Defenders of hell language aim it at children with the best of intentions. They believe they are warning them about danger, like telling a kid not to touch a hot stove. The difference is that the stove is real and burns once, while hell is unprovable and burns forever. The images implanted in a developing mind do not vanish when belief fades. Many adults who no longer accept the doctrine still wake from nightmares, still feel a spike of panic at the thought of dying, still worry that some invisi