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To: Full Court

If I read the article correctly, Mr. Graham doesn't say he does not believe Hell exist. He believes that the fiery torment may not refer to actual fire, but be a parallel to the agony of Hell.


1,001 posted on 04/27/2006 11:05:12 PM PDT by Conservative Texan Mom (Some people say I'm stubborn, when it's usually just that I'm right.)
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To: Conservative Texan Mom

>> If I read the article correctly, Mr. Graham doesn't say he does not believe Hell exist. He believes that the fiery torment may not refer to actual fire, but be a parallel to the agony of Hell. <<

Graham might take care not to speculate, given the authority his celebrity has yielded to him. But his speculation is surely unwarranted. Jesus, when describing Hell was a fiery pit, calls it "Gehenna." Gehenna was a smoldering waste pit outside Jerusalem, where people dumped all their waste, garbage, and even excrement. Hell was not literally just outside Jerusalem. Hell, of course, is a metaphorical name, as is Hades and Tartarus, two words which come from them pagan Greeks, who first gave the notion of eternal flame and torment.

The Jewish word for Hell implies no flame whatsoever: Sheol.

So, while it is only speculative, there is grounds for wondering just how literally the flames of hell should be understood to be.


1,035 posted on 04/28/2006 6:34:09 AM PDT by dangus
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