Question:  I am rather confused.  I just read a statement in one of your answers about the Bible not being clear about Hell.  I need to know straight answers, not in sound bites.  Does your ministry believe in eternal punishment and torment for the unsaved?  I think the Bible talks about this very vividly, even more than heaven.

            David

Answer:  Dear David,

            Sound bytes can be straight answers – for straight answers need not necessarily be given in tens of thousands of words.  The straight answer is that the Bible is not precise about this topic.  PTM believes in the judgment, that judgment for sin is inevitable, and that God is holy, as well as loving.  All of this is biblically clear.  We believe that hell, as described in the Bible, is a reality.  But what exactly hell is – where it is, how long it is, how hot it is – these things are not provided in the Bible, but are human interpretations.

            We do not believe that hell is never-ending torment in the literal sense that some do – we believe that hell is eternal separation from God.  We do not see clear biblical evidence that can lead us to conclude specific, literal details about hell.

            We realize that some Christians, do, and we count them as brothers and sisters.  We also realize that specific details and teachings about hell are not, and never have been, a central plank of the historic and orthodox Christian faith.  We believe it to be one of those issues over which and about which Christians may differ and disagree, without dividing and becoming disagreeable.

            For those who are willing to look outside of denominational teaching about hell and what they may have always believed about the topic, we recommend the book, “Four Views of Hell”.  It is published by Zondervan, and available through Christian bookstores.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht