Why I'm Still a Christian

[abaris]

Early church fathers supported views of hell other than eternal torment, but because the catholic church embraced that view, it became the prevailing view. I believe that, although the bible does definitely teach of hell as a place of torment, I don't believe that it teaches that one's time there will be eternal.

You really should look up the views of early church fathers, since they're as diverse as they are interesting. Most of them opposed military service as being sinful. They also opposed capital punishment and to deliver any criminal to the authorities. So, following that reasoning, early christians often excommunicated soldiers serving in the legion.

The church as it developed in the late 4th century, is more a result of political gambling than of spiritual insights. They knew they would have to drop their pacifistic views to gain influence. And so they did - as simple as that.

Hell? Well, hell isn't exactly a christian invention. The German as well as the english word for it derived from the Germanic Hel. which was a goddess as well as a place. In the case of Germanic mythology it was cold rather than hot. Also many mediterranian cultures had that concept before christianity or even judaism evolved. The Egypts believed in being eaten by a beast and thrown into oblivion if the afterlife court of Osiris found you wanting.