Modern Expressions Of Hell

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development. The leaders of the eighteenth century Great Awakening set the foundations for modern assumptions about Hell. Additionally, modernity allows limited opportunity for intellectual inquiry, challenging, and questioning of widely held seemingly sacred beliefs. RON WILL EXPAND OR LEAVE OUT People tend to have a very recent sense of history. Relatively recent expressions of Hell in contemporary religious theology and expression have become heavily authoritative to a deconstructive post-Christian culture, which places great value on tertiary, rather than primary, sources. In addition, confirmation bias, the tendency of people to choose information confirming their preexisting beliefs, dominates the modern cultural landscape. …show more content…

Most scholars seem to agree they are the same idea. Early Greek translations change the Hebrew sheol into the well-known, parallel Greek appellation of hades. Anyone with an understanding of Hebrew or Greek would recognize the lateral and interchangeable usage of the two terms. For instance, most translations from the Hebrew language of Psalm 87: 3, 4 state, “For my being is filled with troubles, and my life reflects Sheol. I have been reckoned with them that go down to the pit; I became as a man without help” (Kittel). The Greek-based Septuagint, however, asserts, “For my soul is filled with troubles, and my life has drawn nigh to Hades. 4 I have been reckoned with them that go down to the pit; I became as a man without help” (Rathmell). The Hebrew sheol and the Greek hades appear intact in the first 1600 years of Bible translation. Later translations, such as the King James Version, rendered these terms, and anything else involving the afterlife, into the English word “hell” (King James). The sheol-temporary origins of the idea of hell are evident in the earliest English adaptations in which the term “hell” is rarely capitalized. The personified place of Hell emerges much …show more content…

Additionally, the newer personifications of Hell began to reflect the newer expressions of punishment theology, rather than the foundational tones of the Scriptural sheol. Thus, the translations began to reflect the practice of personifying an eternally injurious Hell, rather than more nuanced, and authentically converse, Christian practice and idea following the message found in Christian Scripture. For instance, most translations of Psalm 86:13 from Hebrew state, “For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol” (Kittel), yet the English-based King James Version says, “For great is your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13). Obviously, King James translators employed theological bias by describing hell as a place of depth of punishment apart from salvation in

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