I am appalled that so many of you have been brutalized by the fire and brimstone approach.

If you need another 'magic feather' to drive the demons away, remember that heaven and hell are pagan concepts that got combined into Christianity.

The fires of Gehenna refer to the burning garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was created by the Jewish kings on the site of the altars where children were sacrificed to false gods. They wanted to make SURE the sacrifices would stop. The bodies of criminals were tossed there. The ancient world held no worse punishment than denial of burial.

The traditional belief in Judaism was for a PHYSICAL resurrection at the end of time. Read the story of Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They talk of a physical Resurrection. That was the belief of the Sadducees. They were the traditionalists.

The Pharisees were the Greek speaking collaborators with the Roman government. They adopted the Greek belief in an after life into Judaism. That is why they hated each other.