How Could a loving God send people to Hell?

The following is a brief excerpt from a larger book.
For a fuller treatment of this subject as well as a better context, see:
I’d Like To Believe In Jesus But..(The harder, less frequently discussed questions) By Bob Siegel
Published by CSN Books Copyright © 2007 by Bob Siegel All Rights Reserved
Published by Campus Ambassador Press Copyright © 1999 by Bob Siegel All Rights Reserved
This article is not to be reproduced without written permission from the author.

“How can a loving God send people to Hell? The very idea of ongoing eternal torture is absolutely preposterous. Such uncivilized behavior makes God less loving than human beings, for what parents would banish their children forever?”

Of all the Biblical doctrines, this one bothers people the most and with very understandable reasons. Nothing seems more vindictive than punishment from which there is no release. In Chapter Four, I suggested that deep inside, people actually agree with the standards of God as set forth in the Bible, even though such agreement is not always conscious or obvious. If this is true, it must also apply to the unpopular notion of Hell.

A matter of justice

I am going to discuss Hell in a rather roundabout way by first bringing up another major question frequently asked about God: “How can a loving God allow suffering and evil in the world?” If we were to make a top ten list of “God” questions, this one would certainly be found on the high part of the chart, close to the subject of Hell. Now, here is what’s interesting: These two separate concerns actually contradict each other.

Years ago, at UC Santa Barbara, a foot patrol police officer who worked for the campus’ surrounding college community, approached me on my way to our weekly large group Christian meeting. Since I was walking and not driving, it was the first time I was ever stopped by a cop without feeling nervous. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be the uncomfortable one. This husky, uniformed fellow had visited our meeting once before as a guest, sitting quietly in the back of the auditorium. Since I had been the speaker that night, he recognized me today. His greeting was polite but intense. As we walked together, it became obvious that something important was on his mind. Finally the police officer spoke up. “You know…I just gotta say this: There are two reasons I can’t believe in your God.”

“Go on,” I said.

“First of all, I cannot believe in a God who would send people to Hell. Second, I find it impossible to accept a God who could just sit around and watch the suffering of our world without doing something about it.”

“Sir,” I said, “are you aware that one of your objections actually answers the other? On one hand, you object to a God who would sit back passively and not hold people accountable for the evil in the world. On the other hand, you object to the teaching which says that God will in fact hold people accountable.”

I continued by reminding him that we had actually met a long time ago, before he even visited our fellowship. The woman next door to my house called the police because her husband was beating her. As her drunk and screaming husband sat handcuffed in the police car, this very kind officer actually pleaded with the wife. “Mam, will you please, please, file charges this time? It’s always the same. Your husband beats you and you call the police. We come to your house, pick him up and bring him to jail. Then you come down to the station and drop the charges. A few weeks later he beats you again and you call us again. We’ve gone through this about seven times now. You make my job very difficult because I care about you, and I’m afraid that one of these evenings you are going to turn up dead! Your husband is dangerous! He isn’t going to change! He needs to be locked up!”

When I witnessed that conversation, I remember thinking about how compassionate this police officer was, how he went beyond the call of duty, out of genuine, heart felt concern. Talking to him now, a year later, I commended him for this and reminded him that he was made in the image of God, His personality and His convictions.

Our earthly court systems reveal how we honestly feel about a heavenly court system. After all, if a human judge were to let a murderer or rapist go free, would we not view him as a reckless and irresponsible judge? In fact, would he not also be an unloving judge to put so many innocent people at risk with his careless decision? Likewise, what kind of judge would God be if He didn’t hold people accountable for the way they lived their lives? What kind of community would Heaven be if God permitted evil people to live there? If sin were not removed from paradise, it wouldn’t be much of a paradise. We must think of Hell as a prison which separates out wicked people, preventing them from doing harm to others. When viewed this way, Hell paints the picture of a just, and therefore, loving God.

Imagine a man like Hitler, who after the extermination of millions of innocent people, took a few capsules and died a quick death so that the allied armies on their way to Berlin could never take him to justice. Isn’t there some measure of consolation in the belief that Hitler will actually have to stand accountable before God? Doesn’t it feel good to know that evil people will not really get away with anything and that good will ultimately prevail?

“I can accept the idea of accountability, but isn’t eternal punishment rather drastic? After all, we aren’t talking about selected evil people deserving Hell, but rather, all people, according to your Christian Gospel. Ok, we are imperfect, but do we really deserve the same fate as those who actually commit murder?”

Jesus internalized the Ten Commandments. To Him, even having the instinct of a murderer was a serious problem, whether we actually commit the crime or not (Matt. 5:21-22). Quite frankly, we have grown so accustomed to our “normal everyday sin” that we don’t view it the way God does. We may be aware that certain thoughts or actions are wrong, but their utter repulsion is something we have difficulty seeing.

When I was in college, I had a part time job at a convalescent home, one that was not very well kept up. The first day I arrived I felt as though I wanted to stop breathing because there was a horrible stench. For about a week I dreaded coming to work. As time went on the stench bothered me less until eventually, I couldn’t even smell it anymore. But this was not because the smell ever went away. Instead, I had actually gotten used to it. We get used to our sins too.

Eternal punishment may still seem drastic. It’s certainly drastic to God. Why else would He have sent Jesus to atone for our sins? Evidently God would prefer to spare us this punishment. If we still reject His offer of forgiveness, what else can He do? If I am drowning and somebody throws me a life preserver, I can still choose not to grab hold of it, but that would not be the fault of the person who tried to rescue me.

Something we choose for ourselves

“I protest!” the student shouted as he kicked our Christian book table.

“What seems to be the problem?” I asked.

“I protest your teaching. I think it is unfair that I am not going to Heaven simply because I’m not a Christian.”

“Friend, ” I said, “you don’t want to go to Heaven.”

He stopped short, looking very confused. “What do you mean I don’t wanna go to Heaven?”

“I think you have a misconception of what Heaven will be like. Heaven is not some big cloud where angels sit around and strum harps. Heaven is not some island where native women fan you with palm branches and stick grapes in your mouth. Heaven is a place where you will serve and obey God for the rest of eternity. You don’t even want to serve and obey Him now. What makes you think you’ll want to do it for the rest of eternity? Hell is a place where you’ll be all by yourself and nobody will tell you what to do.”

I’ll never forget his reaction. After a second of pondering, he said. “That sounds fair.”