If there’s one thing that Vulcans like less than emotions, it’s contradictions. Logic is the process of detecting and weeding out contradictory statements. This has produced headaches for Christendom from the very beginning.
The Bible is a noisy data set; it is the record of human witnesses to divine interactions. Jesus and the prophets often used poetic language to convey their messages across the centuries – concrete metaphors survive language translation better than abstract reasoning. Jesus used hyperbole to emphasize certain points; italics had yet to be invented. God left us with mysteries to ponder. And there are hidden messages which become clear to those who pay close attention and obey the more obvious dictates.
And so there have been disagreements about theonomical matters from the start – both important and trivial. St. Paul admonished Christians to be One, and not form factions. Many have interpreted this as a call to stop thinking, to accept the interpretations of those in authority. At times this worked. At other times it resulted in deeper factional splits, excommunications, lost outreach opportunities, and outright religious war.
I wonder if Paul was arguing against factionalism but not for fascism. Maybe Christian worship should include some pondering and debating. It would certainly make things more interesting for the nerds in the congregations. Maybe the mysteries and ambiguities of the Bible are there as chew toys for the argumentative…
With that being said, some of those hidden messages may prove to be important. Some of them may well be messages sent across time to a rich and secure future, where there is less fear to inspire faith, but there are computerized Bibles to allow easy cross-referencing and word studies. (More on this in a moment.)
In the United States, with our early adoption of Freedom of Religion, we developed a market for Biblical interpretation and worship style. Since we have a multitude of Christian denominations with different takes on controversial points, you can change denominations if your current denomination is wrong on a point you consider important.
This spiritual capitalism has worked. The US has remained more actively Christian than most prosperous countries – including those which have official state sponsored churches. But there is an important market that is being poorly served: the especially prosperous and well educated. Our elite is going Post Christian, and storm clouds are on the horizon.
Let us address a major contradiction, one embraced by most of the major denominations, a contradiction which is especially glaring in our prosperous age in our nominally free country. Consider these two statements:
God is love.
God will burn the souls of sinners and unbelievers for eternity.
This is a colossal contradiction! It may have been a useful recruitment tool at one time, among people used to evil gods and human sacrifice requirements. It may have been reasonable seeming to those living in societies where torture was a routine part of the criminal justice system.
But in our comfortable age, which is more just and merciful in part due to Christian influence, the contradiction is glaring. Might be time to sing a few hundred Jesus Jingles to overwhelm the logic circuits and make the bad thoughts go away…Or maybe this is a valid reason to switch to Christianity Lite. Downplay the unpleasant bits of the Bible and focus on the love and mercy parts…
I have an interesting irony for you: the Christian denominations which have been most up front preaching against this contradiction include the most legalistic and Old Testament based. These include the Seventh Day Adventists and more extreme Sabbath keeping denominations which also observe the annual Sabbaths which most Christians don’t even know about. The average members of the extreme denominations know their way around the Bible better than the clergy of Christianity Lite churches. These reactionary Christians have been preaching against Hell for decades. I will give you a quick tour of some of their research and then give you some references for further study. If you don't have a copy of e-Sword on your machine, I strongly recommend you get one. It's free and really makes doing word searches, translation comparisons, and cross referencing easier.
A word of warning: if your faith is tightly bound to the doctrines of your denomination, you might want to skip this section. Better to be a Christian clinging to an error than a Christian with shaken faith. (At least, I assume that's the case. This question is well above my halo grade.) This section is aimed primarily at the curious, the unsatisfied, former Christians who might be open to a second look, and those who have watered down their faith to Christianity Lite.
Let's start with the Old Testament. There is no fiery Hell in the Old Testament. Indeed, there are no souls living in an underworld at all. The Hebrew word which is sometimes translated as "hell" in the King James Version is "sheol." Sometimes it is translated as grave [for example, Gen. 37:35, Gen 42:38, 1 Sam. 2:6]. The New American Standard Bible leaves sheol untranslated. You could do a word search on sheol there, and compare with the King James Version. Or you can use the KJV+ tab, search for "hell" and then use the Strong's number (H7585) to search for all occurrences of sheol in the King James Version.
Based on the context, it appears that sheol just means place underneath the surface, whether it be pit, grave, or in the case of Jonah, underwater [Jonah 2:2]. Confusion comes from the fact that when the Jewish priesthood made an official translation into Greek (the Septuagint), they used the Greek word "hades" for "sheol" and pagan Greeks did use hades to mean an underworld where they souls of mortals dwelt after death.
