MADELINE- Screamy Preacher Man comes to the UNT campus every Wednesday.
To a small crowd of curious students, he shouts about God’s rage towards those who are not Christians. He hurls insults at Muslims, Hindus, agnostics, and atheists. He screams that God will sentence all “unbelievers” to eternal torment.
You would think that I would not be even slightly worried or scared of Screamy Preacher Man’s shouting. I am a Christian, so I am in the clear, right? But though I try to laugh off Screamy Preacher Man’s arguments, I still feel a twinge of fear when I pass by him every week, and I imagine that many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, secretly feel this twinge, too. I think, “What if I am not Christian enough?” and am sure that deep down, a lot of non-Christians worry that he might be right.
The purpose of this post is to dispel all fear of the idea of eternal hell. The doctrine of eternal hell contradicts many essential Christian beliefs, and I will show you how.
To uncover the problems with the idea of eternal hell, we must ask ourselves this: “Does God still love the people in hell?” What we find is that no matter what we answer to this question, we run into severe issues.
Let’s first answer “yes” to our question. Let’s say, “Yes, God does love the people in hell.” Right off the bat, this answer does not seem to make much sense. How can you love someone and sentence them to infinite torture at the same time? Corinthians 13:4-8 proclaims: “Love is patient, love is kind…it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Sentencing an individual to hell is not an act of patience, kindness, protection, trust or hope. If we accept this definition of all love, the idea that God can feel this incredibly powerful, positive feeling towards someone and still sentence them to eternal punishment becomes completely ridiculous. The answer “yes” to the question “Does God love those in hell?” turns out to be absurd.
What if we answer “no”? What if we say, “No, God does not love the souls in hell?” If we are to say this, then we must give up the idea of God’s infinite love. To answer “no” is to say, “God loves you, unless you die and happen to not be Christian, at which point He will stop loving you and send you to be tormented forever.” That is not eternal, unconditional love at all. If we are to believe that God does not love the people in hell, then we must throw away the concept that God’s love for us is unending. This is a major problem, because this concept is absolutely central to Christianity. Just listen to any Christian praise song. Every line, you will hear about “God’s eternal/infinite/unending/unfailing/everlasting love.” If we answer “no” to our question, then it seems that we are giving up a very crucial aspect of Christianity.
So, if we answer “yes” to the question, “Does God love the people in hell?” we soon realize that this answer is ridiculous. If we answer “no,” we throw out one of the most important elements of Christianity. No matter what we do, we run into problems. What is the solution?
The only way to avoid the issues that arise when asking the question “Does God love those in hell?” is to not believe in eternal hell at all.
The idea of eternal hell is too problematic to be taken seriously. It should not be a part of Christian doctrine, and anyone who preaches about eternal hell has obviously not studied Christianity long enough to encounter the issues the concept of hell raises. So do not fear, my non-Christian friends. You do not need to fear Screamy Preacher Man, though you should probably not provoke him. The best thing to do is put on your earbuds, walk past him as quickly as possible, and remember that the Christian God does not sentence people to eternal punishment.
To a small crowd of curious students, he shouts about God’s rage towards those who are not Christians. He hurls insults at Muslims, Hindus, agnostics, and atheists. He screams that God will sentence all “unbelievers” to eternal torment.
You would think that I would not be even slightly worried or scared of Screamy Preacher Man’s shouting. I am a Christian, so I am in the clear, right? But though I try to laugh off Screamy Preacher Man’s arguments, I still feel a twinge of fear when I pass by him every week, and I imagine that many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, secretly feel this twinge, too. I think, “What if I am not Christian enough?” and am sure that deep down, a lot of non-Christians worry that he might be right.
The purpose of this post is to dispel all fear of the idea of eternal hell. The doctrine of eternal hell contradicts many essential Christian beliefs, and I will show you how.
To uncover the problems with the idea of eternal hell, we must ask ourselves this: “Does God still love the people in hell?” What we find is that no matter what we answer to this question, we run into severe issues.
Let’s first answer “yes” to our question. Let’s say, “Yes, God does love the people in hell.” Right off the bat, this answer does not seem to make much sense. How can you love someone and sentence them to infinite torture at the same time? Corinthians 13:4-8 proclaims: “Love is patient, love is kind…it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Sentencing an individual to hell is not an act of patience, kindness, protection, trust or hope. If we accept this definition of all love, the idea that God can feel this incredibly powerful, positive feeling towards someone and still sentence them to eternal punishment becomes completely ridiculous. The answer “yes” to the question “Does God love those in hell?” turns out to be absurd.
What if we answer “no”? What if we say, “No, God does not love the souls in hell?” If we are to say this, then we must give up the idea of God’s infinite love. To answer “no” is to say, “God loves you, unless you die and happen to not be Christian, at which point He will stop loving you and send you to be tormented forever.” That is not eternal, unconditional love at all. If we are to believe that God does not love the people in hell, then we must throw away the concept that God’s love for us is unending. This is a major problem, because this concept is absolutely central to Christianity. Just listen to any Christian praise song. Every line, you will hear about “God’s eternal/infinite/unending/unfailing/everlasting love.” If we answer “no” to our question, then it seems that we are giving up a very crucial aspect of Christianity.
So, if we answer “yes” to the question, “Does God love the people in hell?” we soon realize that this answer is ridiculous. If we answer “no,” we throw out one of the most important elements of Christianity. No matter what we do, we run into problems. What is the solution?
The only way to avoid the issues that arise when asking the question “Does God love those in hell?” is to not believe in eternal hell at all.
The idea of eternal hell is too problematic to be taken seriously. It should not be a part of Christian doctrine, and anyone who preaches about eternal hell has obviously not studied Christianity long enough to encounter the issues the concept of hell raises. So do not fear, my non-Christian friends. You do not need to fear Screamy Preacher Man, though you should probably not provoke him. The best thing to do is put on your earbuds, walk past him as quickly as possible, and remember that the Christian God does not sentence people to eternal punishment.
