The Problem of Hell

The Problem of HellI thank Gileandos for agreeing to debate this very important topic with me. We will be debating the problem of hell. [1]In short, I aim to make the case that the traditional doctrine of hell as eternal, conscious, torment is, in all likelihood, incompatible with the Christian God. If the Christian God has the traits typically ascribed to him by Christians like perfectly loving, good, merciful, just, knowledgeable, and powerful then I say we have an enormous moral problem on hand if you consider God alongside the doctrine of hell.In what follows whenever I say "hell" I mean to refer to the traditional doctrine of hell unless the term is suitably qualified. The same goes with "God" and Christian God.I will split my objections to the doctrine of hell into three different parts. I will not attempt to canvass all of the possible objections to my arguments as I am not sure which tack my opponent will take, so I will just attempt to provide a basic bare-bones case for supporting the resolution. These objections will also be unavoidably short.The Proportionality Objection"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"-- Genesis 18:25This objection is an old and worn one but it seems to me that it is old and worn for good reason. Basically, it states that no amount of finite sin could ever justify an eternal, infinite sentence of punishment - much less torment. Torture is rightly looked at as a morally impermissible form of punishment. Imagine if I said I was going to torture a murderer forever, of course, what the murderer did was heinous to the highest degree and some might even feel a little justified in getting some revenge against the murderer but after a certain point almost everybody agree the torture just becomes pointless and cruel. The problem is expounded even more when one realizes that hell isn't even about reformation - these people will be there forever - it's about retribution. In a sense the doctrine of hell is saying that these people deserve to exist in torment forever. Again, the question comes up about how this state of affairs is even remotely morally justifiable. How does this constitute God doing right? The Bliss of the Saved Objection"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."-- Revelation 21:4It's a common refrain in Christian thought that there will be nothing but eternal bliss for the redeemed in heaven. Sounds great, right? A wrench is thrown in the plans when one considers hell alongside this picture of sanctified believers. How exactly can these redeemed be in a state of eternal bliss when there are people being tormented forever in hell? Everyday, mundane - but admittedly anecdotal - examples can highlight how much a problem this is for the doctrine of hell. I have often heard of/met Christians who have a great sense of empathy for those who suffer. Indeed, this is considered a great moral virtue in the Christian tradition. They also want to spread the Gospel because they do not want to see someone they could have potentially saved suffer the torments of hell. A lot less rarely, thank God, I have also heard of/met Christians who either are indifferent to the sufferings of others, or worse, even seem to delight in the sufferings of others. Surely, the latter attitude is not only morally erroneous but morally perverse. When considering the status of those in heaven it certainly seems as if they would share the former attitude towards the suffering of others to an unimaginably greater degree then the latter attitude. Now, how could those saved really be in a state of perfect bliss if there are those who are suffering unimaginable, eternal torments? This seems to me to be just plain incompatible with central Christian virtues and God.The Reconciliation Objection"and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."-- Colossians 1:20Surely, reconciliation with God is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. This is most clearly demonstrated by Colossians 1:20.The problem should then become immediately obvious. Here is a God who is said to be perfectly loving and perfectly good reconciling all things to himself...yet there are people anguishing in hell. In what sense has peace been made if people are suffering for all of eternity? In what sense can reconciliation occur when there are people who are in the state of never-ending, conscious, torment? Are we seriously suppose to countenance the thought that the reconciliation of all people (as a subset of the set "all things" that Col. 1:20 speaks of) happens in virtue of some people agonizing in unimaginable torment forever? It's incredibly hard to see how by any reasonable definition of the word "reconcile" [2] hell could exist in conjunction with God.I now pass the baton to Con.Sources[1] http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] http://www.merriam-webster.com...