Many would argue that man's concept of any afterlife at all comes solely from religious teaching, that left on his own, human beings would never think of such things to torture ourselves with.

But that is illogical reasoning, since it's totally obvious what happens to a person when they die--they are dead. They can't think or plan or dream or talk or do any work or feel any love or any hate anymore.

And, in fact, THIS is really what the Bible teaches happens to all of us when we die (Ecclesiastes 9:5-10).

Our souls cease functioning totally, the brain ceases all function, the flesh decays and we are put into a grave.

Now here's where it gets interesting.

Do a word search on BibleGateway.com on the word "hell" from various translations and see what you come up with.

You will come up with a description of bones, decany, all human functions ceasing, death, destruction, being under the earth, being accidentlly dug up by a farmer plowing, and other such phrases associated with death and dying.

All Bible translations teach that "hell" is not a place of continuing life, but a place of decay and inertia. So yes, if we die, we ALL go to some kind of "hell" (grave), whether it is in the ground in a box or cremated and in an urn or scattered on the ground.

As a Presbyterian youth I was taught that you were judged adversely, then sent to "hell," and that once that happened you could never get out.

But again the Bible sets us straight in Revelation 20:13,14, where it states that "death and hell GAVE UP those dead in them," (KJV), AND THEY WERE JUDGED." So they were judged AFTER they GOT OUT of "hell", and then judgment was based upon the things they did.

This teaching fits with all the rest of the Bible, where Jesus taught that all corruption would be cleansed from the earth, then there would be a general resurrection of the dead, and according to how they accepted what they were taught they were then judged before the end of the thousand year reign of Christ.

So "hell" is the grave, and you CAN get out of it by resurrection. AFTER you die and are resurrected from hell, THEN you are judged on how you use your life.

And if you live long enough in this world, eventually, we will all go to "hell".

: )