Christian theology

===Hell===
[[File:Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_Hell.jpg|thumb|upright|Hell as depicted in [[Hieronymus Bosch]]'s [[triptych]] ''[[The Garden of Earthly Delights]]'' (c. 1504).]]
{{Main|Hell in Christian beliefs}}
Hell in [[Christianity|Christian]] beliefs, is a place or a state in which the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]s of the unsaved will suffer the consequences of [[sin]]. The Christian doctrine of Hell derives from the teaching of the [[New Testament]], where Hell is typically described using the Greek words ''[[Gehenna]]'' or ''[[Tartarus]]''. Unlike [[Hades in Christianity|Hades]], [[Sheol]], or [[Purgatory]] it is eternal, and those damned to Hell are without hope. In the [[New Testament]], it is described as the place or state of [[punishment]] after death or [[last judgment]] for those who have rejected Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibs.org/bible/verse/?q=John3:18&niv=yes |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804200948/http://www.ibs.org/bible/verse/?q=John3:18&niv=yes |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-08-04 |title=Biblical Reference: John 3:18 |publisher=Ibs.org |access-date=2010-08-08 }}</ref> In many classical and popular depictions it is also the abode of [[Satan]] and of Demons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hell |title=hell– Definitions from Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref>

Hell is generally defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners after this life.<ref name="Hell"/> Hell's character is inferred from biblical teaching, which has often been understood literally.<ref name="Hell">"Hell." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref> Souls are said to pass into Hell by God's irrevocable judgment, either immediately after death ([[particular judgment]]) or in the [[general judgment]].<ref name="Hell"/> Modern theologians generally describe Hell as the logical consequence of the soul using its free will to reject the will of God.<ref name="Hell"/> It is considered compatible with God's justice and mercy because God will not interfere with the soul's free choice.<ref name="Hell"/>

Only in the King James Version of the bible is the word "Hell" used to translate certain words, such as ''[[sheol]]'' (Hebrew) and both ''[[hades]]'' and ''[[Gehenna]]''(Greek). All other translations reserve Hell only for use when [[Gehenna]] is mentioned. It is generally agreed that both [[sheol]] and [[hades]] do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the [[underworld]] or temporary abode of the dead.<ref>''New Bible Dictionary'' third edition, IVP 1996. Articles on "Hell", "Sheol".</ref>

Traditionally, the majority of Protestants have held that Hell will be a place of unending conscious torment, both physical and spiritual,<ref name="Acute">{{Cite book|title=The Nature of Hell|author=Evangelical Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals|publisher=Acute, Paternoster (London)|year=2000|isbn=0-9532992-2-8}}</ref> although some recent writers (such as [[C. S. Lewis]]<ref>C. S. Lewis, ''The Great Divorce'', 1946</ref> and [[J.P. Moreland]]<ref>Lee Strobel, ''The Case for Faith'', 2000</ref>) have cast Hell in terms of "eternal separation" from God. Certain biblical texts have led some theologians to the conclusion that punishment in Hell, though eternal and irrevocable, will be proportional to the deeds of each soul (e.g. {{Bibleverse||Matthew|10:15|NIV}}, {{Bibleverse||Luke|12:46–48|NIV}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Introducing Christian Doctrine, 2nd ed|author=Millard Erickson|publisher=Baker Academic|year=2001|author-link=Millard Erickson}}</ref>

Another area of debate is the fate of the unevangelized (i.e. those who have never had an opportunity to hear the Christian gospel), those who die in infancy, and mentally disabled people. Some Protestants agree with [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] that people in these categories will be damned to Hell for [[original sin]], while others believe that God will make an exception in these cases.<ref name="Acute"/>

A "significant minority" believe in the doctrine of [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]],<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.eauk.org/theology/acute/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=9164|title=The Nature of Hell. Conclusions and Recommendations|publisher=[[Evangelical Alliance]]|year=2000|access-date=11 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222053151/http://www.eauk.org/theology/acute/loader.cfm?csModule=security%2Fgetfile&pageid=9164|archive-date=22 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> which teaches that those sent to Hell will not experience eternal conscious punishment, but instead will be extinguished or [[annihilationism|annihilated]] after a period of "limited conscious punishment".<ref name="NDBThell">''New Dictionary of Biblical Theology''; IVP Leicester 2000, "Hell"</ref> Prominent evangelical theologians who have adopted conditionalist beliefs include [[John Wenham]], [[Edward Fudge]], [[Clark Pinnock]] and [[John Stott]] (although the latter has described himself as an "agnostic" on the issue of annihilationism).<ref name="Acute"/> Conditionalists typically reject the traditional concept of the immortality of the soul.

Some Protestants (such as [[George MacDonald]], [[Karl Barth|Karl Randall]], [[Keith DeRose]] and [[Thomas Talbott]]), also, however, in a minority, believe that after serving their sentence in [[Gehenna]], all souls are reconciled to [[God]] and admitted to heaven, or ways are found at the time of death of drawing all souls to repentance so that no "hellish" suffering is experienced. This view is often called [[Christian universalism]]—its conservative branch is more specifically called 'Biblical or [[Trinitarian Universalism]]'—and is not to be confused with [[Unitarian Universalism]]. See [[universal reconciliation]], ''[[apocatastasis]]'' and [[the problem of Hell]].