But the Old Testament clearly does not say that souls live in an underground realm. The Old Testament likens death to sleep. The books of Kings and Chronicles use the phrase "slept with his fathers" to describe dead kings [for example 1 Kings 2:10, 1 Kings 1 11, 1 Kings 14:20,...2 Kings 8:24... 2 Chronicles 9:31, and quite a few more]. Unless the dead dream while they sleep, they are just as dead according to the Old Testament as according to Carl Sagan or some other secular humanist.
According to the Old Testament, the Afterlife is a future event, happening here on Earth. See the beginning of Ezekiel 37, which has a vision of meat being restored to old bones and the dead returning to life. There is a similar promise in the beginning of the 12th chapter of Daniel. Job 14:1-15 is another, albeit less explicit, mention of the Resurrection. The apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon, chapters 1-6, gives a detailed description of the Afterlife, with both righteous and wicked being brought back to life, and then the righteous being granted eternal life and the wicked being punished. The exact punishment isn't entirely clear, but chapter 5 seems to indicate nonexistence.
"So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be, and we had no sign of virtue to show, but were consumed in our wickedness."
[Wisdom of Solomon 5:13, New Revised Standard Version]
(By the way, the end of Chapter 5 has the same Armor of God imagery that St. Paul used in Ephesians Chapter 6.)
Next, let's turn to the New Testament and ask the question, "Has that future already happened?" Do the dead still sleep? There is this mysterious sequence towards the end of Matthew's gospel:
Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
There was a Resurrection along with Jesus' Resurrection. But this appears to be a foreshadowing of a bigger Resurrection to come. I know of no other reference to this event, and the book doesn't say what happened to those resurrected saints. Were they merely temporarily awakened? Did they ascend into Heaven along with Jesus? Are there immortals walking the earth to this day? The Bible does not say.
But the Bible does continue to use sleep as a metaphor for death, including those who died after Jesus. St. Stephen, the first martyr was described as asleep in Acts 7:60. St. Paul refers to those who are asleep in several places including 1 Corinthians 11:28-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. And then there is 1 Corinthians 15; read it. Read it all. Paul came right out and said that if there is no Resurrection, then there is no Afterlife and that faith is useless. Take particular note of verse 52:
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The raising of the dead and the transformation of the still living saints is to happen at the last trump. Chapters 8-11 of Revelations describes seven angels with trumpets, and all sorts of bad things happen after each of the first six trumpet blasts. There will be Christians living through this unpleasantness. Belief is not a free ride. Also, these events have yet to happen. The dead still sleep.
Now let us turn to that passage in 1 Thessalonians.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Here, we have what might be interpreted as dead Christians and the Raptured going to live up in the clouds playing harps and living blissfully. But notice verse 16. The Lord descends from Heaven. The Resurrected and Raptured do not go all the way up to Heaven, but merely up into the clouds. Is this where Christians will be with the Lord forever?
Well, Christ is not going to stay floating in the clouds. According to Revelations 11:15, the seventh trumpet blast signals Christ coming down to and take over the world.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelations then goes off on a tangent so we turn next to Chapter 20 to find out more about this Resurrection:
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
The Dead in Christ will not stay up floating in the clouds playing harps! They are going to reign, as part of Jesus' government. The whole meeting in the sky thing is more like a military muster, a preparation for taking over the messed up planet. This planet, by the way. The new Heaven and new Earth come later [Rev. 21].
This business of reigning with Christ should clear up some mysteries and apparent contradictions in the New Testament. At times the Bible says we are saved purely by Grace, and other places there is talk of working out salvation, counting the cost, treasure in Heaven, and crowns. (Do a New Testament word search on "crown." It's instructive.) There are two different Afterlife offers in the New Testament: being part of the Kingdom of Heaven, and being good enough to get through the Last Judgment, which happens after the second Resurrection. The first offer entails real work. You have lessons and tests in leadership, justice, and mercy to get through. Running a church, doing missionary work, raising money for charity, guiding the misguided, etc. all are relevant training for running a future kingdom. Note Paul's admonition in 1 Corinthians 6:
1Co 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
1Co 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
1Co 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
Note also the many parables, such as the Parable of the Talents, which are about a king or property owner turning over responsibility to servants and then going off on a trip. It's all about how well we handle responsibility when not supervised.
Oh, and we also need to learn how to follow directions.
