Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News

hell

Select a Category Atonement Book Review Early Church Eschatology eternal torment Hell Hermeneutics LGBTQ+ Mimetic Theory Mysticism News Old Testament Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Religion Sacrifice Satire Soteriology Theology Uncategorized Violence

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 June 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

June 2022

June 10, 2022

A Few Thoughts On Hell

I hate the doctrine of eternal conscious torment. I won't apologize for that. As a...

March 2022

March 21, 2022

Everyone Is Saved And Everyone Goes To Hell

A charge often leveled against universalists is that there is no room for justice. The...

January 2022

January 28, 2022

At The End Of The Day, Love Must Win

Christians will spend their lives worshipping Jesus, talking about Jesus, praising Jesus, giving their hearts...

January 05, 2022

Christians Relieved To Find Out Hell Is Real

Zion, IL - In a huge win for Evangelical Christianity, it has been determined that...

October 2021

October 15, 2021

Evangelicals, I’ve Got Some Questions For You

American Evangelical Christianity is where I come from, but it's no longer the place I...

October 13, 2021

A Grotesque Thought Experiment: Hell, Murder, and the Age of Accountability

Two staples I was given as an Evangelical: 1) Killing children is bad and 2)...

August 2021

August 13, 2021

No Hell? Then Why Care About Jesus?

I affirm universal reconciliation. Meaning, even if there is a hell, it doesn't last forever....

July 2021

July 27, 2021

“What If You’re Wrong?”

As someone who believes in universal restoration, I'm often asked the question, "What if you're...

July 21, 2021

10 Things I Wish I Knew Growing Up

I was taught a lot of rubbish growing up. Not that I blame my mom...

July 08, 2021

Repent: Behavior Modification, Changing Your Thinking, Or Both?

What does it mean to repent? If you ask most evangelical Christians, they'll likely start...

June 2021

June 29, 2021

God Saves Us From God?

"When a man gets saved, he gets saved from God. The justice of God was...

June 21, 2021

Why Is There So Much Disdain for Universalism?

Universalism pisses a lot of Christians off. Not all of them, but a lot of...

June 15, 2021

Gehenna Misunderstood

When Jesus talked about hell, he used the Hebrew or Aramaic equivalent of the Greek word...

May 2021

May 24, 2021

The Absurdity of Hell

The moment when you take your first step through the gates of hell, the only...

May 18, 2021

They Don’t REALLY Believe In Hell, Do They?

Most Christians I've met say they believe in hell. Typically, it's reserved for non-believers who...

May 12, 2021

The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus is a go-to passage infernalists use to...

February 2021

February 17, 2021

10 Things To Give Up For Lent

We are in the season of Lent, that period of time where some Christians give...

February 09, 2021

Sin Obsessed, Much?

What is it with Evangelicalism's obsession with sin? It seems that every time a Patheos...

February 03, 2021

God Is Love and Hell Is Not Real

Hell is not real. It's also quite real. Hell is real in that it is...

January 2021

January 05, 2021

“Matt, What If You’re Wrong?”: Addressing the Infernalist’s Version of Pascal’s Wager

In case you didn't know, I'm a Universalist. This means that in the end, I...

December 2020

December 04, 2020

A Love Story For The Ages

Middle America—1959. The unemployment rate had recently eased a bit, so things were looking up....

September 2018

September 24, 2018

My 7 Favorite Depictions of Hell

The doctrine of eternal hell used to scare the living daylights out of me. Although...

May 2018

May 22, 2018

If Anyone Is Going to Hell, It’s the Christians

Although I no longer engage in theological discussions on Facebook all that often, I still...

April 2018

April 18, 2018

The Heresy Hunters of “Come Sunday”

The other day, I watched the Netflix original film “Come Sunday,” which chronicles Bishop Carlton...

April 02, 2018

The Consequences of a Fear-Based Worldview

I used to live in fear. Fear of God. Fear of a Rapture that I...

February 2018

February 12, 2018

Theological Wrestling: Addressing Definitions and Presuppositions

I’m a Universalist and I affirm hell. I’m a Universalist and I affirm justice. I’m...

January 2018

January 09, 2018

5 Things I Wish My Pastors Told Me

I spent roughly 25 years in the Evangelical church; 12 of them in some form...

December 2017

December 13, 2017

Hell Believers, Please Consider the Following

On December 14, my family and I will be heading down to Orange County, California...

March 2016

March 22, 2016

A Mock Conversation about Hell

Author’s note: Because I hold to the doctrine of universal reconciliation—and brazenly so—I take a...