Your version of hell above is actually more ethical and I would prefer it but aren’t you doing the same thing you accused me of, making hell less hard so it’s easier to accept?
My “version” of Hell, for the most part, comes from the Catholic Church’s teachings, as well as from a great number of visions that many Saints and other holy souls have had over the centuries. Many of which were described in great detail in their writings. The major point being, that there is always an element of “fire” or “burning” involved in all of them.
Your disgust for annihilation as you describe that makes you want to vomit is exactly how I feel when hell is described as a fiery torture chamber that goes on for eternity. It makes God out to be a monster which we both know is not true. Realize that the final death of the incorrigibly wicked in a lake of fire is an act not only of justice, but of mercy on God’s part. To allow them to continue to live on in unrepentant in eternal rebellion would cause themselves and others in heaven (who are supposedly aware of their loved one being tortured) to experience only great sorrow and anguish forever, which is cosmic overkill. A God of love would not put them through that, much less torture them for all eternity in excruciating torment without end.
It sounds as if you think that just because God created Hell as a place of eternal punishment, that God must be a sadistic, vicious and vengeful tyrant, that wants to torture souls for all eternity, just for giggles. What you seem to disregard is that God IS loving and merciful, which always tempers His demand for justice. He never punishes any soul more than they actually deserve, as an individual. His punishments are always metered out according to the number and gravity of their own sins.
Another point that you seem to miss, is that God’s Justice demands satisfaction. That’s why the balance between good and evil must always be maintained, forever. He must always reward goodness and punish evil in equal measures, or there is no Justice. God has to decide what is necessary on both sides of the scale, in order to maintain that perfect balance that His Justice demands. That’s why if the rewards for goodness are eternal, then the punishments for evil must also be eternal. He cannot simply annihilate all evil, because then the sides of the scales would be completely out of balance and Justice would not be served, so that would never be acceptable to God.
Where do you even get those kinds of ideas from, folks like the ones at the Westboro Baptist Church? I noticed that you consistently quote from Protestant sources, like websites and books, even though you claim to be Catholic. I have no idea which version of the Bible you quoted from in some of the passages you posted, but it seems to make everything very vague and wishy-washy. I did see some quotes from the KJV and NIV, which are certainly not Catholic versions. Personally, I like to stick to the DRV to be more consistent.
You most certainly should not be getting ideas like ‘annihilation’ from the Catholic Church. I haven’t even heard any Priest talk about Hell in a very long time. Although, I really wish they would at least mention it, occasionally. Not as a means to scare people with fire and brimstone, but just to remind them that Hell is a very real possibility for any of us, that we seriously need to remember.
I think way too many people believe that just going through the motions, like going to Mass on Sunday, is all they really need to do, to get to Heaven. Even non-Catholics might get the same kinds of ideas about going to their own church services on Sunday. But, unless we at least attempt live a good and holy Christian life, we might all have a very rude awakening when we stand before Jesus, and He asks us what we’ve done in our daily lives to show Him that we really love Him. If we don’t have a good answer, we could all end up in Hell. That’s a fact.
BTW - Accusing me of calling Jesus a liar is without merit. I am questing the interpretation of what is said not who is saying it.
I said, “you already
seem to think Jesus was
a bit of a liar”. By the way you presented your argument, you were implying that Jesus was not really telling the truth in those passages where He taught the people about the punishment of Hell, for those who do evil. Someone that doesn’t tell the truth is usually referred to as a liar, so that was what you were implying.
Your whole line of thinking concerning Hell, questions God’s Love, His Mercy, as well as His Justice. God is perfect. He is the perfect Judge that never requires any jury to help Him decide what Justice demands, in any case. Human judges can easily make serious mistakes, as we have recently been reminded of, here in the US. But, God can never make any mistake. When you question God’s integrity like you did in this case, it’s a serious insult to Him. Not only is it painful to Him, but it’s also painful to anyone who loves Him, to hear His Name being dragged through the mud like that. So, I might tend to get a bit huffy when I see something like that happening.
Mea culpa.
