My understanding is that it is not in the Bible. However it features strongly in the Qu'ran where it appears to be explicitly created by Allah (the Merciful?) to forever punish those who fail to exercise their free will to worship Him.
There seem to be three possibilities for the origin.
1. The Catholics get it from the Qu'ran.
2. Early Catholics created it and Mohammed liked the idea.
3. Those who wrote the Bible neglected to include it when transcribing the rest of the old oral myths the books are based on.
birdie, even if you didn't cease to exist, wouldn't rotting and putrefying in the ground be infinitely prefereable to an everlasting "Hell" of flames and damnation desinggd to scare people into cowering belief and acquiescence?
Duncer
Haven't a clue what I'm doing up at this time of night, but then again, I never have a clue what I'm doing at any time of the day or night. On the 'hellish' theme I hope The Blues can overcome those foreign devils (0-3), you never know.....and St.Johnstone had Tuffey on the bench (0-2), hell mend them.
Duncer
Alan Mannus - I read that both goals he lost were deflections (Tuffey would have saved them) [Partick Thistle prejudice]. Really good of you to describe him as 'all round nice guy', I take it that you know him. As to the 'we were lucky to get nil', I think you've paid too many visits to Firhill, sounds like our sort of banter....and as for the Hampden Olympic games....I'll need to take that up with my carer....good 'talking' to you - Wharton.