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

[PetraG]

If you are life and happiness itself and yet they choose to hate you, your forgiveness will not achieve a reconciliation. Reconciliation takes two. Love takes two. They have the power to choose misery on their own terms in favor of bliss purchased at the price of taking someone else’s terms.

 

[JohnR77]

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

Thanks for your reply.
Do you have references where i can read what they wrote ?

From a worldly perspective suffering is the worst thing.
So, I can see how a person thinking from that false perspective would think Hell should cease to exist.
From the Christian perspective, sin is the worst. Suffering, when united to Christ’s, becomes redemptive and good.

And pleasure is not the best.
Manifesting the glory of God is much better.

Therefore, it is good to exist and to be a manifestation of God’s glory, even while suffering.

So, it makes sense, that in His mercy God allows them, or gives them eternal existence.

God creates.
God doesn’t make mistakes.
So, He doesn’t use an eraser.
Therefore, there is no cause for Him to bring to non-existence that which He has created.
John

 

[zhoudu]

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.

Really? Where does he say that?