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven and Earth have not passed away yet. Think about that before saying that the Law has been done away with. This is not to say that we should incorporate the whole of the Law of Moses into US law! The tough question is which Laws should Christians practice internally, and which are relevant only for governing the Hebrews in the Holy Land? Get the answer wrong and it can cost you some serious rank in the Kingdom. Take note: the Kingdom is not to be egalitarian; there will be Great and Least.
This difference between having an Afterlife and reigning in the Kingdom also resolves some issues regarding the Narrow Gate and Predestination. Most people are not Called. Faith is listed as one of the spiritual gifts. And, of course, those who lived outside of all contact with the Holy Land had no opportunity whatsoever to learn the full Way of Life. If all those who were not Called are to be tortured eternally for their lack of faith, the arrangement seems rather unjust. If the Call is a job offer which entails hard work and suffering in return for really huge rewards, then the arrangement seems considerably more fair.
For those who are Called, this life is a training ground. This requires being in a world that includes the clueless, the weak, and the wicked. The faithless have a job to do. They are part of the Test. The same is true for the errors and corruption of the churches. Every generation needs that exercise in willpower, leadership and following directions. While I point out many reading comprehension errors of the older denominations, I do not intend to neener-dance. The Early Church faced astounding hardships compared to Christians here in the US. They faced persecutions, pagan cultures, and a lack of printing presses. We live at the tail end of an age of Christian dominance. We have the First Amendment and computer assistance in studying the Bible. Ours are a different set of tests: of obeying the Word of God with fewer excuses, of maintaining faith in a world of wealth, advanced science, and many pleasant temptations.
(Now if the current lapse into Post Christianity is indeed the Great Falling Away predicted for the End Times, our tests may soon become less pleasant.)
The Second Resurrection
OK, we've looked deep into the fate of true Christians. What of the rest? What happens to unbelievers and the mildly wicked? For their fate we turn to Revelations 20:
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
After Jesus and the saints rule the Earth for a millenium, the devil is to be released for a short time. After a last ditch attack on the Holy Land the devil and his followers will be defeated and tossed into a fiery pit to be eternally tormented (Or at least tormented for multiple ages; there are some questions about the word translated as forever. See the notes at the end of this study.). Then, all those who were not part of the first Resurrection are to be brought back to life and judged -- according to their works. Some of them are to be punished by being tossed into the same lake of fire.
Do note:
The devil is to be tormented in this lake of fire. He is not to be the ruler of an underground fiery realm in charge of tormenting mortals.
The devil is not there yet.
A word translated as "hell" in the King James Version is tossed into this pit! The pit itself is not hell. (I inserted the word hades in square brackets in the quotes above as that's the Greek word being translated here.)
Those not found written in the book of life are to be cast into the lake of fire.
Now here is the disturbing question: are humans who are not in the book of life to be tormented eternally? That phrase "second death" indicates termination. This term pops up in other New Testament passages as well.
And another disturbing question: are all non Believers to be case into this lake? Revelations 21 has this troubling passage:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
This doesn't look so good for those who never had a chance to know Jesus. But let us turn next to what Jesus himself said on such matters.
Mar 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched
Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Mar 9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Above, the word translated as "hell" is "gehenna" not "hades." Gehenna was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. Individual bits of garbage burn up, even as the dump remains on fire. The question is: do souls burn up? Well there is this passage in Hebrews:
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
That which is devoured is used up. Whether this "fiery indignation" is the same as the gehenna fire is uncertain to me. What does stand out to me in this passage is that some denominations make a bit too much over being Saved. While non Christians are entitled to a complete do-over upon being baptised, sins racked up afterwards appear to count. I suggest the reader have a look at Leviticus 4:22-31. Sacrifices did suffice for inadvertent sins. Jesus' sacrifice upon the Cross takes care of any need for animal sacrifices today...
But we still haven't answered the question about the fate of those never allowed to Believe. Are they merely NPCs to be disposed of after those who have been Called get their training? Well, there is this:
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The passage above is clearly a reference to the Last Judgment which comes after the Second Resurrection. There are a couple important things to note about this passage. First, some of those who end up on the right hand are to be surprised at their status; they were not Believers. Secondly, lack of charity is enough to get one on Jesus' bad side. Libertarians and conservatives who oppose all welfare, as well as conservative Christians who focus too much on doctrinal issues and not enough of good works, should take note! Some of the Christianity Lite congregations do better on the Good Works than some of the more theonomically correct. Therefore, they might have a better shot at surviving Judgment day and even getting into the Kingdom, albeit with low rank. (And by the way, meditation on this passage has softened my political stance over the years.)
