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{{short description|Ethical problem in religion}}
{{Philosophy of religion sidebar |God}}
{{Atheism sidebar |arguments}}
The '''problem of Hell''' is an [[ethics|ethical]] problem in the [[Abrahamic religions]] of [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], in which the existence of [[Hell]] or [[Jahannam]] for the punishment of [[soul]]s in the [[afterlife]] is regarded as inconsistent with the notion of a [[justice|just]], [[morality|moral]], and [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[omnibenevolence|omnibenevolent]], [[Omniscience|omniscient]] [[God|supreme being]]. Also regarded as inconsistent with such a just being is the combination of human [[Free will in theology|free will]]—on which the justification for [[eternal damnation]] for [[sin]]ners is predicated—and the divine qualities of [[omniscience]] (being all-knowing) and [[omnipotence]] (being all-powerful), as this would mean God (not humans) would determine everything that has happened and will happen in the universe—including sinful human behavior. 

C. P. Ragland of [[Saint Louis University]] writes in the ''[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' that the problem of hell is "a version of" the [[problem of evil]]. He defines the problem of hell: "If there is an omniperfect God—one that necessarily has the perfection of Goodness—then no one will be damned."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://iep.utm.edu/hell/#H2 | title=Hell &#124; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy }}</ref>

The problem of hell derives from four key propositions: Hell exists; it is for the punishment of people whose lives on Earth [[Divine judgment|are judged]] to have been [[Christian views on sin|sinful]]; some people go there; and there is no escape.<ref name="Kvanvig p.24-25">{{cite book |last=Kvanvig |first=Jonathan L. |title=The Problem of Hell |publisher=Oxford University Press|location= US |year=1994 |pages=24–25 |isbn=0-19-508487-X}}</ref>

==Issues and criticisms==
There are several major issues within the problem of [[Hell]].
* The definition of Hell.
* Whether the existence of Hell is compatible with the existence of a [[justice|just]] God.
* Whether Hell is compatible with [[Mercy#Christianity|God's mercy]], especially as articulated in Christianity.
* Whether Hell is compatible with the concept of an all-loving God.
* Whether any sin or combination of sins could warrant never-ending punishment or eternal torture.
* Whether [[Argument from free will|free will]] is compatible with God's omnipotence and omniscience.

Traditionally Hell is defined in Christianity and Islam as one of two abodes of Afterlife for human beings (the other being Heaven or [[Jannah]]), and the one where sinners suffer torment eternally. There are several words in the original languages of the Bible that are translated into the word 'Hell' in English. There are also a number of names in the [[Quran]] that translate as hell, perhaps the most common one being ''[[Jahannam]]''.  In at least some versions of Christianity there is a question of whether or not Hell is actually populated forever. If it is not, one must suppose that those populating Hell may eventually die, or that God will ultimately restore all [[immortal soul]]s in the [[World to Come]], i.e. Heaven, which would at least lessen the issue of divine injustice and deal with one of the key propositions of there being "no escape". This is known as the [[universal reconciliation]] doctrine. In Islam it is commonly thought that Muslim sinners will not spend eternity in Hell but spend time there to be purified of their sins before being allowed into Heaven.<ref name=JISYYHIU1981:93>[[#JISYYHIU1981|Smith & Haddad, ''Islamic Understanding'',  1981]]: p. 93</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book|title=The Islamic understanding of death and resurrection|last=Smith, Jane I.|date=1981|publisher=State University of New York Press|others=Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck|isbn=0873955064|location=Albany|page=93|oclc=6666779}}</ref><ref>A F Klein. ''Religion Of Islam''. Routledge 2013 {{ISBN|978-1136099540}} p. 92</ref>

The question of compatibility of free will on the one hand, and God's omnipotence and omniscience on the other, can be framed as:
{{quote|... "Does God know or does He not know that a certain individual will be good or bad? If thou sayest 'He knows', then it necessarily follows that the man is compelled to act as God knew beforehand how he would act; otherwise, God's knowledge would be imperfect...." (Jewish philosopher [[Moses Maimonides]])<ref name=maimonides>''The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics (Semonah Perakhim)'', edited, annotated, and translated with an Introduction by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, pp. 99–100. (New York: AMS Press), 1966.</ref>}}

An early Islamic school of thought known as [[Muʿtazila]] could not accept the orthodoxy of [[determinism]] since it meant that a person "could be punished for acts which God himself had commanded him to perform".<ref name=":0">[[#AGI1978|Guillaume, ''Islam'', 1978]]: p. 132</ref> Muʿtazila were then accused of the heresy of "dualism" because they gave human beings 'power' over their actions (free will), which made them the 'creator' of their works, and "thus encroached on the almighty power of God, for there would be two creators of actions".<ref name=AGI1978:133>[[#AGI1978|Guillaume, ''Islam'', 1978]]: p. 133</ref>

