How could anyone know if Hell is a real place? There are only two ways we could know it is real. Either people have gone there and came back to tell of their experiences or God divinely inspired people with the knowledge of the future unseen realm of torture. Near death experiences are unreliable and by definition it was only near death experience and not a real death experience. As for inspiration from God, these people always demonstrate that they are fallible humans with no divine proofs. So the bottom line is that people have created Hell purely from human philosophy, for the purpose of control and manipulation of others. Besides, what kind of God would create a place of torture for his own creation? Only an evil God would torture his own creation, primarily for the reason of not believing a story written by anonymous people thousands of years ago.

​

The concept of soul torture for eternity is a Christian concept. The Jews and the Jewish Scriptures never present the idea of torture after death. The Jewish concept of death, was simply the end of life. You might also call it annihilation. Let me share with you the Jewish idea for death or the grave, which was a Hebrew word "sheol" that simply meant "the grave."  

​

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, for the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

​

Ecclesiastes 9:10, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave (sheol-H7585) where you are going. 

​

Ecclesiastes 38:18-19, for sheol does not thank you, death does not praise you, those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day. 

​

Psalm 6:5, for in death, there is no remembrance of you, in sheol who will give you praise? 

​

Psalm 88:10-12, do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Is your steadfast love declared in the grave (qeber-H6913 means grave or tomb, just like sheol), or your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 

​

If Jesus was a Jew, why did he introduce a new concept of torture after death? If Jesus was a Jew, why was everything written in the Greek language? Why does Jesus' concept of death conform to Greek ideology, instead of Jewish ideology? I know why, because Jesus wasn't really a Jew. Jesus was created by the Romans for the purpose of controlling the Jews. 

​

Jesus used the Greek word gehenna (G1067) to describe what Christians interpret as "hell." This word is only used twelve times in the New Testament and Jesus is the one who uses the word in every case except one (James 3:6). This Greek word gehenna has Hebrew origins tied to the two Hebrew words gay (H1516 which means valley) and hinnom (H2011 which is a name of a location). The valley of Hinnom was a literal location on earth that had a history of child sacrifice and idol worship. People would make their children "pass through fire" in the valley of Hinnom. This was a literal valley with an extensive history outlined in the Hebrew Scriptures. This was not an underworld of torture where souls go after physical death. This was a place on earth, near Jerusalem, where people died. When you understand the meaning of the word "gehenna," you could interpret even the threats of Jesus to be in relation to burning human bodies in a literal place near Jerusalem, instead of the mythological Greek concept of the underworld ruled by the Greek god Hades. 

​

This brings us to the other Greek word of import. The Greek word hades (G86) is used eleven times in the New Testament, and it is the Greek counterpart to the Hebrew word sheol. It is used interchangeably with sheol a few times, such as in Acts 2:27.

​

Acts 2:27, for you will not leave my soul in Hell (hades/sheol), nor allow your holy one to see corruption. 

​

Braindead King James only Christians think Jesus actually went to the underworld of torture after his death on the cross, because the KJV says Jesus went to Hell.  An intelligent person would understand the origins and meanings of these words and realize it was just saying God would not allow Jesus to rot in the tomb. I don't think Jesus ever existed, so he couldn't be crucified, buried, or resurrected in reality, but even according to the story, it does not mean Jesus was conscious in the underworld for 3 days. 

​

The Greeks who wrote the New Testament had a different concept of death, and you can't manipulate and control the masses with eternal sleep. Threats of eternal suffering and torment are far more effective at manipulating the masses than eternal sleep. People have a hard time accepting death anyway, so it is a perfect opportunity to threaten eternal punishment in contrast with eternal reward, based on whether or not your conform to their Greek worldview. There is no evidence that anyone lives on after death. There is no evidence that humans have souls that can live outside the body. There is no evidence that ghosts, demons, angels or gods exist, except in the imagination only. Heaven and Hell are just the produce of human philosophy, with the intended purpose of manipulating gullible people. If you just focus on being a good person, then you will live a life you can be proud of, and if any god is not happy with your attempts to live an honorable, good life of love, then that is an evil god, who is unworthy of praise. If anyone is threatening eternal torture if you disagree with their worldview, then you should be proud that you do not share their worldview.