Do Christians use ancient Greek polytheistic connotations when defining the literal meaning of Hell?
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**Hell**
Christian theology invokes a very frightening image of Hell, which is quite close to how the ancient Greeks envisaged Tartarus.
Wikipedia
> In Christian theology, Hell is the place or state into which, by God's definitive judgment, unrepentant sinners pass in the general judgment,
**Hades**
According to the Britannica encyclopedia Hades was the word used to describe Hell in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and it is quite clear that it is from the infernal regions of ancient Greek mythology that Christians get the image of Hell being a place of fiery gloom and punishment.
Britannica encyclopedia
> In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the word Hades is used for Sheol, denoting a dark region of the dead. Tartarus, originally denoting an abyss far below Hades and the place of punishment in the lower world,
**Sheol**
However, The original word used in the Hebrew Bible to describe Hell, was Sheol, which according to (Job 10:21) simply meant a place where "all" the dead go, with no other connotations and the horrific images they conjure up, implied.
Britannica encyclopedia
> (Job 10:21). In Sheol, the good and the wicked shared a common fate, much as they had in the Babylonian underworld. The place did not conjure up images of an afterlife, for nothing happened there. It was literally inconceivable, and this is what made it frightening: death was utterly definitive, even if rather ill-defined.
**Question**
It would appear to be quite clear from the above that Christians today get their image of Hell from ancient Greek mythology, and not from the original Hebrew Bible. Is it not paganism to believe in polytheistic ancient Greek religion? Why do Christians use ancient Greek polytheistic connotations when defining the literal meaning of Hell?
Asked by John Strachan
(319 rep)
Sep 5, 2022, 03:09 PM
Last activity: Sep 8, 2022, 04:13 PM
Last activity: Sep 8, 2022, 04:13 PM