Q20: Is hell a literal place of fire and gnashing of teeth, or metaphorical? Open question, research project planned

Mike shares his personal theological journey: he began with a highly literalistic view of hell inherited from his upbringing, then moved toward seeing the fire/gnashing descriptions as potentially metaphorical. He stresses that if metaphorical, the metaphors still point to real and severe judgment — not a pleasant afterlife. He plans a full research project on hell. He declines to give a firm answer at this stage.