Unbelievers generally question both hell’s existence and justice; they also have called hell cruel and barbarous. Bertrand Russell said anyone who threatens people with eternal punishment, as Jesus did, is inhumane (“Why I am not a Christian” in The Writings of Bertrand Russell, 593-594). Orthodox Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, have defended both hell‘s reality and equity. if God is all loving, then why punish people at all why not just rehabilitate them? Even if punishment is justified, why punish them forever- isn’t this gigantic overkill? Why have a hell at all – why not just annihilate them? Or why not just save everyone? The evidence for hell is biblical, rational, and moral. Jesus Christ, whom orthodox Christians believe is God, affirmed hell’s existence. The Bible affirms there is a hell, read Revelation 20:11-15, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. The writer of Hebrews added a note of finality when he wrote: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (9:27). Not all evil is punished in this life. Many observers have noted that the wicked sometimes prosper Psalm 73:3. Thus a place of punishment for the wicked after this life is necessary to maintain God’s justice. The Bible asserts that “God is Love” 1 John 4:16, and again, love cannot act coercively, only persuasively. A God of love cannot force people to love Him. Those who do not wish to love God must be allowed not to love Him. Those who do not will to be with Him must be allowed to be separated. Hell is eternal separation from God. Just like in society, where punishment for evil is necessary that good might prevail, even so in eternity good must triumph over evil. At the center of creation is the cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 15:3), without there is no salvation (Romans 4:25; Hebrews 10:10-14) It is the very purpose for which Christ came into the word (Luke 19:10; Mark 10:45) for without the cross no one can be saved (Acts 412; John 10:1,9-10). But why the cross and all this suffering unless there is a hell? If there is no hell to shun, then the cross is a sham. Sigmund Freud would say, it is an illusion to reject something simply because we wish not to believe in it. Nowhere does the Bible describe hell as a “torture chamber”, but this does not mean hell isn’t a place of torment; Jesus said that it is (Luke 16:24) But unlike torture inflicted from without, against one’s will, this torment is self-inflicted by one’s will. As has been noted even by atheists (see Sartre, No Exit and Three Other Plays), the door of hell is locked on the inside, its inhabitants condemned to their own freedom. To punish a person eternally for what he did on earth may seem like tremendous overkill. However, on closer examination it turns out to be not only just but necessary. For one thing, only eternal punishment will suffice for sins against an eternal God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11:6 What to know “What about those who have Never Heard?” Then you must buy the book. I hope this series has answered some questions about God and Evil. In encourage you to buy your own copy of . If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, this article is excepts from chapter 9.
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