Frigidus wrote:What purpose does hell serve, exactly? It is supposedly a form of cosmic punishment, but the punishment lacks context. What do we hope to correct with the existence of hell?
Let me use a more familiar parallel: prison. We do not place people in prison because they commit a crime, although that is how we often tend to characterize it. We place people in prison to insure that they do not repeat the crime again. In most cases there is a certain amount of time spent in prison before the criminal's eventual release. In that case it is hoped that the punishment will ensure that they will refrain from law-breaking in the future, and they are given a second chance. Repeat offenders usually get longer sentences because this reformation is becoming increasingly less likely. Punishment that only serves as a means of getting revenge is unjust. Hammurabi's Code and other systems of law like it are no longer in use, mainly because they were based on vengeance rather than crime prevention.
So, bringing this back to hell, what purpose does hell serve other than revenge dealt out by an angry god? Eternal torment not only won't reform "sinners", it wouldn't matter if it did. Separation from the non-"sinners" is achieved through the existence of hell, but is there not a more humane way to do it? What's the point?
Hell is often mis-interpreted to mean a very litteral "red pepper up the ass" burning inferno that you feel time and again. This often comes from the explanation of it as "the lake of fire". The truth is, Jesus refers to hell in many of his parables but the characteristics are altering. Yes there is torment and pain, but not necessarily "direct torture".
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:11-12).
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42).
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:49-50).
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:12-13).
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:50-51).
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:29-30).
But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out (Luke 13:27-28).
***The irony found in the last verse resounds in the fact that people who referred to the prophets as loonies, fools or treacherous to the current day politics or social status will also claim the right to heaven when standing before the gates, and the resounding "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is not only due to their pain of being seperated from God, but the pain of realizing that they were told by those they mocked before hand.***
As for the others, you can see in some cases where the lake of fire is referred to as a furnace. But in most other cases, the parables deal with people that either refused an invitation or gift, someone who felt that because their master was away, they could be slack and pass off their duties with no master present to judge him, or those who have been given a gift by god and decide not to use it for his kingdom. There are those that "don't hate God" even though they choose no to follow him or devote their lives to him like they should to God.
I believe that we as a human race were created in God's image and for the purpose of spending eternity with him. If that was the purpose for our creation, then the devil's greatest victory is not to fight God physically (as he was removed from heaven when he tried) but to convince us, God's people that we don't need to accept his gift of salvation. What better way to try to rob God than to go to those God loves and created and convince them to do the 1 and only thing we could do to suffer?
God doesn't want us to suffer, he didn't create us to suffer, he created us to live abundantly in him. Consider Adam and Eve. The 1 tree that they eat from was 1 out of probably thousands of trees. Why did they have to eat out of that 1 tree? They could have eaten from a different tree every day of their life and never had to touch that tree but that is the 1 tree that Satan convinced them to eat from.
God does not stack the odds against us. God has done everything possible for us to be with him, just as God gave Adam and Eve thousands of trees to eat from. It wasn't like God gave them 2 trees and said "never eat from 1... you'll just have to wait for the other to re-grow so manage it properly!" God gave them every chance and ability to choose not to eat from that 1 tree, he did everything possible to make that tree unnecessary and pointless to them... but the devil convinced them that they could be like God if they eat from that 1 tree.
You can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink it. It's free will. God gave Adam and Eve every luxury to avoid that 1 tree and make it easy to obey him. The devil corrupted that and twisted it to make it look like God was keeping something from Adam and Eve. To this day God sent his son to die, Jesus died so that we would not have to go to hell, but still, the devil looks for that 1 way to hurt God, that 1 way to rob God and it is by convincing us that we don't need to accept what God has worked so hard to give us.
In all these cases where there is cold, bitterness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, the concept is that those who accepted are warm, entertained, looked after, cared for and enjoying the rewards of the king/Lord/Host.
As we were created in God's image, I believe that for our souls to have rejected God for eternity, to spend that eternity without him, when we were specifically created to live with him would result in our souls "naturally" being tormented for being incapable of doing that which we were created for. I believe that is the punishment of hell that is serviced. Our souls don't evaporate after we die. We were created in the image of an all-powerful creator and God. We will live forever whether it be forever with God as he intended for us... or forever without him, as we would choose to live.
To be created in the image of the all powerful creator means that our free will will affect our eternity. We can choose not to accept God. It is our right, it is our power to not live a life according to what our God desires. To live in eternity with God as we were created for. To rule and live with the heavenly hosts. To marvel and understand all the questions that today we can't answer. What a time that would be.
Or... we could live forever without the God who created us. That is the result of the line being drawn in the sand. When we choose to go against God, we choose not to live with him forever, we tell him thanks but no thanks and we prefer to go it alone. Maybe we don't hate him, maybe we don't resent him, maybe we just don't understand him or see the point, but in the end, for whatever reason, we choose not to listen to the prophets and accept him. We are not any less in his image than those who do. Whether or not I accept Jesus, I am still created in his image and will live forever. Hell is merely the absensce of God. The torment of finally understanding how short 80 years really is. The torment of understanding how vast the world really is and that first feeling of barren emptiness. Not everyone who refuses God does so on an occultic basis of hatred, they are tempted by worldly posessions, worldly entertainment, worldly activities... none of which will have any meaning in Hell or eternity. When that's all gone... All our souls have is what we were created for. To spend that eternity with God... and if we've rejected that, our souls have nothing but a burning pain, an aweful torment of emptiness, bitterness and gnashing of teeth because the 1 thing we are created for, the 1 thing that will matter in eternity, we've turned our back on.
Hell will be anywhere but God's presence. Hell's "purpose" is our free will. You don't have to believe in God. You don't have to accept him. Because others have opposed God and used their free will to choose to reject God, they have the right to live in eternity without him. So do you. Hell is that right. There is no person poking you with pichforks in hell. There is no slave-master or awe-inspiring being laughing maniacly at you in hell... Satan will be in as much pain and torment in Hell as I would be. Hell is simply a result for you, a creation in God's image, using your God-given right, power and choice to reject him and live forever without him. The pain is when we realize what it's like without him.
