N
ngill09
Guest
… I believe it poses grave problems for Christianity.
There are, of course, many different theories about what Hell is. Some are more problematic than others.
Disclaimer: This is aimed more at a Protestant version of the Doctrine of Hell. It may not apply very well to Catholic doctrine.
Problem 1:
If I were to ask you who is the most evil person you can think of off the top of your head, you would probably say that would be Hitler.
Let’s for simplicity, ignore all the other atrocities he committed and focus entirely on the Holocaust, and particularly on the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I think we could agree that the systematic murder of millions of Jews is an incredibly evil act.
I think most would agree that Hell, whatever it is in particular, is a fate worse than death.
We might also agree that God is responsible for condemning people to Hell. You might object that people send themselves to Hell, or that people “choose” Hell, but that removes Judgment from the picture, and I think that Judgment is pretty central to Christian doctrine. A criminal may choose to commit crimes which result in him being condemned to prison, but the criminal does not choose to be sentenced to prison. The judge, jury, and lawmakers choose that the criminal be sentenced to prison. They are responsible for the justice that is served in sentencing a criminal. Likewise, God is responsible for condemning people to Hell.
All who choose not to believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell. I’m not talking about people who have never heard of Christianity, I’m talking about people who have heard of the Gospel and didn’t believe it was true. If you disagree with this point, this argument no longer works, but accepting Jesus Christ would no longer be necessary for salvation.
If those who choose not to believe Christianity are condemned to Hell, a fate worse than death, then God’s condemnation of non-Christians to Hell is vastly worse than Hitler’s murder of millions of Jews. In fact, according to the premises above, the same Jews that were murdered by Hitler found themselves in a worse fate upon their death. For them, the Holocaust was only the beginning of their torture. Therefore, if we call Hitler evil, how much more evil is God? If God is not evil, what basis do we have for condemning Hitler’s actions? It cannot be that his victims were innocent and did not deserve death - if we accept the doctrine of Hell then we must believe that his victims deserved far worse than death! No, the only basis for condemnation is that it was not Hitler’s place to exact such punishment.
Therefore the first problem of the doctrine of Hell as I see it is that it makes God more evil than Hitler, or dramatically changes what it means to do evil.
Problem 2
Many of us have friends and loved ones who are not Christians. If Hell exists, and all those who do not believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell, then we face the prospect of spending eternity with the knowledge that our friends and loved ones are suffering unspeakable torment. Therefore it seems to me that my eternal fate is either one of direct suffering in Hell, or indirect suffering in Heaven. Either way, so long as otherwise good people are suffering in Hell simply because they did not believe Christianity is true, my fate would be one of eternal suffering. Even if you didn’t know anyone in life who was not a Christian, the knowledge of the suffering of billions of people would be haunting.
Therefore, if those who do not believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell, Heaven only exists for psychopaths. For anyone who has the capacity for empathy, there are simply two versions of Hell. And yes, if you find enjoyment at the prospect of otherwise innocent non-Christians suffering in Hell, I name you a psychopath.
An interesting conclusion:
I recently thought about the following hypothetical scenario.
I die and find myself before a throne. Upon it sits a figure wearing a kingly crown. He tells me that I face judgment now, but that he will offer me a unique opportunity. If I choose to worship him, I will be spared the torment of Hell and allowed to spend eternity in Heaven. From my vantage point I can see on my left billions of people in tortured and in agony. On the right I see billions of people prostrating themselves before the throne with their hands clasped over their eyes, singing “Only you are good, Lord! You are all that is good!”
I would be horrified by what I saw. Knowing that this being is responsible for the suffering in Hell, an incredible evil, I hope that I would have the courage to say as such. To say that the kingly crown he wears cannot hide his horns.
And what if that is the ultimate test? What if the true price of entrance into Heaven is to choose eternal suffering rather than call what is obviously evil good?
If Hell exists, it seems to me the only moral choice is to oppose the being that would condemn innocent people to such a fate.
I suspect many will object by saying that God is the source/standard of morality and that we have no right to question or object to his actions. To me, if that is your choice then you may as well be worshiping the Devil, with your eyes closed to his evil.
Others might make the psychopathic objection that everyone deserves eternal torture, that we are all depraved and evil and have no right to question what evils are inflicted against us. I don’t feel the need to argue with psychopaths about what is moral.
Still more might object that I have misrepresented what Hell is, that Hell is temporary, or simply annihilation, or that those who do not believe that Christianity is true don’t go to Hell - that only “bad” people go to Hell. If that is the case, then that is good. So long as you accept that belief in Christianity is not necessary for salvation.