In some respects, the problem of Hell is similar to the [[problem of evil]], with the suffering in Hell equivalent to the suffering of victims of evil in the temporal world. Framed this way, the suffering of Hell is caused by [[free will]] and something God could not have prevented; or worse still is caused by the lack of free will, as God's omniscience—His knowing/determining all that will ever happen in His creation, including human acts of good and evil—makes free will impossible and souls [[predestination|predestined]], but God still decrees punishment in hell. The problem of Hell could be viewed as the worst and most intractable instance of the problem of evil.<ref>{{cite book
| last= Kvanvig
| first= Jonathan L.
| title= The Problem of Hell
| publisher= Oxford University Press
|location= US
| year= 1994
| page= 4
| isbn= 0-19-508487-X}}</ref>

If one believes in the idea of eternal Hell, unending suffering, or the idea that some souls will perish (whether destroyed by God or otherwise), author [[Thomas Talbott]] says that one has to either let go of the idea that God wishes to save all beings (suggesting that God is not omnibenevolent), or accept the idea that God wants to save all, but will not "successfully accomplish his will and satisfy his own desire in this matter" (suggesting that He is not omnipotent and omniscient).<ref>Talbott, Thomas, "Heaven and Hell in Christian Thought", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), forthcoming <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2017/entries/heaven-hell/> "Theists who accept the traditional idea of everlasting punishment, or even the idea of an everlasting separation from God, must either reject the idea that God wills or desires to save all humans and thus desires to reconcile them all to himself (see proposition (1) in section 1 above) or reject the idea that God will successfully accomplish his will and satisfy his own desire in this matter "</ref>

==Judaism==
{{See also|Sheol|Gehenna|Jewish eschatology}}
[[Judaism]] teaches that the soul continues to exist after death, and that it is subject to both reward and punishment after death.<ref>{{Cite book|last=R' Bachya ben Yosef ibn Paquda|title=Duties of the Heart, Gate 4, sec. 4|others=10th century|quote="Trusting in G-d regarding the reward in this world and in the next, which He promised to the righteous man for his service, namely, that He will pay reward to one who is fitting for it, and mete out punishment to one who deserves it, is incumbent on the believer, and is an essential part of perfect faith in G-d..."}}</ref> However, this punishment is held to be temporary, normally only lasting up to 12 months after death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mi Yodea, 2014.|url=https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/34882/should-kaddish-for-a-parent-be-said-for-eleven-or-twelve-months/34883#34883|access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref> After this period, the soul is able to enjoy the light of God in the afterlife. Because the punishment is temporary, the problem of Hell in the Christian sense is less applicable to Judaism. Both [[non-Jews]] and [[Jews]] have a share in the [[World to Come]], if they are [[Ger toshav|righteous]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Death – Non-Jews (Gentiles) in Olam Haba (Jewish Afterlife)?|url=https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/883/non-jews-gentiles-in-olam-haba-jewish-afterlife|access-date=2021-07-23|website=Mi Yodeya}}</ref>

==Christianity==
{{See also|Christian views on Hell}}
In Christianity, Hell has traditionally been regarded as a place or state of [[punishment]] for wrongdoing or [[sin]] in the mortal life, as a manifestation of divine justice. Nonetheless, the extreme severity and/or infinite duration of the punishment might be seen as incompatible with justice. However, Hell is not seen as strictly a matter of [[retributive justice]] even by the more traditionalist churches. For example, the [[Eastern Orthodox]] see it as a condition brought about by, and the natural consequence of, free rejection of [[Love of God|God's love]].<ref name="Orthodox Christian Homepage">{{cite web |url=http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/afterdeath.htm |title=Orthodox Christian Homepage |publisher=Home.it.net.au |access-date=2013-10-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020901031115/http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/afterdeath.htm |archive-date=2002-09-01 }}</ref>

In some ancient Eastern Christian traditions, (such as 7th century [[Syriac Christianity]]), Hell and [[Heaven (Christianity)|Heaven]] are distinguished not spatially, but by the relation of a deceased person to God's love.

{{quote|I also maintain that those who are punished in Gehenna, are scourged by the scourge of love. Nay, what is so bitter and vehement as the torment of love?...It would be improper for a man to think that sinners in Gehenna are deprived of the love of God...it torments sinners...Thus I say that this is the torment of Gehenna: bitter regret.|St. [[Isaac of Syria]], ''[[The Ascetical Homilies of Isaac the Syrian|Ascetical Homilies]]'' 28, Page 141<ref name="Orthodox Christian Homepage"/>}}

In terms of the Bible itself, issues of [[salvation]] and access to heaven or to hell are mentioned frequently. {{opinion?|date=February 2012}} {{discuss|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Problem_of_Hell#Biblical_references_to_hell_are_speculative_at_best.}} Examples include [[John 3:16]]
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." which tends to show the wicked perish and the saints have everlasting life or {{bibleref2|John|3:36|NIV}} ([[New International Version|NIV]]), "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them",<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3:36 | title=Bible Gateway passage: John 3:36 – New International Version}}</ref> and {{bibleref2|2 Thessalonians|1:8–9|NIV}} (NIV), "Those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Thessalonians+1%3A7-9&version=NIV |title = Bible Gateway passage: 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9 – New International Version}}</ref>

