Eternal punishment is pointless.

[KevinM1]

How could they have abused their free will in this scenario? Here we have a "perfect creation" that had to include free will, yet could be "corrupted" by two humans choosing the 'wrong' thing. That's where the word "free" comes in, and this god had to have known that. Giving someone a free choice and then punishing them for choosing the wrong option is included in the job description of a tyrant. Double if that person has no knowledge of the ramifications of that choice.

So when children do bad things we're to praise them, no wonder this country's going to hell in a hand basket.

GC

Hell is punishment without the possibility of the person being punished ever making amends or otherwise changing their behavior going forward. You know, that whole 'eternal' description.

My only conclusion is that, to stretch the parent/child metaphor to its logical conclusion, god laid down some rules, but isn't actually around to personally take an active role in his children's lives. Those children are supposed to act correctly because they live in a perpetual state of "Just wait until your father gets home!" But god never really shows up, does he? No, punishment is only meted out once those children have died - when it doesn't matter because it's not a corrective tool, merely a punitive one. It's a poor deterrent precisely because we don't know if it - eternal damnation - is actually a thing.

So, god's an asshole deadbeat dad, only coming around to piss on everyone once it's too late. How inspiring.