Hell - Where is the idea of justice?

[salty]

I am sure that this has been discussed before but I wanted to bring it up again. I have not seen a good response to the questions I have with this issue.

In the U.S. court system, and others, there is the idea of cruel and unusual punishment and making the punishment fit the crime. Hell is eternal torment in some form whether or not that torment is physical agony or some other agony caused by absence of God is besides the point.

The punishment of Hell is not rendered towards those who we may be more inclined to see it happen to such as mass murderers, serial rapists, etc. This punishment is levied out against anyone who is without Christ as far as I can tell from scripture save some mercy which may or may not be delivered.

How to acts committed in the temporary plane of existence warrant an eternity of punishment?
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Also if there is this level of eternal punishment why would God not reveal himself more directly?

The Bible already shows people with direct knowledge of God: Adam and Eve (probably metaphorical though), Israel, Moses, Apostles, Judas, and others.

All of these people still chose at various times to turn their back on God even though they could have certainty in his existence through what they saw. To make the argument that God could not directly reveal himself is not really a sustainable argument at least not in anyway that I have seen.

So if God can reveal himself and therefore help me and many others who have doubt from an intellectual standpoint why doesn't he? If eternity is on the line why is there not more out there?

Hello again Voltair. I enjoyed talking to you in chat today, let me see what I can do to respond.

1. How do acts committed in the temporary plane of existence warrant an eternity of punishment?

The Lord isn't going to punish anyone without their knowledge, he didn't punish Adam and Eve for looking at the fruit or holding the fruit did he? He punished them for not heeding his command, which means they ate the fruit, but they were sorry, they were repentant, then he quickly devised a way for them to be forgiven so they would not perish, meaning, no one has to perish, but they choose to.

Temporary acts display your eternal nature. If you lie to people your whole life then you die, unrepentant, unashamed, just displaying your human nature, God declares that nature is not allowed in his kingdom, where people with repenting hearts will reign. Who will be left to blame? No one, but the person who refused to repent, who refused to acknowledge they have done evil, that person has placed themselves in hell. God understands that people are complicated, which is why there will be judgment, where the Lord can review your entire life and make his decision apparent for all to see and to understand.

2. This punishment is levied out against anyone who is without Christ as far as I can tell from scripture save some mercy which may or may not be delivered.

Mercy will be delievered on people who do not even know the name of Christ who are living out his commands by following their conscience which tells them what is right and what is wrong. People who do not have the Bible or believers to teach them. These people have repentant hearts and live the best way they know how, giving thanks to God, by upholding what is right and atoning for their mistakes the best way possible. This standard is not applied to people that have access to the Bible and can learn and live by its standards, to people who know the name of Jesus Christ and can receive salvation properly, it's applied to people who live in remote places and died before the message of Jesus Christ has spread to their land. The Lord is not cruel and will cover these people with his mercy, because he knows his followers, wether they know him by name or not.

3. Also if there is this level of eternal punishment why would God not reveal himself more directly?

Since you're familiar with the Bible you'll remember that during the Exodus the Lord showed his presence in the form of a pillar of clouds by morning, a pillar of fire by night to lead the people. He would settle over the tent of Moses in a cloud. He even revealed his light to Moses in such a way that Moses was glowing for days and had to veil his face! Yet Israelites still worshipped idols, the priest Aaron even helped them make idols, they still wanted to go back to Egypt even though they begged the Lord to act and help them break the slavery upon them in Egypt. This book shows that people will choose to believe what they choose to believe whether God is in their face or not, but they are not without consequence, if they choose sin, they will not be permitted into the promised land.

The price for sin is known to people, especially in our day and age, who hasn't met an extremist with signs on repentance and hell, therefore God doesn't need to make himself more known for people to buck up and become righteous, instead when people repent and choose to be righteous he will be clearly seen.

4. So if God can reveal himself and therefore help me and many others who have doubt from an intellectual standpoint why doesn't he? If eternity is on the line why is there not more out there?

Millions of believers have experienced the Lord revealing himself in a manner that is sufficient for them to have faith, including myself. I don't know what would be sufficient evidence for an intellectual like yourself, since there are books written by intellectuals to help them bridge the gap between their knowledge and their pursuit of God, but I do know that without a measure of faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) because you have to first believe that he is real and that he wants to act in your life.