Building a doctrine on one passage is a dangerous game, so let me throw in this:
Mat 11:20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
Mat 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Mat 11:22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Mat 11:24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
The passage (and similar passages such as Matthew 12:38-42, Matthew 10:11-15, Luke 10:1-16) above clearly indicates that sinners who were denied the gift of faith are not mere soulless NPCs. They might be NPCs as far as the big game of becoming part of Jesus' government is concerned, but they are still humans who count. And Jesus weighs guilt not merely by acts, but by culpability. Sodom is recorded in Genesis has having zero righteous individuals. The cities Jesus cursed above were likely filled with many more not-so-bad people. But because they had been given far more evidence of the Divine in the form of Jesus' miracles, they were in bigger trouble overall.
Since Sodom had zero righteous individuals, and yet Sodom is going to get a better judgment than some Jewish (or any) city, it seems to indicate that there will be some time for repentance between the Second Resurrection and Judgment Day -- at least for those not given a chance to repent in this life. I'll leave you to the further readings on this matter.
What I can say is that there are multiple scriptures which indicate that increased knowledge leads to increased culpability. Consider this:
Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Note that in this parable that there are degrees of punishment, many or few stripes. This hints that the Last Judgment includes penalties other than disposing of unworthy souls into the fiery pit.
Or consider this:
Mat 21:28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Or this:
Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
Rom 2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Contrary to the rants of those on the Alt-Right, the passage above is not saying that Jews are bad people. It is saying that more is expected of Jews, since they got the Word earlier. I think it also implies that Jews get more reward in this life when they are righteous (this was part of the covenant with Abraham).
God is Tough Love
Many find it hard to reconcile the idea of a loving God with a God who would torture sinners for eternity. A strong Bible-based case can be made that this Lovecraftian picture of God is incorrect. And the case I made above is not complete. Others have made a stronger case.
But what about the pain and suffering we see in this life? Some of it is incredibly brutal. Even here in the incredibly wealthy and rather Christian Land of the Free we have waterboarding, supermax prisons, violent welfare ghettoes, and the 1040 instruction manual. How can a loving God allow such things?
For starters the term "loving God" alludes to a loving father, and fathers were expected to be tough in order to prepare their sons for adulthood.
Pro 23:12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Pro 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Pro 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Pro 23:15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
These are tough words, too tough for students of Modern Indignation Studies. But there are plenty of college professors and computer nerds who can handle the Truth, as long as you don't fry their brains with Jesus Jingles or demand that they swallow obvious contradictions.
And for those who find the conditions of membership in the Kingdom to be too tough, and those who have already sinned significantly after baptism, there is an out. It's in the Lord's Prayer and the verses immediately following:
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
If you want to be forgiven, forgive others. And I don't think Jesus was talking about mumbling something about forgiveness in the back of your mind or sending out imaginary cuddle rays. I'm pretty certain that he was talking about withholding physical punishments and foregoing compensation. This also includes charitable giving, since under Hebrew law the well off were expected to give zero interest loans to the poor on the condition that the poor had to pay back in full or do a term of indentured servitude. Forgiving such debts would be the same as simply giving the money.
Think hard on these matters before going overboard with tough on crime legislation and wars on vices. And beware of weaseling out of charitable giving via doctrinal correctness. We all need some slack.
Further Reading
Here are some thinkers/ministries who challenge the traditional notion of Hell while diving deeper into Scripture than most preachers. Some of them go much further than I do, claiming that even the second death is temporary. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out if their arguments are sound.
Some of these sites go deep on many other Biblical subjects as well. You will find many hours of interesting reading. With that said, inclusion in this list does not constitute endorsement of all the ideas on these sites. I am simply inviting interested readers to think.
> Many find it hard to reconcile the idea of a loving God with a God who would torture sinners for eternity.
And they are right. God doesn't torture sinners for eternity. He gives all intelligent creatures (humans and spirits) the choice between living with him or not. If one decides to live (for eternity) without God, God obliges and removes himself and all his grace. Turns out happiness is a consequence of grace. No grace - no happiness. Enter damnation.
God isn't torturing anyone. It's just a simple binary choice on the part of humans if they want God - all of God - or not - meaning no God at all. Nobody is being a dickhead, and nobody is certainly being self-contradictory.