talents. The Adam and Eve Story: Eve Came From Where? They simply would no longer exist. The hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh writhes in agony at the prospect of spending eternity groveling in dust being eaten by worms. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. We'll be right back and talk more about the history of heaven and hell. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48). GROSS: One of the theses of your book about the history of heaven and how is that views of heaven and hell don't go back to the earliest stages of Christianity, and they're not in the Old Testament or in Jesus' teachings. We absolutely may do it to ourselves this time, but it won't be a prediction - a fulfillment of predictions of a prophecy; it'll be because of human stupidity and refusal to act in the face of crisis. But it's not a place where you continue to exist afterwards. Where did hell come from in the Bible? - Learn Answer You and I will live forever because God gave each of us an eternal soul or spirit. Most people just say, well, look - you know, it's a pandemic, and we better pay attention to our scientists, which is, obviously, the more socially satisfying answer to the question. And so, traditional Israelites did not believe in life after death, only death after death. And they had been raised with the idea that your soul lives on after death, and now they had a Christian model to put it on. His Apology (that is, Legal Defense) can still be read today, recorded by his most famous pupil, Plato. Levels of Hell - What the Bible Really Says - Bible Study Tools Wow is it different how various religious sectsand even within a particular religionviewed the concept of heaven and hell! [1] [2] Its character is inferred from teaching in the . Sin, according to him, is the byproduct of giving into ones greatest weakness their Achilles heel. God is love. Other books that will be opened on that day include all the deeds a person committed. What it says is that Samuel came up, but it doesn't say where he was, and it doesn't say if he was living at the time. EHRMAN: That is fair to say (laughter). It has terrified people. And we all just hope that it doesn't lead to even further disaster. If, when speaking of "hell," one is thinking of the current holding place of the unrighteous dead, Scripture simply does not tell us when that place was created. While it is a powerful image, the inferno of Dante is not an actual depiction of hell, and should not be taken that way. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. 6 Valuable Lessons from the Life of Samuel, 10 Verses from James to Deepen Your Faith. There are lots of different religions that people have called gnostic. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) The BAS Library is full of other online videos about Biblical archaeology and historyworld-renowned master . But then people started thinking, well, wait - is that fair? But the main thing is that I think that, in fact, it imposes emotional damage. I'm open to it, and I hope there is something after death, and if it is, it'll be good. You get that in the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. - Heresy: These souls spoke or acted against God or the church; trapped in flaming tombs. You teach in the - at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. And I said: Woe is me! At Gods core there's peace, love, movement, and friendship. In English, those are hell, purgatory, and heaven, or paradise. All rights reserved. So suffering now must be rewarded later, and wicked behavior now must be punished later. Death was not a source of terror or even dread. When Jesus was alive, he thought the end of days would be soon. Then it was dust to dust, ashes to ashes. But I take the Easter story as a metaphor that, even in the darkest hours when there looks to be no hope and it looks like it's simply the end of all things, there actually is a glimmer of hope and that something good can come out of something very bad. And thanks for having me back. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Who goes to heaven according to the Bible? And so I'm - my wife and I have been completely self-isolated for a week now, and we're going to stay this way. GROSS: And you say that for the ancient Jews, the fact that the Messiah didn't come, that was a turning point in beliefs about what happens after death, too. The most recent and memorable effort was NBCs smash hit comedy series The Good Place; but the humor even there was rooted precisely in terror, as Eleanor Shellstrop and her companions desperately worked to avoid the afterlife they deserved in the Bad Place and its eternal torments. Our greatest concerns, personal and national, are for survival. GROSS: Are there specific passages in the Hebrew Bible that support the notion of an afterlife? In the new book, "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife," my guest Bart Ehrman writes about where the ideas of heaven and hell came from. His new memoir is called "War Doctor: Surgery On The Front Line." Dante grouped people by a defining sin in his portrayal, and their punishment was appropriate to their great fault. In the Septuagint and New Testament, the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol, but often with Jewish rather than Greek concepts in . For Socrates, the classical worlds most famous pursuer of truth, it would mean endless conversations about deep subjects with well-known thinkers of his past. The Bible warns, All will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thessalonians 2:12). Plenty, however, tremble before the possibility of eternal misery. My dear elderly mother is a very good Christian, and she believes that she will die and she will go to heaven and she will see her husband. It'll be exponential. Jesus was concerned principally for the poor, the outcasts, the foreigners, the marginalized, and even the most hated enemies. This innovation represents an unhappy amalgamation of Jesus Jewish views and those found in parts of the Greek philosophical tradition.
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