The minority Christian doctrine that sinners perish and are destroyed rather than punished eternally such as is found in John 3:16 "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.", is referred to as [[Christian mortalism]]; [[annihilationism|annihilation]] for those not awarded [[immortal life]], [[conditional immortality]] for those who are.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afterlife.co.nz/free-resources/what-is-conditional-immortality/ |title=What is Conditional Immortality? |publisher=Afterlife |date=2013-10-03 |access-date=2013-10-24}}</ref> This Christian view is found in early Christianity, resurfaced in the Reformation, and since 1800 has found increasing support among Protestant theologians.<ref>[[Richard Bauckham]] "[https://theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_universalism_bauckham.html Universalism: a historical survey]" (@ theologicalstudies.org.uk), ''[[Themelios]]'' 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54. "Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortality')." "Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment.3 Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians."</ref>

===Justice===
Some opponents of the traditional doctrine of Hell claim that the punishment is disproportionate to any crimes that could be committed. Because human beings have a finite lifespan, they can commit only a finite number of sins, yet Hell is an infinite punishment. In this vein, [[Jorge Luis Borges]] suggests in his essay ''La duración del Infierno''<ref>{{cite book|last=Borges|first=Jorge Luis|title=Discusión|year=1999|publisher=Alianza Editorial, S.A.|location=Madrid, España|isbn=84-206-3331-3|page=230}}</ref> that no transgression can warrant an infinite punishment on the grounds that there is no such thing as an "infinite transgression". Philosopher [[Immanuel Kant]] argued in 1793 in ''[[Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason]]'' that since morality lies ultimately in a person's disposition, and as disposition is concerned with the adoption of universal principles, or as he called them: "maxims", every human being is guilty of, in one sense, an infinite amount of violations of the law, and consequently an infinite punishment is not unjustified.<ref name="Kant1998">{{cite book|author=Immanuel Kant|title=Kant: Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason: And Other Writings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDRrfrtpJv4C|access-date=23 December 2012|year=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-59964-1|page=89}}</ref>

===Divine mercy===
Another issue is the problem of harmonizing the existence of Hell with God's infinite mercy or omnibenevolence which is found in scripture.

Some modern critics of the doctrine of Hell (such as [[Marilyn McCord Adams]]) claim that, even if Hell is seen as a choice rather than as punishment, it would be unreasonable for God to give such flawed and ignorant creatures as ourselves the responsibility of our eternal destinies.<ref>Richard Beck. "[https://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2007/03/christ-and-horrors-part-3-horror-defeat.html Christ and Horrors, Part 3: Horror Defeat, Universalism, and God's Reputation]". ''Experimental Theology.'' March 19, 2007.</ref> [[Jonathan Kvanvig]], in ''The Problem of Hell'' (1993), agrees that God would not allow one to be eternally damned by a decision made under the wrong circumstances.<ref>[[Jonathan Kvanvig]], ''The Problem of Hell'', New York: Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-508487-0}}, 1993</ref> One should not always honor the choices of human beings, even when they are full adults, if, for instance, the choice is made while [[depression (mood)|depressed]] or careless. On Kvanvig's view, God will abandon no person until they have made a settled, final decision, under favorable circumstances, to reject God, but God will respect a choice made under the right circumstances. Once a person finally and competently chooses to reject God, out of respect for the person's autonomy, God allows them to be annihilated.

===Catholicism===
====Official teaching====
The [[Catholic Church]] does not believe in the problem of hell, but believes - as dogma - that because God is all-good he condemns the impenitent to eternal punishment in hell at death and at the [[Last Judgment]]. This dogma was defined by the [[Council of Trent]]<ref>[http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch14.htm Council of Trent, Session 14, Canon 5]</ref> based on Jesus' teaching of the same during his public ministry and when "he descended into hell."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_two/article_5/paragraph_1_christ_descended_into_hell.html Catechism of the Catholic Church 633]</ref>

The church also teaches that hell is a place of punishment<ref>''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', 1035, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, {{ISBN|0-89243-565-8}}, 1994 – the revised version issued 1997 has no changes in this section</ref> brought about by a person's self-exclusion from communion with God.<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 1033, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, {{ISBN|0-89243-565-8}}, 1994</ref> Hell is the free and continual rejection of God's forgiveness of sins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#1037|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church 1037}}</ref> This rejection takes the form of the committing of a mortal sin without repentance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm#1861|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church 1861}}</ref> (This does not include [[original sin]], since it is not an evil deed, since no one is predestined to hell, and since [[Feeneyism]] is the heresy that non-Catholics and excommunicated Catholics cannot be saved)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church 1037}}</ref> A sinner, once in hell, will inevitably refuse to turn away from his mortal sin to God's forgiveness. Accordingly, hell must endure as chief punishment for this continuing lack of repentance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#1057|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church 1057}}</ref>

