RE: 10 Arguments Against Hell
May 4, 2012 at 2:26 pm
(This post was last modified: May 4, 2012 at 3:03 pm by Abishalom.)
(May 2, 2012 at 12:27 pm)Cinjin Wrote: I should note that although some of these arguments are of my own creation, many are not and may be found word for word either on this site or elsewhere. Regardless, a large amount of credit is owed to another author and I would gladly give it if I could remember where this list came from. If you are the author, do step forward, as there is no intent to plagiarize your excellent work. I am merely posting this list because I think it is an excellent sheet of paper to have with you when debating eternal damnation with a self-proclaimed sheep.Here's a few more.
10 Logical Arguments Against Hell
1. Just punishment should fit the crime. Hell is eternal torture, the likes of which are hard for me to imagine a crime that would warrant it.
2. Punishment should discourage bad behavior. Since Judgment Day comes as a surprise after our life is over, it doesn't do much to discourage bad behavior.
3. Punishment should rehabilitate. Hell is eternal. There is no chance for parole. It's only function is to torture.
4. The decision on who goes to Hell isn't based on how good or evil you were in life but on whether or not you joined the right religion and held the correct set of unproven metaphysical beliefs. No matter how evil you were, Christ will forgive you if you convert. No matter how good you were, Christ will condemn you if you don't convert. Therefore, Hell is not to punish wrongdoers but rather to torture wrong thinkers. This is not justice. This is a dictator tormenting non-loyal citizens.
5. No moral system of justice can allow an innocent person to take the place of a guilty criminal in punishment.
6. On earth, there is no way of knowing which Hell is the true Hell. Muslims never worry about the Christian Hell and vice versa. If life on earth is a "test", Yahweh-Allah has done a lousy job of making sure to administer the test fairly, since passing the test will depend greatly on accident of birth.
7. If life is a "test" as Muslims and Christians alike often like to say, what is the test designed to do exactly? Normally, tests separate a population into groups according to their performance. It seems the criteria to pass this "test" is gullibility, accepting claims simply on the say-so of clerical figures. So what is Yahweh-Allah looking for? Gullible boot-licking sycophants it would seem.
8. If Hell is eternal, wouldn't we get used to the pain eventually? After being on fire for 200 years, wouldn't we get accustomed to the sensation? Wouldn't our eyes adjust to the darkness? No matter how bad Hell is, humans would get used to it. Conversely with Heaven, humans would soften until the bliss became part of life.
9. What are Satan's motivations exactly? Does he win if he gets enough souls? Why would he torture souls that were not loyal to Yahweh/Allah? Even if Satan’s motivation for torturing humans is revenge against Yahweh/Allah, what possible satisfaction could be achieved by torturing people that god had already turned his back on for all eternity?
10. What are Yahweh-Allah's motivations exactly? If the criteria of entrance to Heaven are submission and gullibility, this suggests a highly egotistical god, if not a narcissistic one. Such a god would be expected to make regular appearances to his followers to bask in their devotion. Yet this same god hides? And this is the same god of their scriptures who regularly intervenes in overt ways? This is not a consistent, believable character.
1. How can a man be eternally damned if man is not eternal? All humans have a birth date and a death date.
2. Why didn't God tell Adam and Eve they were going to hell for eating of the tree of good and evil (Genesis 2:17)?
3. Jesus came to remove the penalty for sin which was death (Romans 6:23). Did He also come to impose a more severe punishment for the wicked?
4. If God declares the end from the beginning, then where was hell in the beginning (Genesis 1:1)?
5. Why would God distinguish different punishments for different sins, only to remove the curse of law and replace it with a generic punishment for all?
6. Why would God raise everyone from the dead and have all the declare Christ as Lord only to send the sinners to eternal fire afterwards?
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Eternal damnation claim just doesn't hold water. In all truth, the bible was not originally written in english. If you read the original version, you will scratch your head about this hell/eternal torment (which is a pagan concept) because it is nowhere to be found and really not supported by the English scripture.