One of the most common objections I’ve encountered when discussing the Christian teaching on hell is its eternal nature. Ostensibly, hell is objectionable because it is by definition unjust. Damnation, being eternal, cannot possibly be fitting to a finite amount of evil committed. Therefore, if hell exists, God is unjust or somehow the idea of hell is off, with perhaps universal salvation or annihilationism as at least two possible alternatives.
But how is that no one objects to the flip side of this problem? No one objects to the idea that we receive eternal salvation from a finite life. I have yet to hear anyone cry, “It simply isn’t fair that people would receive bliss for all eternity for a finite life!” It is just as incommensurate as the problem of hell: something infinite cannot be seen as the fitting or corresponding reward or punishment for something finite.
And they are right. Eternal damnation is not commensurable to a finite life. But this isn’t because God is a capricious and evil torturer. Eternal damnation follows from the fact that salvation is eternal. And eternal salvation is certainly not commensurate to our finite lives. It is an overflowing and superfluous gift of mercy given to us. We have not merited eternity by our finitude, no matter well spent the time was spent from womb to tomb. But the flip side of this, if we reject this gift, is that damnation must be eternal as well.
To put it another way, we are given the gift of eternal life. Either we say yes to God and that eternity is bliss or we say no and it is damnation. Either way we are given something that cannot correspond to any kind of life we could possibly live. Neither is “just” in the sense of being what we deserve for our finite existence. Because eternal life is a gift, either saved or damned, it can never be fitting. If we could not possibly be damned for eternity, we could not spend that time in joy either. Eternal life is necessarily disproportionate but it would not be grace if it were otherwise.
Comment by Earl H. Foote on November 25, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Sorry, but I fail to follow the logic of this. Yes, eternal life in Heaven is more than we deserve, but that is because God is both just and merciful. I don’t see how that can be turned around to justify eternal punishment. I am not a Universalist, but I think that those who are not saved either receive punishment commensurate to their (finite) sins or encounter immediate death of the soul following death of the body. This is a mystery that only God can fully explain.
Comment by bwsmith on November 26, 2014 at 11:59 am
A timely meditation — esp. as we enter a day of Thanksgiving and feasting.
Comment by Dave on November 26, 2014 at 12:46 pm
It is true that this is something that only God understands. But the word seems to be clear that those who do not accept the gift of salvation, are already condemned, and will face eternal punishment/separation. Does God have other plans for these people? Does the Bible give any insight into this question? I have not seen it, and this is most likely because it makes no sense to present hope through eternal separation. The goal is that as many as possible would come to faith, and receive salvation. Let me say that I am not a theologian, and this is just a layman’s opinion. So hopefully I have not said anything that is too far off-base. 🙂
Comment by MarcoPolo on December 2, 2014 at 3:55 pm
And then again, maybe after this life, there is just nothing?!
If there was to be something after…wouldn’t it reason that there was something before?
Since none of us can affirm either, we shouldn’t get too worked up over something that can’t be proven.
Comment by Winston on December 8, 2014 at 1:04 am
I am very troubled by this article. However well intentioned the author might be this is a terrible explanation of this very difficult matter. God is righteous in all his ways. He never deals unjustly with men. Sin is committed against an infinite God and when God judges men it will be exactly what they deserve. The fact that this is beyond our comprehension has nothing to do with it. We have to accept the teaching about God’s judgement and also accept that God is righteous in judging. Eternal life on the other hand is a free gift and is not earned by our good works . Our salvation is given to us by God through the offering of Christ on the cross who purchased our salvation with His precious blood.We must accept by faith . Someday when the secrets of men are revealed and the holiness of God is more clearly seen by men, it will be shown that God is altogether righteous in his judgments.We have to be careful not to use human reasoning to try to defend the truth if our reasoning contradicts the Word of God.We must accept the truth that God is love because the Word declares it to be so. When we get some sight of the holiness of God and of our sinfulness, we must praise the Lord for His love and mercy to such sinners as we have been.None who are judged will have any right to complain of injustice and none of the redeemed will be able to claim their own works as the basis of their salvation.Let’s be praising the Lord for the Savior who suffered such agony in our place to bring us to Himself.
Comment by OOKIE on November 6, 2018 at 2:23 pm
Hey Winston,
I am very troubled by your hateful comment. If Hellfire is to exist then I believe all those sent to Heaven should fall down into Hellfire so it can be extinguished and all creation that ever lived is made new again and no one can sin at all, that Satan will be forgiven, his angels and any humans in hellfire today, if any. Most of the problems leading one to do evil acts is because the alleged “evildoer” hasn’t received fully the mental health treatment they rightfully deserved to free them from the bondage of sinful activities. It is in my heart that everyone good or bad should ultimately eventually be reconciled to God and people should be able to avoid such a place. You are only saying that as a Fundamentalist (Pharisee) and like Jesus, I am troubled by your hypocrisy.
Comment by Jeffrey Walton on November 7, 2018 at 10:37 am
“no one can sin at all” — I think that would make us into robots, not humans. Being made in God’s image gives us the capacity to be moral decision makers. If we are to truly love God, we necessarily need the option not to love him. God will let us make that choice, and if we want to go our own way we can do so. But it would be far better if we opted to be with God.
Comment by Peter Eoganacht on April 23, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Saying universal salvation is unjust puts me in mind of the labourers who worked all day and complained that those who only worked an hour got paid the same as them in Matthew 20. That complaint didn’t sit well with the landowner nor will the complaint of the virtuous that the less virtuous don’t deserve to be in Heaven sit well with the Almighty.
“I choose to give to the last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”