How can a loving God send anyone to hell to be tormented for all of eternity? That one question right there has kept many people from accepting Jesus and if I am being honest, it has always messed with my head a little as well.

Hell as an eternal punishment that has no end has always felt a little like a punishment that doesn’t fit the crime. I freely admit I am not God, and I do not know His ways, but I did find a conversation Kirk Cameron had about hell not only interesting, but also settling.

I am NOT saying this is truth. I am not advocating that this is the new way we should all view hell. I just think the question is interesting, and as someone who is challenging some of what I have believed for so long, I found this interpretation of hell to make more sense to me.

So check it out and just see what you think.

One other thought I had comes from the first verse we all learn when we get saved—John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We have often assumed the opposite of everlasting life is everlasting torment. But Jesus says “shall not perish,” alluding to the idea that those who do not believe will perish. That seems to carry a sense of finality. It is the people who believe in Jesus who receive the reward of everlasting life.

I feel it is important to point out that questioning what hell looks like is not a salvation issue. It is not questioning the deity or necessity of Jesus. It is not questioning the sovereignty of God. For me, it is about trying to better understand how what I say I believe actually works, so that I can better communicate with people who need to hear about Jesus.

Because hell—regardless of what it looks like—is a place of eternal separation from God, we need to focus on getting people to heaven, not just on avoiding hell.