Reddit mentions of Hell: A Final Word

Others have provided a good immediate response, but if you want to do more reading, then Edward Fudge has written several books on the matter. The most recent one that is supposed to summarize all his work for a popular audience is called Hell: A Final Word. Please note that he comes down pretty strongly on the side that says eternal conscious torment (aka, the modern version of Hell) is not biblical.

It's understandable, and in truth, I thank you for pressing me. This was a good dialogue and helped for me to articulate what I actually believe. I know you're an atheist, but if you're interested in the subject, there are two books that I have not read yet (but I've ordered them!) that kind of follow my line of thinking:

• "Love Wins" by Rob Bell. Bell got a lot of flak when this came out, and I'm sure some of may have been justified. However, he was also stirring the pot on a controversial subject. From what I've gathered, he leans towards universalism, i.e. everyone eventually goes to heaven, which I do not espouse.
  
  
• "Hell, A Final Word: The Surprising Truths I Found in the Bible," by Edward Fudge. Fudge and I went to the same alma mater, so I'm familiar with his view. Like him, I tend towards annihilationism, which is that "hell" is not too different than what most atheists believe will happen when they die.

You've already received many lengthy answers and I don't want to waste your time, so I will try to be brief.

There are a great many Christians who reject also reject the picture of God you have painted. It is contradictory that a loving God would a) torture people for eternity for b) rejecting a twisted contradictory picture of him (unfortunately, this is so often the picture presented as "Biblical"). If you are interested in looking for better explanations, I have a few ideas and suggestions.

First, I find great hope in the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 24. While it does not address hell, I provides a surprising answer to question b. In the story, at judgment, people are divided into two groups. The division is specifically not on the basis of a profession of faith. Rather, people are judged by how they loved and cared for the needy around them. Most interestingly, neither party recognizes that care as being about loving God--it was simply something they did or did not do, an expression of who they were on a fundamental level. Now, I don't know you or your wife, so that judgement remains in God's hands, but this story certainly seems to indicate that the deciding factor is how we live and love others, rather than whether we claim to be "Christian." This is an old Christian idea called "inclusivism."

Secondly, I would answer with the simplicity of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." To address the obvious mention of belief, I would suggest that the evidence of what we truly believe is in the way we live, not the words we speak. But more importantly, I would emphasize the juxtaposition of eternal life with death--not eternal conscious torment, simply death. This is an old Christian perspective called "conditional immortality" or "annihilationism."

TL;DR--The way we live our lives demonstrates what we truly believe. We live in a way either affirming of life (and receive eternal life) or destructive of life (resulting in death).

Of course, I had a friend who struggled with this and it took further reading for her to sort through it. I would point to a few resources:

Rethinking Hell is probably the best place to learn about annihilationism.

On Digma, Ty Gibson talks about his rejection of the same God you reject, without giving up on Christianity. The videos are very short. Specifically, look at "Atheist Too" and "Distorted."

If you're a reader like me, the closing chapters of C. S. Lewis' The Last Battle gives a wonderful explanation of how word and action relate to salvation.

You could also look up Edward Fudge, who has written the most substantial Biblical consideration of Hell I am aware of. Spoiler: He rejects it in favour of Annihilationism. The Fire That Consumes is his masterwork. Hell: A Final Word is the short version.

Finally, and a little farther afield, Walter Kauffmann's Critique of Religion and Philosophy traces the influence of Greek philosophy on Christian thought which led to these particular (I would argue) unBiblical beliefs--immortal soul, eternal torment, priority of idea over action). This is a more academic read.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any good resources on inclusivism.

I hope this helps.

I actually read this book right when it first came out. He presents some fascinating ideas, and he presents them well. As a response to Rob Bell's Love Wins, it addressed some issues that Bell didn't do an excellent job covering accurately.

Even though I didn't find the book to be particularly persuasive for me, I would second that recommendation.

And for those who struggle with the idea of Hell, but are not going to accept that everyone will get in, I recommend Edward Fudge's Hell, A Final Word, which argues quite persuasively that Hell is indeed real and eternal, but not everlasting, that is, Hell is a place of annihilation, rather than eternal, conscious torment.

Very enlightening.