Why don't God punish people in hell for a finite time and then destroy them?

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zhoudu said:
Maybe. But, why don’t God eventually destroy them, that is, make them no longer exist? That is my question.
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Perhaps the same reason why sane parents don’t kill their kids when choose a life of sin.

Is it better to exist and suffer or to not exist at all? For me, I would rather exist - which is motivation to seek heaven
 
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Every possible thing about God concerns the laws of logic. Logic in the supernatural sense is Truth. God is Truth. Logic is truth.

Some philosophers and theologians have argued that God cannot do the illogical. The reasoning follows as such:
Just as God is the essence of love and good, He is the epitome of reasoning and logic. Human logic is one part of being made in His image.
God is honest and never contradicts Himself: Hebrews 6:18 “It is impossible for God to lie.”
If God acts illogically, He is contradicting His very nature.
If God were to contradict His nature, He would no longer be a just and moral God.
Therefore, God cannot act illogically.
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I think maybe existence takes on a new value if it is a new possible last thing. So to speak?
 
Aquinas says that non-existence is actually worse than Hell, and I tend to agree with him, so it is actually an act of mercy on God’s part that He does not destroy the damned.
 
Clarkgamble –

What you are saying is that it would seem, or feel, worse to suffer forever.

However, nothing can “seem” or “feel” like anything, if you don’t exist. To know, to feel, to have thoughts, are all good things.

Similarly, you couldn’t “choose not to exist” if you didn’t exist. To exist is to have preferences and individuality.

You wouldn’t have anything good if you didn’t exist. So of course it is better to exist than not to exist. To exist is to have some good.

Finally, though, I think you are wrong if you think that souls in Hell long to cease existing. The demons are also in Hell, and also suffer the loss of all their old happiness as angels as well as most of their powers and intelligence. Yet the fallen angels don’t long to cease existing. They scrabble hard to exist, because they long to drag down more of us humans to Hell. The damned souls are probably just as avid to keep existing and get company, but aren’t as able to mess with us.
 
zhoudu said:
But why have God made such a promise, which can turn out to be very tragic? Isn’t it better if he don’t let all people exist forever, but only let saved people exist forever?
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Why is it better? How can a soul that no longer exists benefit from not existing?
 
clarkgamble said:
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ChunkMonk:
Aquinas says that non-existence is actually worse than Hell, …so it is actually an act of mercy on God’s part that He does not destroy the damned.
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So in other words God in his mercy sends sinners to Hell for eternal suffering?? Aquinas says non-existence is worse than Hell. The first statement is simply ridiculous. Aquinas statement is an opinion and a poor one at that. Given a sample of experience between Hell and non-existence. I’m sure even Aquinas would choose non-existence.
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You cite Aquinas’s statement as just an opinion. So is your statement, and Aquinas is a thoroughly trained theologian, an expert in his field. Do you have any training in theology or philosophy? If not why should I take your opinion over his?

And God in His mercy gives us every chance to attain heaven and avoid hell. There is no soul in hell that does not thoroughly deserve to be there.
Clarkgamble
a sample of experience between Hell and non-existence.
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How can what does not exist experience not existing?
I’m sure even Aquinas would choose non-existence
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Even though he said otherwise, in print, for publication.
 
clarkgamble said:
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Mintaka:
Yet the fallen angels don’t long to cease existing. They scrabble hard to exist, because they long to drag down more of us humans to Hell. The damned souls are probably just as avid to keep existing and get company,
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Silly speculation based on no logical evidence at all. How in your arrogance can you possibly think you know what the fallen angels think, or the suffering souls think?
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How can you possibly think you know these things? What makes Mintaka’s words silly speculation and your words worth listening to?
 
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If the demons were resigned, depressed critters who stayed home and longed for nonexistence, Peter wouldn’t have had to say: “Your adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Jesus wouldn’t have been tempted by the Devil. You wouldn’t have had demons possessing people (or pigs). And so on.

So why would damned souls, who can’t get out of Hell, be in a more passive mood than demons, who occasionally can? Wouldn’t they be more frustrated and angry?

I don’t insist on the point, but I know human nature is ornery!

UPDATE – I just remembered some Scripture that agrees with me!

Jesus warns us several times about those who will be thrown out into the darkness outside, “where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Obviously those wailing or weeping are feeling sadness or remorse. But “gnashing of teeth” or “grinding of teeth” is a Biblical way of expressing frustrated anger. Basically, people want to bite something but they can’t, so they grind and snap their teeth together.

So yup, the damned souls are royally torqued off. Partly at themselves, but probably at God and everybody else, too.

And when someone is angry, he isn’t longing for non-existence. He’s longing to make other people cease existing!
 
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clarkgamble said:
I have no idea what the poor souls or the demons think! I’m just amused by those who think they do.
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We have evidence.
We have the teachings of the Church over 2,000 years. We have Scripture, as shown by Mintaka. You --no disrespect intended to you-- have your own opinion, unsupported as far as I can tell.

We have reason for our position, beyond just “I think so.”
 
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His statament was based in logic. For an existent creature, existence is good. Therefore non-existence is bad. For those in Hell, their existence is good.

Some people would rather die than suffer pain. They are disordered. I would not be surprised if the people in Hell are similarly disordered.
 
I have stopped worrying about other peoples’ punishment. I just try to do the best I can for myself and my family.
 
souls in hell increase the glory of the blessed in heaven (cf St. Thomas, St Augustine etc.), and the glory of God itself.
If God destroys his souls, it will diminish his glory and those of the blessed and this would be at the same time against justice, against mercy and against the liberality of God
 
Eternal joy in heaven must have a negative equivalent. It is a matter of God’s perfect justice - which man cannot comprehend in this life.
 
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Why not forgive them anyway? Even I can forgive people who have not repented of harm they have done me.Why not God?
 
Hell? I think Jesus once said for these people it is better for them not to have been born. Not sure where it is or what it really means. From the top of my head, hell is certainly an unimaginably beyond description a horrible place or state to be.

However, we don’t get to choose at judgement day, we can only choose now while we still can - God or without God.
 
to forgive does not mean to leave injustice. You destroyed my house OK, I forgive you, but justice wants you to repair my house.
Forgiveness involves two things:
  • The total abandonment of punishment, if justice can be satisfied without this punishment
  • The clemency which means that one gives a minimum punishment, that which is enough to make repair the wring committed, without severity
But the total abandonment of the punishment for the damned will not repair the evil they caused to the glory of God (their punishment increases the glory of the elect and that of God), so there remains only clemency, and according to St. Thomas the punishment of the damned is a clemency, because in all rigor they should suffer more than that …
 
God’s whole purpose with allowing the world to exist with sin for the time being is to mold the Saints for eternity. So God does things in the best possible way to accomplish His goal. This means that allowing the possibility of experiencing hell for eternity helps accomplish the establishment of the Saints. There have been numerous Saints that began their conversion simply by fearing the future torment that was in store for them if they did not repent. The means to bring one sinner to repentance is worth numerous people experiencing eternal torment. Without the eternal torment many would never have become Sons of God. All are given grace beyond measure to excape this torment not fit for those made in the image of God.

Most of these other comments are problematic. Humans are not naturally eternal nor is it better to be in hell than to not exist. Nor does God have to do anything by some rule of logic. Nor does God need justice by having people suffer.
 
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