Changes

The modern word '''Hell''' for Christians refers to the place meant by the [[Hebrew]] "sheol", but is also mentioned in Joshua 15:8 of the Christian Bible using the word Gehenna, which originally referred to a garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where fires were kept burning to consume the refuse and keep down the stench. Luke 16:23 uses a third word, the [[Greek]] "Hades" to refer to the afterlife. Hell is a Christian afterlife where the wicked are punished eternally for all the [[sin]]s they perpetrated during their lifetime on Earth.  According to Christians, the only way to avoid hell is to know, love, and serve the Lord.

In the Old Testament of the [[Bible]], the modern word '''Hell''' normally corresponds to the [[Hebrew]] ''sheol'', which was simply the place of the dead. But in the New Testament the word used is either ''Gehenna'' (the garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where fires were kept eternally burning to consume the refuse and keep down the stench) or ''Hades'', the [[Greek]]s' dark, gloomy underworld.

According to Christian tradition, hell is extremely hot and filled with fire and [[brimstone]].

Christian tradition usually emphasises the ''Gehenna'' aspect: Hell is extremely hot and filled with fire and [[brimstone]]. Opinion varies on the question of whether, while Hell itself is eternal, experience of it purges away the sins of sufferers to the point of eventual redemption. See [[purgatory]].