====Unofficial teaching====
Some theologians speculate about the reason for the creation and eternity of hell. A common argument made is from divine justice: as the righteous receive an eternal reward (God) for a temporary good deed, so the wicked receive an eternal punishment (loss of God) for a temporary evil deed. Another common argument is that the loss of God includes the loss of one's good inclinations and desires, so that all that remains is evil inclinations and desires (whereby the demons and the damned refuse to repent).<ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07207a.htm New Advent, Hell]</ref> 

[[Thomas Aquinas]] said that not all punishment is remedial or temporary, such as [[capital punishment]], and that hell fits this exception. He further said that, by being confined to hell, the wicked cannot commit sin among the righteous in heaven.<ref>[https://isidore.co/aquinas/ContraGentiles3b.htm#144 Thomas Aquinas' Contra Gentiles, Chapter 144 THAT BY MORTAL SIN A MAN IS ETERNALLY DEPRIVED OF HIS ULTIMATE END]</ref>

According to [[Catherine of Siena]], Jesus told her of the righteous in heaven: "Their will is so one with mine that even if a father and mother saw their child in hell, or a child its parent, it would not trouble them: They would even be content to see them punished, since they are my enemies."<ref>[https://isidore.co/misc/Res%20pro%20Deo/ITOPL_OCR-layer-only/15.%20Supplementum%20-%20Dogma%20&%20Moral/Moral/St.%20Catherine%20of%20Siena_OCR.pdf The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena, 83]</ref>

==Islam==
{{See also|Jahannam}}
In Islam, [[Jahannam]] (hell) is the final destiny and place of punishment in [[Afterlife]] for those guilty of disbelief and (according to some interpretations) evil doing in their lives on earth.<ref name=ETISN2009:401>[[#ETISN2009|Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009]]: p.401</ref>
Hell is regarded as necessary for [[God in Islam|Allah]]'s (God's) [[divine justice]] and justified by God's absolute sovereignty, and an "integral part of Islamic theology".<ref name=ETISN2009:401/> In addition to the question of whether divine mercy (one of [[Names of God in Islam]] is "The Merciful" ''ar-Raḥīm'') is compatible with consigning sinners to hell, is whether "[[Predestination in Islam|predestination]]" of souls to hell by God is just. One of [[Iman (concept)#The Six Articles of Faith|six articles of faith]] in Sunni Islam is God's control over everything that has happened and will happen in the universe—including sinful human behavior and who will go to Jahannam.<ref name=":0" /> This introduces the question, (or at least the [[Argument from free will|paradox]]), where sinners are said to be punished in [[Jahannam]]  for their decision to sin of their own free will, but everything that happens in the world is determined by an all powerful and all knowing God.<ref name="De Cillis-2018">{{cite journal |last1=De Cillis |first1=Maria |title=ISLAM. Muslims and Free Will |journal=Oasis |date=22 April 2022 |volume=6 |url=https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/muslims-and-free-will |access-date=16 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="Parrott-RtDDaFWiI-2017">{{cite web |last1=Parrott |first1=Justin |title=Reconciling the Divine Decree and Free Will in Islam |url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/reconciling-the-divine-decree-and-free-will-in-islam |website=Yaqeen Institute |access-date=16 June 2022 |date=31 July 2017}}</ref>

===The inhabitants of Hell===
Muslims and Islamic scholars disagree over [[Jahannam#Inmates|who will be consigned to Jahannam]]. A common concern is the fate of non-Muslims and if they will be punished for not belonging to the ''right'' religion. An often-recited [[Quran]]ic verse implies that righteous non-Muslims will be saved on [[Islamic eschatology|Judgement Day]]:
:Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabians—those who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness—will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.&nbsp;{{cite quran|2|62|s=ns|b=n}}
However some scholars hold this verse may be set aside as only applying before the arrival of [[Muhammad]],<ref>David Marshall ''Communicating the Word: Revelation, Translation, and Interpretation in Christianity and Islam'' Georgetown University Press 2011 {{ISBN|978-1-589-01803-7}} p. 8</ref>
as there "exists a strong exegetical tradition" that claims that verse and others suggesting non-Muslims may be saved, were abrogated by a later verse indicating a much less pleasant hereafter:
:"... .whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers." (Q.3:85)<ref name="Acar 2008, esp. 299-304">Acar, Ismail. 2008. "Theological Foundations of Religious Tolerance in Ismal: A  Quranic Perspective." In J. Neusner and B. Chilton (eds.), ''Religious Tolerance  in World Religions'', West Conschocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press, 297–313, esp. 299–304</ref><ref name=ETISN2009:414>[[#ETISN2009|Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009]]: p. 414</ref>
Some non-pluralist scholars like [[Ibn Arabi]] state that every human will receive a proper message and will not be doomed for ignorance, while others claim non-Muslims are judged by their own moral standards, because of God's all-embracing mercy.<ref>Adis Duderija. ''The Imperatives of Progressive Islam'', {{ISBN|978-1-315-43883-2}} p. 58</ref>

Another criterion to determine the justice of Hell's punishment derives from its duration, on which Islamic scholars disagree. The orthodox view holds that Hell is eternal, others hold that Hell exists to purify rather than inflict pain,<ref>Christian Lange. ''Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions'' Cambridge University Press 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-316-41205-3}} p. 170</ref> and may even cease to exist after a while.