I’m really more interested in other comments or objections.
There are, of course, many different theories about what Hell is. Some are more problematic than others.
Disclaimer: This is aimed more at a Protestant version of the Doctrine of Hell. It may not apply very well to Catholic doctrine.
Problem 1:
If I were to ask you who is the most evil person you can think of off the top of your head, you would probably say that would be Hitler.
Let’s for simplicity, ignore all the other atrocities he committed and focus entirely on the Holocaust, and particularly on the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I think we could agree that the systematic murder of millions of Jews is an incredibly evil act.
I think most would agree that Hell, whatever it is in particular, is a fate worse than death.
We might also agree that God is responsible for condemning people to Hell. You might object that people send themselves to Hell, or that people “choose” Hell, but that removes Judgment from the picture, and I think that Judgment is pretty central to Christian doctrine. A criminal may choose to commit crimes which result in him being condemned to prison, but the criminal does not choose to be sentenced to prison. The judge, jury, and lawmakers choose that the criminal be sentenced to prison. They are responsible for the justice that is served in sentencing a criminal. Likewise, God is responsible for condemning people to Hell.
All who choose not to believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell. I’m not talking about people who have never heard of Christianity, I’m talking about people who have heard of the Gospel and didn’t believe it was true. If you disagree with this point, this argument no longer works, but accepting Jesus Christ would no longer be necessary for salvation.
If those who choose not to believe Christianity are condemned to Hell, a fate worse than death, then God’s condemnation of non-Christians to Hell is vastly worse than Hitler’s murder of millions of Jews. In fact, according to the premises above, the same Jews that were murdered by Hitler found themselves in a worse fate upon their death. For them, the Holocaust was only the beginning of their torture. Therefore, if we call Hitler evil, how much more evil is God? If God is not evil, what basis do we have for condemning Hitler’s actions? It cannot be that his victims were innocent and did not deserve death - if we accept the doctrine of Hell then we must believe that his victims deserved far worse than death! No, the only basis for condemnation is that it was not Hitler’s place to exact such punishment.
Therefore the first problem of the doctrine of Hell as I see it is that it makes God more evil than Hitler, or dramatically changes what it means to do evil.
Problem 2
Many of us have friends and loved ones who are not Christians. If Hell exists, and all those who do not believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell, then we face the prospect of spending eternity with the knowledge that our friends and loved ones are suffering unspeakable torment. Therefore it seems to me that my eternal fate is either one of direct suffering in Hell, or indirect suffering in Heaven. Either way, so long as otherwise good people are suffering in Hell simply because they did not believe Christianity is true, my fate would be one of eternal suffering. Even if you didn’t know anyone in life who was not a Christian, the knowledge of the suffering of billions of people would be haunting.
Therefore, if those who do not believe that Christianity is true are condemned to Hell, Heaven only exists for psychopaths. For anyone who has the capacity for empathy, there are simply two versions of Hell. And yes, if you find enjoyment at the prospect of otherwise innocent non-Christians suffering in Hell, I name you a psychopath.
An interesting conclusion:
I recently thought about the following hypothetical scenario.
I die and find myself before a throne. Upon it sits a figure wearing a kingly crown. He tells me that I face judgment now, but that he will offer me a unique opportunity. If I choose to worship him, I will be spared the torment of Hell and allowed to spend eternity in Heaven. From my vantage point I can see on my left billions of people in tortured and in agony. On the right I see billions of people prostrating themselves before the throne with their hands clasped over their eyes, singing “Only you are good, Lord! You are all that is good!”
I would be horrified by what I saw. Knowing that this being is responsible for the suffering in Hell, an incredible evil, I hope that I would have the courage to say as such. To say that the kingly crown he wears cannot hide his horns.
And what if that is the ultimate test? What if the true price of entrance into Heaven is to choose eternal suffering rather than call what is obviously evil good?
If Hell exists, it seems to me the only moral choice is to oppose the being that would condemn innocent people to such a fate.
I suspect many will object by saying that God is the source/standard of morality and that we have no right to question or object to his actions. To me, if that is your choice then you may as well be worshiping the Devil, with your eyes closed to his evil.
Others might make the psychopathic objection that everyone deserves eternal torture, that we are all depraved and evil and have no right to question what evils are inflicted against us. I don’t feel the need to argue with psychopaths about what is moral.
Still more might object that I have misrepresented what Hell is, that Hell is temporary, or simply annihilation, or that those who do not believe that Christianity is true don’t go to Hell - that only “bad” people go to Hell. If that is the case, then that is good. So long as you accept that belief in Christianity is not necessary for salvation.
I’m really more interested in other comments or objections.