Christian hell is a morally abhorrent concept

I submit that Hell is a morally abhorrent concept, I will firstly establish what hell is, or at least marshal some evidence that suggests what it entails, then establish who may go there, and finally make my case for why, specifically this is morally abhorrent. What is hell and who goes there I have complied some quotes from Christian scripture that describe hell, in quite some detail in source 1. Readers, I would submit that these quotes of the Bible tell us, that hell, in the Christian tradition is both eternal, painful and most importantly, designed with the torture of physical and mental souls in mind. In the first instance I would submit that the torture of anyone, mind, body or soul, for eternity is morally abhorrent, most western democratic nations find torture abhorrent, as you can see from the statistics included below, if you disagree with torture in the first instance, then the corollary must be to disagree on moral grounds with the torture that occurs in Hell. For example, could you, would you, hold someone’s hand in a fire for 5 minutes? Could you imagine morally justifying that action in any court, or to any friend, we are not talking about someone’s hand for 5 minutes, we are talking about entire bodies, for eternity (source 1). Ask yourself, who, if anyone, deserves such a thing, could you even imagine taking some of the worst criminals our society has to offer, instead of imprisoning them, we torture them, for eternity without mercy. Maybe you could, but what about an un believer? And to what end? This is in its own right separate to torture of criminals for information, whether you agree with it or not, this is simply torture, for tortures sake is it not? I ask you readers, do I deserve to be tortured for eternity for speaking against God as it states in revelation (source 1)? Maybe you think I do, but I don’t think you can morally justify this no more than I could morally justify torturing the Pope in this life. I do not claim the right to judge someone to be in pain simply for what they believe, whether I agree with it or not, I shan’t have them tortured in my name, or in the name of a Deity. Take a look at the video provided below (please be aware it is a movie rated 16), who deserves this for eternity? Without end, I could never wish such a thing even upon the most terrible people I know of, the very thing that separates us from the wicked is a reasoned, rational and fair system of justice, or at least the attempt that we strive towards one is commendable. . http://www.youtube.com... The video is not the Bible description of hell, but I hope it hammers home just how serious a concept this is, for eternity. Now this is somewhat simplistic, there are other traditions within Christian faith that will not submit to the above, so here is where I make further arguments. Even if no-one goes to hell - the idea of it is morally abhorrent The very idea, that just because of fear, someone might pursue a life of faith is disingenuous, it degrades the faith itself does it not? Surely sir, you do not want believers who share your values simply because they are in fear of eternal torture. How many deathbed conversions occur not because of the truth of a prophecy, but because of Pascal’s wager. . http://plato.stanford.edu... What does it make our own justice system, if for example it is true that those who commit sins, crimes and other abominations go to hell, other than separating such people from society, what other point would there be a to justice system, why stop the wicked, of 80 years of evil deeds grant them an eternity in hellfire, why bother going to great lengths to see them punished by a jury of their peers, why not just execute them and be done with it? It makes those in heaven reside with a torturer If I go to hell, for, let’s say, being a practising pagan (for example) and my opponent goes to heaven, for following a path of righteousness, then he may accept that this is the case, he may reside in heaven with the almighty. But, and I suspect this is the case, he would not wish to see me tortured (at least I hope not) and yet has no power to prevent my eternal suffering, other than to decline to enter heaven himself as protest at the torture of fellow man. It’s what I would do, I would rather be tortured for eternity, than to sit in heaven and accept that anyone, even my mortal enemy, would spend eternity in hell. I abhor torture, many people do in fact the statistics on the view of torture can be seen below. I will not partake in it, I will not knowingly reside with a being that has judged another to be tortured, even if that being is God. 73% of Mexicans, 53% of US citizens, 82% of Francs and even 49% of Russians believe that torture, in all forms should be prohibited. . http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com... If we on this earth, find it repulsive that we are against practicing it simply for the gain of information, with an end, then why, in all that is moral is it OK for God to dictate that anyone should suffer this fate for eternity. If you find yourself amongst the numbers above, then please, think upon whether hell is morally justified. It doesn’t actually resolve the problem Does hell actually undo the crime committed, we can be fairly sure that unscrupulous characters such as Charles Manson and Josef Fritzl may well arguably be residing in hell, fair enough you might say, serves them right. Does it unrape the raped? Does it unmurder the murders? Will any victim feel better knowing their torturer will go to hell and would you be prepared to tell them that during the intense emotional and physical torture they endure on this earth? It makes a mockery of the centuries of western development in creating a justice system that works, that doesn’t involve torture, that isn’t based upon revenge and wrath and fury. With that, I leave the floor to my honourable opponent to make his case. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any questions from observers, please do provide them in comments and I will be happy to answer them in my rebuttal, along with addressing the points from my opposite (provided this is OK with my opponent). Kindest Regards, Ben ------------------------------ Source 1 Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,Mark 9:43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fireMatthew 25:46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ”Daniel 12:2,3; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28; Revelation 20:14,15 Everyone will exist eternally either in heaven or hell Matthew 13:50 “furnace of fire…weeping and gnashing of teeth”Mark 9:48 “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenchedRevelation 14:10 “he will be tormented with fire and brimstone”