Can a Loving God Really Co-exist with an Eternal Hell?

 

 

Can a Loving God Really Co-exist with an Eternal Hell?

By Clark Bates
Posted February 5, 2016

 Recently, I posted an article from our friends in the UK, Premier Christianity, that spoke of several theological debates coming, or continuing, into the new year. One of these debates was the traditional concept of Hell as Eternal Conscious Torment, or ECT for short. I recently was engaged in a discussion regarding this very subject and thought I'd lend my thoughts to the matter.

I'll start by pointing out that the view of ECT is not a test for orthodoxy nor is it universally held in Christian circles, so for this reason it is not something for Christian brothers and sisters to divide over. It does present opportunities for careful and respectful debate and study, however. That being said, I personally do believe in ECT, and here are a few reasons why:

1. Many say that infinite punishment is extreme, even torture. This is generally based on the belief that the punishment is excessive to the nature of the crime, primarily because humans live only a short length of time in reference to a punishment that will exist for eternity.

At first blush, this would seem to be a very valid point, but one thing to bear in mind is that even judicial punishment here on earth is not based on the length of a crime. A murder can take place in less than a minute but the sentence will still be life imprisonment. If a person's entire life is marked by sin (i.e. a crime against God) the duration of the punishment is not determined by the length of life. If this were the case, you'd certainly have an argument for euthanasia or even abortion.

No, the reason for this is that punishment is largely based on the nature of the offense and the person offended (i.e. crimes against children receive harsher sentences). The crime in question is the rejection of perfection and holiness, and an infinite God at that. A crime against an infinite God requires an infinite punishment; the nature of this crime is concomitant with the severity of the offense: an absolute rejection of holiness.

2. It's often said that ECT appears contradictory in nature to a God who is supposedly “All-Loving”.

It's helpful to begin with a clarification on the nature of Hell, for often our images are less informed by Scripture and more informed by popular iconography. I don't believe hell to be the pit of fire and torture devices as popularized by medieval painters. I believe primarily that an existence in Hell is an eternal separation from God Himself and that Scripture supports this belief. This is, in fact, what those who reject God on this earth want anyway. After all, if you don't want to be near God now, an eternity in His direct presence would be more of a torture than a blessing, but beyond that, given that mankind is an image-bearer of God, to annihilate the lost would essentially be for God to destroy himself in effigy, which is something He could not do. This is why annihilationism runs contrary to the Nature of God.

Hell then, is as C.S. Lewis so famously wrote, "The moment when the lost say to the Lord, 'Thy will be done.' To which He replies, 'No, thy will be done.' " It is giving for eternity what the lost have sought after all their life.

This does bring up the deeper question of God's justice and holiness as well. If God is perfectly just, no punishment given by him can be deemed unjust, especially not from a human perspective. Likewise, if He is perfectly holy then He cannot simply ignore a crime against His person. This means that punishment must be dealt out. But if God were also perfectly loving, I would expect him to provide some way for the punishment to be avoided without contradicting His holiness and justice which is exactly what He did through the incarnation of Jesus Christ.