With the increasing urgency of [[Religious pluralism|pluralism]], modern writers such as [[Edip Yüksel]] and [[Mouhanad Khorchide]] hold Hell to be finite rather than eternal: Yüksel argues that evildoers will be punished in Hell for an appropriate period then cease to exist, so that their suffering (which is described in the [[Quran]] and is balanced with descriptions of heaven) will be only a [[justice|just]] amount.<ref name=Yuksel>[http://19.org/blog/hell/ Eternal Hell and a Merciful God] Edip Yüksel, 2003</ref>

===Concerning predestination===
Approximately [[Islam by country|87–90%]] of Muslims are Sunni, and one of [[Iman (concept)#The Six Articles of Faith|six articles of faith]] in [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Islam is belief in the existence of God's predestination due to God's omniscience, whether it involves good or bad.  Based on [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] traditions, God wrote everything that will happen (in all of his creation) on a [[Tablet (religious)|''tablet'']] before creating the world. Thus it is asked: how can humans be punished for what God has determined they do? In this tradition, in [[Ashari]] thought, God created good and evil deeds, which humans decide upon—humans have their own possibility to choose, but God retains sovereignty of all possibilities. This still leaves the question of why God set out those people's lives (or the negative choice of deeds) which result in Hell, and why God made it possible to become evil. In Islamic thought, evil is considered to be movement away from good, and God created this possibility so that humans are able to recognize good.<ref>Reinhold Loeffler ''Islam in Practice: Religious Beliefs in a Persian Village'' SUNY Press {{ISBN|978-0-887-06679-5}} p. 110</ref> In contrast, [[angels in Islam|angels]] are unable to move away from good, therefore angels generally rank lower than humans as they have reached heaven because they lack the ability to perceive the world as humans do.<ref>Mohamed Haj Yousef ''The Single Monad Model of the Cosmos: Ibn Arabi's Concept of Time and Creation'' ibnalarabi 2014 {{ISBN|978-1-499-77984-4}} p. 292</ref>

==Proposed answers==
===Annihilationism===
{{Main|Annihilationism}}
As with other Jewish writings of the [[Second Temple]] period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words, both translated "Hell" in older English Bibles: ''[[Hades]]'', "the grave", and ''[[Gehenna]]'' where God "can destroy both body and soul". A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the [[Lake of fire|Lake of Fire]] in a consuming fire, but which because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text has become confused with Greek myths and ideas. From the sixth century BC onward, the Greeks developed pagan ideas for the dead, and of reincarnation and even transmigration of souls. Christians picked up these pagan beliefs inferred by the Greek of immortality of the soul, or spirit being of a mortal individual, which survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, which is at odds and in contrast to the scriptural teaching that the dead go to the grave and know nothing and then at the end, an eternal oblivion of the wicked and an eternal life for the saints. Scripture makes clear that the dead are awaiting resurrection at the last judgment, when Christ comes and also when each person will receive his reward or are part of those lost with the wicked.

The Greek words used for those Bibles written in Greek, came loaded with ideas not in line with the original Hebrew, but since at the time, Greek was used as basically English is used today to communicate between people across the world, it was translated into these Greek words, and giving an incorrect understanding of the penalty of sin. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to [[Sheol]], the grave and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna which is the consuming by fire. So when the grave or the eternal oblivion of the wicked was translated into Greek, the word Hades was sometimes used, which is a Greek term for the realm of the dead. Nevertheless, the meaning depending on context was the grave, death, or the end of the wicked in which they are ultimately destroyed or perish. So we see where the grave or death or eventual destruction of the wicked, was translated using Greek words that since they had no exact ones to use, became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth associated with the word, but its original meaning was simple death or the destruction of the wicked at the end.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

[[Christian mortalism]] is the doctrine that all men and women, including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are not conscious after death. Therefore, [[annihilationism]] includes the doctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than [[tortured|tormented]] [[eternity|forever]] in traditional "Hell" or the lake of fire. Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]], the idea that a human [[soul]] is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the [[Second Coming]] of Christ and the [[resurrection of the dead]]. Such a belief is based on the many texts which state that the wicked perish:
:"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." {{bibleverse|John|3:16|KJV}} (KJV).
:"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been." {{Bibleverse|Obadiah|15–16|KJV|Obadiah 1:15–16}} (KJV).

Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked when they are consumed in the Lake of Fire at the end, leaving only the righteous to live on in [[immortality]].
Conditional immortality asserts that souls are naturally mortal, and those who reject Christ are separated from the sustaining power of God, thus dying off on their own.

This is seen in the texts making clear the alternatives at the end are to perish or to have eternal, everlasting life:
:"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." {{Bibleverse|Romans|6:23|KJV}} (KJV)

And that the consequence for sin at the day of judgment when God will judge both the living and the dead when He appears is death, not burning forever. God's gift is eternal life, different from the penalty of sin:
:"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." {{bibleverse|2 Peter|2:9|KJV}}. (KJV).
:"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world." {{Bibleverse|Matthew|13:40|KJV}} (KJV).
:"So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." {{Bibleverse|Matthew|13:49–50|KJV}} (KJV).

