One of the greatest objections people raise against Christianity is the doctrine of hell. Believing in a loving and forgiving God, for many in the West, is easy. Accepting that this God is also just and holy, and that He will punish the guilty, is far more difficult to accept.
We have done a good job of creating a god made in our own image. A god whose sensibilities concerning right and wrong line up perfectly with our own. A god who is tolerant because Western society is tolerant. A god who subscribes to the philosophy of Live and let live. But is this god real?
Timothy Keller proposes an idea that is essential for those of us in the West to reflect on: "For the sake of argument, let's imagine that Christianity is not the product of any one culture but is actually the transcultural truth of God. If that were the case we would expect that it would contradict and offend every human culture at some point, because human cultures are ever-changing and imperfect. If Christianity were the truth it would have to be offending and correcting your thinking at some place. Maybe this is the place, the Christian doctrine of divine judgment." (p. 75).
It makes absolute sense that if the god you believe in agrees with you on all points of lifestyle and doctrine, then perhaps you believe in a god of your own making - a god of your design - and not the all-powerful Creator.
when i was an atheist, this was one of my biggest beefs with christianity. crime and punishment seemed totally out of whack.
ReplyDeleteyou're right (and/or keller is right) that how we shape God in our minds affects the feelings we've on the matter, but i don't think the non-believer is entirely to blame here. the church often paints Jesus as super loving, which He is, and tones down the more unpalatable aspects of God's character. it's hard, however, to reconcile super love with hell. for me, reading "the holiness of God" by r.c. sproul was an eye-opener and made the doctrine of eternal damnation at least conceivable.
that being said, i'm not entirely sure about the fate of the lost/reprobate/unbeliever. for those that trust in Christ, eternal life is clear as day from scripture. death and destruction of those who don't believe is likewise clear. death and destruction, however, may not be the same thing as eternal punishment. the only verse i know of that speaks clearly about eternal punishment is in regards to satan (revelation 20:10).
i bought this book (a long time ago) in hopes of gaining more insight into the topic. http://www.amazon.com/Four-Views-Hell-William-Crockett/dp/0310212685/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 it helped, but it remains an exceedingly thorny topic. in the end, i resolved to ask like abraham, "will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" and just let it be.