What Jesus Meant When He Talked About Hell - Dr. Bart Ehrman

Bart Ehrman says the ideas of eternal punishments aren't found in the Old Testament or in the teachings of Jesus. He discusses what Jesus meant when he referred to Gehenna. Full video:

Dr. Bart Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he has taught thousands of students and won numerous awards.

Bart's work has been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Times Literary Supplement, the New Yorker, Time, and Newsweek; he has appeared on National Geographic, CNN, the BBC, NBC's Dateline, the Discovery Channel, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Sam Harris Podcast, and many other top media outlets. Subscribe to his blog here:

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[tschantz]

If the wages of sin is death, and we all die, the sin is paid for by our own death, so why the need for hell?

[ThePapawhisky]

Hell as a place of eternal, conscious torment is not in the Bible. It was created in the Middle Ages. But the Christians have grasped on to it with both hands. They preach it and love it. But the notion of eternal punishment for not believing the unbelievable is an amazing statement of injustice. Loved by Christians.

[slappymcghee]

Exactly. But again, he was using metaphor. He was basically saying that if you keep sinning, you will experience bad things, both physically and mentally. He was verifying the Law that was actually meant to save people from physical/mental disease and early death, which IS what Gehenna IS.

[historian]

It doesn’t matter whether it’s called “Gehenna” or “hell” in English. Whether historical or not, the Jesus character in the gospels does teach about it; he does call it a place to be feared, a place of punishment into which people are thrown AFTER death, a place of lasting fire and torment, and a place for the soul, not merely the body.

How is that any better than modern fundamentalist Christian notions of hell?!

It is a stupid concept either way.

Mark 9.43-48: “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”

See also Matthew 5.29-30.

Luke 12.4-5: 4“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

Matthew 5.22: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, ’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”

Matthew 10.28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

So after reading these verses, what difference does it make to replace “hell” with “Gehenna” as I have done?

None! It makes no difference. The teaching is still there.

And look at Luke 16.22-26, which calls it Hades instead of Gehenna. And it is still called a place of torment, agony, fire, and separation from anything good.

“22“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

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It doesn’t matter whether it is called Hades, Hell, or Gehenna. It’s still a matter of ancient superstition regarding divine punishment of people after death. And whether there was a historical Jesus or not, the Jesus character in the gospels is presented as teaching this superstitious concept.

[drmm]

It should be titled WHAT PAUL said about hell.. or 'The man who wrote the bible and never met שוע)'

[Maledictus_Sanctus_Mortis]

Jesus was using descriptive wording to describe people being eternally separated from God. Jesus also mentioned eternal fire being part of those who are cast out. The historians didn't misunderstand Christ's words. They just used an English word to describe it.

[ramadadiver]

Jesus parable of the rich man and Lazarus does depict an after life of some form of torment .

[RandyReneau]

Did Jesus say or was it part of the story created by the church

[JonyIvre]

IT IS WRITTEN...
Ezekiel 18:20
Proverbs 15:11 / Proverbs 15:24 / Proverbs 23:14
Psalms 9:17
Acts 2:27
Jude 1:7
Mark 9:43
Matthew 10:28 / Matthew 13:42 / Matthew 13:50
Matthew 16:19 / Matthew 25:41 / Matthew 25:46
2 Peter 2:4
Revelation 19:20 / Revelation 20:13-14 / Revelation 21:8
2 Thessalonians 1:9

[FrLawRE]

So the videos here on youtube about "hell" being a fiery pit are, to put it politely, untrue? Some people even say that they saw Jesus in "hell", judging people. There are so many contradictions on youtube that one knows not who to believr.

[sdjnjferri]

Need a longer clip here because if that is all there is of this discussion, that is a very poor etymological breakdown. Need the etymology of the word hell as well and why that word was chosen to translate gehenna. This also needs a larger discussion on other sayings of Jesus, like: "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Bart must be smarter than this... unless his last name is Simpson.

[scottblankenship]

“Hell is not a place, no, but a state of the soul. That begins here on earth. Just so Paradise dwells in the heart of man. It is in this life, in this bodily form, that we may first touch the Divine.” St. Maximovich

[TranquilitySoundscapes]

Hell (original spelling Hel) is the world of the dead in Norse mythology. Later, Hel also became the name of the Norse goddess of death. If you die in battle, you go to Valhalla (heaven). If you're a coward, that means everyone who doesn't die in battle haha, you go to Hel (hell)

[A.--.]

Maybe Gehenna is a hebrew term Jesus was using ...jews believe Gehenum is Hell and Muslim call Hell Jahanam.

[JonathanJollimore-wv]

The valley of Gahanna was always what Jesus was talking about a real place and a metaphor. Bad translation change the word to Hell which is not actually in the real Bible

[IseeBobcats]

What about the NDEs of so many people who claims to have been there, or in a black abyss?

[One_as_All]

The way some denominations speak about God and hell fire is downright disgusting.
It portrays God as a horrible person hating God who is watching our every move and who finds joy in us messing up so He can banish us to hell forever and ever.
I say, to hell with those denominations.
My God is the God of Love. ❤❤

[yoxat]

So much of what Jesus taught has been corrupted.
If Jesus uses a parable, it is to get a concept understood.
So if Jesus says that an evil spirit is like a worm that embeds itself in a healthy body, he isn't describing an actual worm. You can think of it like that if you want, but the parable is about understanding a spiritual concept.

[boonraypipatchol]

He said,
You don't believe me,
You go to hell....
... What the GOD....

[paulhammer]

Hell is what's in your mind. All the fears and immeasurable sufferings that we encounter arise from the mind.