The mortality of the soul has been held throughout the history of both Judaism and Christianity,<ref>{{Citation |quote= In the first place, there have not been a few, both in ancient and modern times, who have maintained the truth of a 'Conditional Immortality'. |last= McConnell |title= The Evolution of Immortality |page= 84 |year= 1901}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |quote= At the same time there have always been isolated voices raised in support of other views. There are hints of a belief in repentance after death, as well as conditional immortality and annihilationism. |last= Streeter |others= et al |title= Immortality: An Essay in Discovery, Co-Ordinating Scientific, Psychical, and Biblical Research |page= 204 |year= 1917}}</ref> with multiple biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text, have denied the teaching of innate immortality.<ref>{{Citation |quote= Many biblical scholars down throughout history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innate immortality. |last= Knight |title= A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists |page= 42 |year= 1999}}</ref>{{Sfn |Pool |1998 |p= 133 |ps= 'Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.'}} Rejection of the [[immortality of the soul]], and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the [[Reformation]] with [[Martin Luther]] himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his view did not carry into orthodox [[Lutheranism]]. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was [[Thomas Hobbes]] who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine.<ref>Stephen A. State ''Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion'' 2013 "The natural immortality of the soul is in fact a pagan presumption: "For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour, by contagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks, of an opinion, that the Souls of men were substances distinct from their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"</ref> Modern proponents of conditional immortality include as denominations the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Bible Student movement|Bible Students]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Christadelphians]], and some other [[Protestant]] [[Christians]].

===Free will===
Some apologists argue that Hell exists because of free will, and that Hell is a choice rather than an imposed punishment. Jonathan L. Kvanvig writes:<ref>{{cite book
| last= Kvanvig
| first= Jonathan L.
| title= The Problem of Hell
| publisher= Oxford University Press
|location=US
| year= 1994
| page= 120
| isbn= 0-19-508487-X}}</ref>

{{quote|[[C.S.Lewis|[C.S.] Lewis]] believes that the doors of hell are locked from the inside rather than from the outside. Thus, according to Lewis, if escape from hell never happens, it is not because God is not willing that it should happen. Instead, residence in hell is eternal because that is just what persons in hell have chosen for themselves.}}

Similarly, [[Dave Hunt (Christian apologist)|Dave Hunt]] (1996) writes:

{{quote|We may rest assured that no one will suffer in hell who could by any means have been won to Christ in this life. God leaves no stone unturned to rescue all who would respond to the convicting and wooing of the Holy Spirit.<ref>Dave Hunt ''In Defense of Faith'' Harvest House Publishers, 1996</ref>}}

Popular culture, for instance, the [[graphic novel]] series ''[[The Sandman (Vertigo)|The Sandman]]'', sometimes proposes the idea that souls go to Hell because they ''believe'' that they deserve to, rather than being condemned to it by God or Satan.<ref>Gaiman, Neil ''Season of Mists'' DC Comics/Vertigo, 1990 p. 18</ref>

===Universal reconciliation===
{{Main|Christian Universalism|Universal reconciliation}}
{{citations|date=October 2022}}
Universal reconciliation is the doctrine or belief of some Christians that all will eventually receive [[salvation]] because of the love and mercy of God. Universal reconciliation does not commit one to the position that one can be saved apart from Christ. It only commits one to the position that all will eventually be saved through Christ. Neither does universal reconciliation commit one to the position that there is no Hell or damnation—Hell can well be the consuming fire through which Christ refines those who turn from him (Matthew 3:11). Universal reconciliation only claims that one day Death and Hades themselves will be destroyed and all immortal souls will be reconciled to Him.

It was traditionally claimed by some western scholars such as the Universalist historian [[George T. Knight (Universalist)|George T. Knight]] (1911) and [[Pierre Batiffol]] (English translation 1914) that a form of universal salvation could be found among some theologians in early Christianity.<ref>Knight claims that in the first five or six centuries of Christianity, there were six known theological schools, of which four (Alexandria, Antioch, Cesarea, and Edessa or Nisibis) were Universalist, one (Ephesus) accepted conditional immortality, and one (Carthage or Rome) taught the endless punishment of the lost. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc12.u.ii.html The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 1953, vol. 12, p. 96; retrieved 30/04/09]</ref> [[Origen]] interpreted the New Testament's reference (Acts 3:21) to a "restoration of all things", (Greek: [[apocatastasis]] of all things), as meaning that sinners ''might'' be restored to God and released from Hell, returning the universe to a state identical to its pure beginnings.<ref>Westminster Origen Handbook</ref> This theory of apocatastasis could be easily interpreted{{who|date=December 2010}} to imply that even devils would be saved, as was the case during the later Origenist controversies.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} Some Greek Orthodox scholars do not count [[Gregory of Nyssa]] (AD 331–395) as a believer in Universal Salvation,<ref>"We know well that all evil that happens admits of being annihilated by its opposite (Against Eunomius, Book I). Then he affirms apocatastasis stating that "The Son has accomplished the Father's will, and this, in the language of the Apostle, is 'that all men should be saved, '" (Against Eunomius, Book XII).</ref> although some do,<ref>e.g., [[Andrew Louth]], [[Hilarion (Alfeyev)|Hilarion Alfeyev]], [[Kallistos (Ware)|Kallistos Ware]], [[John Behr]], et al.</ref> given that multiple passages in his writings appear to explicitly affirm [[apocatastasis]].<ref>''Catechetical Discourse'', 26.8-9; ''Life of Moses'', 2.82, etc.</ref>

