A few weeks ago at a Wednesday night Bible study; the man leading the study noted this common question. He said that most people have problems believing in God because “A good and loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.” His response to this was “If you sent your very own son to suffer the most agonizing, humiliating, and brutal death in order to save someone and they completely rejected it and let your son die in vain – wouldn’t you want them to go to hell?” And of course, everyone in the room murmurs and nods yes – except me.
I don’t think most people recognize all the aspects of hell. Think about it. If a man kills another man, he is sent to jail and serves lots of time. Would you, being a merciful and just person, say that this murderer deserves to be beaten and totured for the rest of his life (10+ years) until he dies? I doubt you’d say that. Would you say that this a man who beats his wife should be burned and totured for 30+ years nonstop? I doubt you’d say that’s merciful justice.
So why do we think it’s loving merciful justice for God to send all non-Christians to an ETERNAL punishment of misery, burning, and gnashing of teeth? The worst punishment of all time – for ETERNITY. And why would a person be sent to this horrible place? Because he didn’t accept Christ’s offer of salvation. Someone denies a gift and gets punished for all eternity. Sounds like justice.
Spencer Daniels B.
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November 7, 2009 at 7:49 am
Stavros
“If you sent your very own son to suffer…”
You can just stop right there with the question.
What need of an all powerful and loving merciful creature would send their son to suffer?
Especially when the situation is, I’m sacrificing myself to myself to appease myself for the violations (sins) of the rules I created in the first place.
November 23, 2009 at 3:47 am
Spencer D.
“Especially when the situation is, I’m sacrificing myself to myself to appease myself for the violations (sins) of the rules I created in the first place.”
That is amazing. I’ve never thought of it that way.
I mean I have thought of why is that necessary for an “all-powerful” God to do that. I mean sure, the idea is that man should be able to willingly accept God’s offer of salvation…but cruel torture and punishment needed to offer a gift of salvation? Hmm……