What is Hell? Webster defines it as "a nether world in which the dead continue to
             exist; the nether realm of the devil and the demons in which the damned suffer
             everlasting punishment; a place or state of torment or wickedness; a place or state
             of turmoil or destruction" (532). Hell comes from the Old High German, helan, which is derived from the Latin word for conceal, celare. The term Hell originally designated the torrid regions of the underworld (Webster's 532).
             In the ancient world, a belief in an underworld home of the dead was widespread. The concept for a destiny of the dead might be a deep pit in the lower world in which the
             souls of persons are punished (Greek Tartarus); an underworld of cold and darkness
             (Norse); a celestial dwelling place (Pueblo Indians); a distant island (Greek Hades); or
             a fading into nonexistence (North American Indian Hunting Tribes).
             Many people entertain the notion that fate of the good is decidedly different from the
             fate of the wicked. This assumes a judgment of the dead either immediately after their
             death or collectively at the end of the world. Is there really such a separation of the good
             from the wicked?
             The Bible uses Hell to translate three different words: sheol, the grave, and the pit. First, it stands for the Hebrew sheol of the Old Testament. It refers simply to the home of the dead. It hints at no moral distinctions; therefore, as understood by the Christian religion today, it is not a suitable translation. In the Old Testament, the abode of the dead is a gloomy region under the earth. The dead enter the area through the gates. Here, souls linger in a shadowy existence. There is no mention of a judgment in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses. The first mention of a re...