In the 17th century, a belief in [[Christian universalism]] appeared in England and traveled over to what has become the present-day US Christian Universalists such as [[Hosea Ballou]] argued that Jesus taught Universalist principles including universal reconciliation and the divine origin and destiny of all souls. Ballou also argued that some Universalist principles were taught or foreshadowed in the [[Old Testament]]. Critics of universalism maintain that the Bible does not teach universal salvation,<ref>Robin A. Parry ''Universal salvation?: the current debate'' p. 55</ref> while proponents insist that it does.

Recent examples of advocates for the position are [[Kallistos Ware]], a [[Greek Orthodox]] bishop and retired [[University of Oxford]] [[theologian]] who states that some of the 'Fathers of Church' postulated the idea of salvation for all, and [[Saint Silouan]] of [[Mount Athos]], who argued that the compassion and love of those in heaven and on earth will extend to eliminating suffering even in hell. In terms of Biblical citations, Father David A. Fisher, Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua
Maronite Church and professor of philosophy at [[Ohio Central State University]], has argued that total reconciliation seems to arise from the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians]] such as {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:22|KJV}}, "As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ", and {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:28|KJV}}, "God will be all in all."<ref name=stmaron>{{cite web|url=https://www.stmaron.org/The_Maronite_Voice_for_December_2011.pdf|access-date=July 2, 2014|title=The Question of Universal Salvation: Will All Be Saved?|first=David A.|last=Fisher|publisher=The Maronite Voice, Volume VII, Issue No. XI.|date=December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508152506/http://www.stmaron.org/The_Maronite_Voice_for_December_2011.pdf|archive-date=May 8, 2013}}</ref> Verses that seem to contradict the tradition of complete damnation and come up in arguments also include {{bibleverse|Lamentations|3:31–33|NIV}} (NIV), "For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love, For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.",<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+3%3A31-33&version=NIV |title = Bible Gateway passage: Lamentations 3:31–33 – New International Version}}</ref> {{bibleverse|1 Timothy|4:10|NIV}} (NIV), "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.",<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+4%3A10&version=NIV |title = Bible Gateway passage: 1 Timothy 4:10 – New International Version}}</ref> and {{bibleverse|Luke|3:6|NIV}}, "And all people will see God’s salvation."

=== Theodicy ===
With regards to the problem of hell, as one that can be traced to the more fundamental theological dilemma of God and the existence of good and evil, [[theodicy]] offers its own answers. The main issue holds that if God is all good, powerful, and perfect, then how can he allow evil and, by extension, hell to exist? For some thinkers, the existence of evil and hell could mean that God is not perfectly good and powerful or that there is no God at all.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.plato-philosophy.org/teachertoolkit/the-problem-of-evil/|title=The Problem of Evil {{!}} Plato – Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization|work=PLATO|access-date=2018-05-26|language=en-US}}</ref> Theodicy tries to address this dilemma by reconciling an all-knowing, all-powerful, and omnibenevolent God with the existence of evil and suffering, outlining the possibility that God and evil can coexist. There are several thoughts or theodicies such as biblical theodicy, the theodicy attributed to [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Gottfried Leibniz]], Plotinian, Irenean, and Augustinian, among others. These differ in their respective arguments but, overall, these theodicies—as opposed to a defense that demonstrates the existence of God and evil or hell—seek to demonstrate a framework where God's existence is plausible. It is, therefore, a logical instead of evidential answer to the problem. A theodicy explains God's reason for allowing evil, that there is a greater good that justifies such permission.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Calvinism and the Problem of Evil|last1=Alexander|first1=David|last2=Johnson|first2=Daniel|publisher=Pickwick Publication|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4982-8476-9|location=Eugene, Oregon|pages=41}}</ref>

==Empty Hell theory==
Some Roman Catholic theologians prominent around the time of the [[Second Vatican Council]], such as [[Karl Rahner]], Gisbert Greshake, and Cardinal [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]]<ref>Hans Urs von Balthasar «Hoffnung auf das Heil aller?». ''Dare we hope: "that all men be saved"?; with, A short discourse on hell''</ref> have at length discussed the possibility that any man may be led by a final grace to freely willed repentance if necessary at least at some point in the process of dying. This possible process is described thus by the late Munich dogmatic Prof. [[Michael Schmaus]]:<ref>Michael Schmaus, ''Der Glaube der Kirche'' ("The Faith of the Church") VI/II p. 84</ref>
<blockquote>If in terms of theology death is a meeting of a man with God in so far as God calls man and he answers obedience, readiness and love, it would be surprising if in the moment of dying the chances of taking position never were given, even contrary to the outward look. ... One cannot apply to experience as counter-argument, because ... what happens then in the interior and behind the physiological processes is only known by someone who experiences dying itself, and this unto its very end. We may assume that in the dissolving process of the earthly union of body and soul and with the progressing breakaway from earthly entanglements, a special awakeness accrues to man ... in which he can say yea or nay to God.</blockquote>

