Hell

Many, many folks have a problem with the concept of hell. I thought I would provide some of the best thoughts I've heard spoken in regards to the concept of hell.

1. This thought was contributed by a Christian talk show host I heard recently whose name I know not. In regards to the inequitable or overly punitive nature of hell when looking at it as crime and punishment he said(I'm paraphrasing), "consider that the same act is often treated differently when committed against different people. For example, two brothers fighting leads to one hitting the other, the father or someone in the family may simply step forward and separate them while they cool off. However, if one of the sons hits his mother, this will be handled much more severely, including possibly calling in law enforcement. If this same young man hits a police officer, he will most certainly go to jail, and if he even charges the President and attempts to strike him, he will be charged with a federal crime. The point is that the further up the chain of authority, the more serious the charge and, therefore, the more severe the penalty. Extrapolate that out to spitting in the face of the almighty God of the universe, and you will get my point."

However, to be clear, I do not subscribe to only or even primarily a crime and punishment reasoning for hell. I will now proceed to point 2 about hell.

2. This short and sweet point in regards to the existence of hell is courtesy of a Christian speaker and author whom I have much respect for, Winkie Pratney. Simply put, Winkie states that he does not believe that justice is accomplished in this life, therefore, there must be a means to accomplish justice after this life. When an innocent life is taken, or even worse many times, an innocent life is made to live through years of mental, physical, sexual, or other forms of abuse, even the taking of the life or the incarceration of the victimizer does not accomplish justice. Hell is a means to accomplish justice.

3. Finally, this is the insight into hell that I believe captures the most important element about hell, what it is, and why it exists. Imagine that a person consistently says they don't like water. They want no part of water in their lives, and they continue to speak of the evils of water in spite of the reality that they live daily with the benefits of a world sustained by water. In the liquids they drink, even if they don't realize they contain water, they depend on water. From an ecosystem that is completely dependant on the water that is all around us in our environment, they still curse water. Finally, they are are given what they claim to have wanted all along, a desert world without water. This analogy was also given by the nameless talk show host. C.S. Lewis puts it even more succinctly when he says, "Those who bend the knee to God and say 'Thy will be done,' will be allowed to enjoy Him forever, but those who stubbornly reject God's lordship and offer of love and pardon will be told, 'thy will be done.'"(paraphrase)

Hell is an eternal separation from God that God seeks to rescue all from. I don't claim these eliminate all misgivings about hell, but as I stated I think they are valuable insights into the rightness of the existence of hell.

In the words of Abraham, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"