People don’t latch on to the idea of hell it because it’s a feel good notion… My Proposal: Humans believe in the idea of hell because they have to! Hell is the only way to hold on to two other cherished beliefs of humanity.Traditional beliefs about “hell” are the logical outworking of a basic root error... assuming and believing the human soul is immortal and lives on after death. The error is at the core of most religious systems: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist etc.Where Did Such an Idea Come From?Genesis 3:1-3 the big lie of human immortality was introduced into human thinking by Satan… and it began very early in the human time line. Some part of every person lives on after they die (error)On to this error that some part of every person lives on after the death of this body we’ll add a true observation obvious and apparent to all humanity: some people act in a good way and some people act in a bad way. Note: we might have differing opinions about what defines good versus bad… but we all see a world where some are good and some are bad. Some part of every person lives on after they die (error) Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth)Next, we add something else that is true: justice is a force in the universe. This is a spiritual understanding that flows from the person of God the Creator of the universe. Humans have an innate desire for justice because they are created in God’s image.For Christians, Muslims, Jews, this is judgment by a personal Creator God involving punishment or reward. For other religions this punishment vs. reward is an impersonal force called karma [how karma is enforced is very vague and confusing, involving the collective mind of the universe and stuff like that]. Some part of every person lives on after they die (error) Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth) There is justice [punishment/reward] in the universe (spiritual truth)If the human soul lives on, if some are good and some are bad, and if there is justice in the universe… you need an explanation for where all those bad people go after death that is in some way different from where all the good people go and provides payback for all their badness. Some part of every person lives on after they die (error) Some act in a good way and some act in a bad way (observation/truth) There is justice [punishment/reward] in the universe (spiritual truth) There must be a form of eternal punishment in a living and conscious state (error)The idea of the immortality of the human soul does not flow naturally out from the reading of scripture. The idea that you do not really die is found on the lips of Satan, the father of lies. It’s an idea that humans want to be true… and then desperately try to insert back into the scriptures. The immortality of the soul is the biggest lie ever told.Why would humanity want to insert such an idea into scripture? To use the obvious authority of God’s word to some how validate this wishful thinking.Opinion: it’s a lie that also serves Satan’s larger purpose by presenting the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as cruel & unfair.How Did This Idea Find it Way Into Christian Teaching?The immortal soul concept is as old as human history. But how did it creep into what we call Christianity? By that I mean Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, or Protestant teaching. Human immortality is not part of the religion of Israel Human immortality is not part of the 1st century apostolic teachingIt crept into biblical teaching through theologians and learned men who love praise and pre-eminence. In their won culture Greek philosophy was highly regarded and offered the possibility of worldly acceptance. Leaders & thinkers who had gained control over the church wanted to make God’s word more “respectable” by synchronizing or reconciling the Greek system of thinking about life and death with what was presented in the scriptures. Greek and other humanly devised ideas about the afterlife ar