Christians that don't believe in the Trinity or Hell?

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sharkbear

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Which branches of Christianity don't believe in either the Holy Trinity or eternal hellfire? I've been reading and researching the Bible for myself and have found no real scriptural basis for these things. There must be some people who agree with me but I know that many Christians believe them simply because they've been taught it from a young age.

I know that for example Catholicism (the religion of my childhood) is closed to me, but which churches agree with my view? Also are there ones that are more indifferent as to what you believe with regards to the Trinity and the existence of eternal hellfire?

Thanks.
 
I really like your question, and as a Christian have actually wondered this myself. I have to disagree though with no biblical citings of the holy spirit and Hell though, but will be interested to see what your answers will come up with.
 
The word Trinity is not in the Bible,it's a human term used to describe miracles like this:

Matthew 3:16-17




16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God's Spirit coming down on him like a dove.17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.

In reference to hell,Jesus frequently spoke of that:

Mark 9:43




If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and live forever than to have two hands and go to hell, where the fire never goes out.
 
Here is a list of non-Trinitarian denominations and groups:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism#Groups

Some Christian denominations and theologians do not teach a literal Hell, or simply leave the topic up to individual parishioners to decide. Many seminary-trained theologians do not support the doctrine of Hell, and some churches (such as Unity - not to be confused with the Unitarians, who generally don't believe in Hell, either) do not openly promote this doctrine. Some groups think that Hell is a one-time annihilation, rather than an ongoing and everlasting event. Others feel that Hell refers simply to the grave. You might find the Swedenborgian Church (also called the Church of the New Jerusalem) interesting. Swedenborg did teach about Heaven and Hell, but in ways that differ from mainstream Christian thought.
 
Hell is a mistranslation of Gehenna and Sheol. Neither of these things as described in the Bible even come close to representing hell as we know it. The only eternal punishment is death. And Revelation's supposed "lake of fire" is better translated as: Tested by being purified in God's divinity until the revelation is complete.

In the OT hell is not present when read in Hebrew. Instead the word Sheol is used. Sheol in Judaism is the common grave of all mankind. In Christianity it was altered a bit, in Christianity it is a sort like a waiting room for unsaved souls until judgment day, but it is still not a punishment. "The dead know nothing" Ecc 9:5 "for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." Ecc 9:10

In the NT hell is also not present when read in it's original form off Aramaic. Instead you find Sheol just like in the OT, but you also find Gehenna. Gehenna was a burning trash heap outside of Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom. It burned for over a century and was used as a capital punishment for criminals. When the Bible says "unquenchable fires of hell" the correct translation is "unquenchable fires of Gehenna". What Jesus was saying is that mortal sin makes you worthy of that punishment in the eyes of the people. The people he was talking to understood that, it's us 2000 years later that don't.

When translated into Greek, Sheol and Gehenna became Hades and Tartarus. Those were already places of afterlife in Greek mythology and readers assumed that Sheol and Gehenna possessed the same characteristics which they don't. When translated into Latin they changed names again, and when translated into the common tongue they ended up being hell. Hell is actually a place for the dead in Norse mythology so once again the understanding of it was changed.

Lastly is the "lake of fire" in revelation. The word fire is a mistranslation of the word "theion" which means sulphur or divine since the Greeks saw sulphur AS divine. The word was not meant to infer fire ... rather it meant divinity. The word "tormented" was also a mistranslation ... the correct translation is actually "tested" or "examined". The words "eternal" or "forever and ever" are translations of "olam" which actually means "the world to come" which infers until the end of the world. So being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever ... is actually: Tested by being purified in God's divinity until the world ends. Since revelation is concerned with the end of the world ... eternity just got a lot shorter. Those who are judged as wicked and do not get into heaven cease to exist for the punishment for the wicked is death, also called the second death for it the one from which none will ever recover as the dead did from Sheol when Christ came to judge them at the second coming.

God himself forbade the people to torture with fire, condemning it and calling it an abomination which never came into His mind. -- Leviticus 18:21; 20,2-5; Jeremiah 19:5; 32:34, 35

Summary: The only eternal punishment is death. These are poor translations that have changed their meanings over time. The church was not only aware of this but added to the misconception by adopting Dante Alighieri's work of fiction "The Inferno" as church doctrine. It is false doctrine, they knew it, but capitalized on the fear of hell that it put into the people. To this day they mislead the masses and allow this misconception to continue. Not exactly my idea of "the truth".
 
As far as I know, Jehovah's Witnesses may be one of the only religions that have found no basis in the scriptures for belief in the Trinity or Hell.

Here is a clear explanation why:

Trinity A Bible Teaching?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/ti/article_04.htm

Hell? What does it mean in the Bible?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20020715/article_02.htm
 
Most people in the most liberal modern traditions don't believe in the divinity of Jesus or hell.
I'm down for no hell, kinda think Jesus was different than the rest of us, though.
 
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