The Just Certitude of Hell
For the next 10 articles, I will be responding to ten supposedly “unanswerable” questions that, although the title may seem as if they are posed to “theists” as a group, are targeted directly towards not only Christians, but Catholics specifically.
The ninth question is about Hell and God’s justice:
I’ve been told time and again that God loves me. If that’s the case, why did God create a celestial torture chamber? How is God not a psychopath for creating Hell? Frankly, it’s difficult not to see “Love me or I’ll set you on fire” as the central message of Christianity.
Introduction to Hell —What is it?
First, we must establish what Hell actually is. Hell is never truly described in the Bible. It is never laid out and landscaped, and it is never detailed in depth. Most paintings we have about Hell are from late interpretation and also from Dante’s Inferno. However, we do have some attributes (for more verses and examples, click the link) of Hell described to us by parts of the Bible.
[NIV Translation]
Darkness:
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. — Revelation 16:10–11
Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth:
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
— Matthew 22:13
Everlasting Fire:
“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” — Isaiah 66:22
Seperation from God:
“Shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”
— 2 Thessalonians 1:9“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” — Matthew 25:41
In conclusion, Hell is not a good place to be. Hell is a prison cell for those that have sinned and corrupted the goodness of God’s creation. Because of the space I have for the remaining article, I cannot write about the visions of Hell had by Saints, however, you may read them for yourself here and here.
Entering Hell: How?
Now that the concept of Hell and what it is has been established, now we must move on to the author’s main point; that of God’s love and Hell. Is it true, as the author says, that God gives us a decision between loving Him and Hell? No, or at least, it’s not as simple as that.
How does one enter Hell? Well, we have already accomplished what we need to do to enter Hell. We have sinned. Sinning against God is the equivalent of committing a crime in your country; except with God, it’s impossible to run away from His Law. And just as in your country, you will be arrested and put in jail (or get the death penalty if a serious enough crime), so will you be “arrested” after death and sent to Hell for your sins. God is just as much a psychopath for creating Hell as a president is for creating jails (which means not a psychopath at all).
We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves… Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter 3, Article 12, Paragraph 1033
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter 3, Article 12, Paragraph 1035
Thus, by already being in the state of sin that we are, we have already been damned to Hell. However, God “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), sent down His only Son to die for us on the cross in order that we may NOT be damned.
John 3:16, popularized beyond belief, does summarize the main gospel message very beautifully, and thus I shall place it here:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Believing in Christ’s death and resurrection, and doing the Will of His Father, thus saves us from the depths of Hell and rejuvenates our Soul, giving us a pardon for our sins, and a new life with the Lord. For Jesus came as a “ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28) and it is then up to us whether or not to take that pardon and use it for good, doing the Will of God, loving one another and loving Him beyond all else.
Not believing in the death and resurrection of Christ, means that you have no ransom; no pardon to set you free from the state of sin you are in. And with no pardon, the Eternal Judge sentences you to the eternal jail.
Conclusion: Hell is our Choice
Hell is our choice. It is our decision whether to enter it or not. It is our judgment on whether or not to accept His grace. God has given us the opportunity to choose Him, and if we choose not to be with Him, God is not going to force us to.
We are constantly in a state of sin. As a result, God gave us His Son to die for us on the cross. We do not HAVE to accept that gift. We have the choice not to. However, we must face the consequences of that choice. If we really do not want God’s gift, then God will not give that gift to us. He will give us the consequence of the other choice, because it is the just thing to do.
It is not “love me or burn”, it is “I love you, accept the gift I am giving you; the gift that will save you”. Failure to understand this leads to eternal damnation, yet success in understanding leads to eternal life.
Justice goes both ways. If you accept the gift and love and believe in God, and follow His will, you will be saved because you’ve accepted the pardon, the ransom and used it to it’s greatest degree. However, if you do not; by your own choice you are choosing to dwell in your sins, not changing from the desires of the flesh to those of the spirit, and God will allow you to have your choice. God will allow you to be ruled according to the justice of His rule without grace, because you chose to be.
It is all up to you.
Ninth Question — Answered
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