Balthasar was careful to describe his opinion that Hell might be empty as merely a hope, but even this claim was rejected by most conservative Catholics, including Cardinal [[Avery Dulles]].<ref>David L. Schindler ''Hans Urs von Balthasar: his life and work'' "Until then he had not published very much about obedience and marriage in paradise. The controversy about Hell was left entirely to the final years of von Balthasar's life. At the time no one could have known how much these themes owed to the inspiration of Adrienne von Speyr".</ref>{{Failed verification|date=August 2019}} The [[Syllabus of Errors|Syllabus]] says in no. 17 that we may not (even) hope for the salvation of all non-Catholics;{{citation needed|date=January 2014}} this seems to mean conversely that there is at least one non-Catholic in all history who will not be saved. {{Bibleverse|Matthew|7:21–23|KJV}} seems to say that "many" will be reproved, which may imply hell (not some lesser [[purgatory]]). On the other hand, error no. 17 in question only speaks of those "in the true Church of Christ", which need not imply the visible Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P9SYLL.HTM|title=The Syllabus |last=Pope Pius IX}}</ref> Roman Catholicism not only allows for the possibility that non-Catholics can be saved, and even rejected the view known as [[Feeneyism]], which held that only people in visible communion with the Catholic Church could be saved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicity.com/commentary/shea/00059.html|title=Can Non-Catholics Be Saved?|last=Shea|first=Mark}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Colbegin|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Aeon]]
* [[Cruel and unusual punishment]]
* [[Degrees of glory]]
* [[Dystheism]]
* [[Eschatology]]
* [[Ethics of torture]]
* [[Fall of man]]
* [[Limbo]]
* [[Misotheism]]
* [[Predestination]]
* [[Purgatory]]
* [[Retributive justice]]
* [[Torture]]
{{Colend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Guillaume |first1=Alfred |title=Islam |publisher=Penguin |date=1978 |orig-date=1954 |pages=131–134 |ref=AGI1978}}
* Marilyn McCord Adams: "The Problem of Hell: A Problem of Evil for Christians," in William Rowe (ed.): ''God and the Problem of Evil'', {{ISBN|0-631-22220-0}}
* Jonathan L. Kvanvig: ''The Problem of Hell'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810040317/http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5252Z.pdf |date=2017-08-10 }}, {{ISBN|0-19-508487-X}}
* Charles Seymour: ''A Theodicy of Hell'', {{ISBN|0-7923-6364-7}}
* Jerry Walls: ''Hell: The Logic of Damnation'', {{ISBN|0-268-01095-1}}
* C.S. Lewis: ''The Problem of Pain'', {{ISBN|0-06-065296-9}}
* Ted Sider. ''Hell and Vagueness'', Faith and Philosophy 19 (2002): 58–68.
* Jonathan Edwards,''The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners'', Diggory Press, {{ISBN|978-1-84685-672-3}}

==External links==
* [https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/can-the-existence-and-nature-of-hell-be-defended-free-bible-insert/ Can The Existence and Nature of Hell Be Defended?] by J. Warner Wallace
* [https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/death-for-disobedience.php The Penalty of Death for Disobedience] by Leroy Edwin Froom, ''The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers''
* [http://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/wicked.php The Final End of the Wicked] by Edward Fudge, ''The Fire that Consumes''
* ''[https://www.jewishnotgreek.com/ Jewish not Greek]'' Shows how Biblical hermeneutics proves "annihilation", thus removing the problem of Hell.
* [http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/6.htm ''Immortality Or Resurrection?'' Chapter VI Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216040008/http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/6.htm |date=2015-02-16 }} by Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Andrews University
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120228102627/http://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/Wages-of-Sin/wages-of-sin-1.php The Wages of Sin] by Charles Welch, ''The Berean Expositor Vol. 1 pp.&nbsp;64–66 circa 1901–1915''
* "[https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1998/october5/8tb092.html Directions: Is Hell Forever?]" ''Christianity Today''
* [https://www.afterlife.co.nz/ Afterlife.co.nz]  The Conditional Immortality Association of New Zealand Inc. is a non-profit organization established to promote a Biblical understanding of human nature, life, death and eternity as taught throughout Scripture.

{{Theology}}
{{Philosophy of religion}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Problem Of Hell}}
[[Category:Problem of evil]]
[[Category:Christian universalism]]
[[Category:Christian ethics]]
[[Category:Free will]]
[[Category:Hell]]
[[Category:Religious philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Torture]]
[[Category:Virtue]]