Dear Editor in Chief,

I appreciate the column on the subject of hell. I understand this is the writer’s opinion, and I would love to hear more of it, but with concrete details.

I am a Christian myself, and I, for one, am not claiming to know it all.

From an investigative standpoint, however, I feel as though Mr. Jaeger’s argument does not hold its ground very well because he doesn’t once actually quote the Bible.

Jesus often spoke in parables to clearly and effectively communicate to the people he spoke with.

I believe the people who translated the various versions of the Bible made some mistakes, but can you really imagine so many people messing up an entire short story and completely misconstruing the meaning of it? I can’t. And I believe that’s why it’s difficult to disprove what Jesus said when he was speaking in parables.

I’d encourage anyone truly interested in this subject to look at Matthew 25:31-46, specifically verse 41:

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

That is the King James Version.

If one looks at the story surrounding that verse, it becomes clear that the passage makes sense no matter what specific words you change, which makes it difficult to blame a translation for a misrepresentation of an idea.

Then research the translation. Does this support the argument that there is no basis for Christians to believe in hell?

I did enjoy the article, and I truly do hope your paper continues to publish provocative articles like this one.

I believe with everything in me if you look even deeper into this subject without preconceptions, you will find it to be very difficult to support the argument the article touched on … and I do mean touched on.

There is so much more to present on both sides of the argument if it is truth that you seek.

It’s a subject I am no expert in myself, but I do believe there is a hell and it would be great to hear this side of the story presented in the Spinnaker sometime soon.

Ryan Winter