A simple (sort of) thought experiment

[Bteormt]

So ive recently been thinking about something rather strange

im not sure if there will be any practical use or application but it is an interesting thought experiment (well at least to me it is)

regarding Christianity, the most common belief is that non believers are sent to hell to rot for all of eternity

now suppose we have person A, who is a christian, and person B who is a psychopathic atheist hell bent on ruining lives -- forever

person B, through nefarious and ingenious plans, captures person A and takes person A to a place where they cannot be ever found

person B proceeds to torture person A using the most sick and depraved methods, but always keeping person A alive.

now comes the interesting part

through methods of torture such as physical torture, psychological torture and all of those methods, person B attempts to make person A's life so bad that person A loses faith in there being a god-- due to the amount of suffering he is receiving

this may take a while, but being a human being who can only take so much torture, person A, maybe after 2 weeks or maybe after 46 years, has a high chance of losing faith in religion.

if person B connects person A to a lie detector, or something which can detect lies, the moment person A loses faith, stops believing in god, person B kills person A

in such a scenario, by the direct involvement and influence of person B, person A is now sent to hell for all of eternity even though he did nothing wrong except lose faith in his god after 46 years of severe torture.

i find this interesting because if this thought experiment could be feasibly carried out in real life, a person could potentially send a lot of believers to hell even though they did not do anything wrong.

feedback would be appreciated on this topic (:

a similar but more boring case could be killing new born babies who are not yet old enough to believe in god and thus sending all of those innocent souls into hell but thats less interesting than this one by far

[FallentoReason]

I think that torture would make the theist's faith skyrocket. Martyrdom Complex.

[Bteormt]

i have though of that but imagine a christian who isnt a devout member of the church or anything, just a regular man who prays occasionally and attends church

after many many years of abuse, wouldnt most people's faith fade away? and im talking about deep psychological torture and intense physical torture just enough to barely keep the victim sane

i know that sounds kind of depraved lol but just speculating

[FallentoReason]

I think in philosophy you need to be black and white. This thought of yours might go either way depending on the individual's involvement and commitment to their faith like you've said.

Let's think of someone that's completely sold out on God though. I think my point still stands that they would not lose their faith because there's 101 verses that will be running through their head about Christians having it hard because of their faith.

[Cyberman]

Commenting on your "similar but boring case", there have actually been cases in which 'parents' - and I use the term in the loosest biological sense only - have killed their children, not to send them to hell, but to prevent them from reaching the age of majority. It's a perverse act of mercy, in their minds, to keep them forever innocent and pure (and dead) so that they are guaranteed a seat in Heaven.

[Godscreated]

Since you have purposed such a terrible thing then you must assume that God is real and who He says He is. With that said go to scripture and find this verse, God will allow no one to snatch a real believer from His hands, and I say true believer because they would be the only ones God would protect in that way. So now what do you think might happen to the torturer, I see it this way, God can do what ever He wants to in protecting the believer, so the torturer beware.

[Bteormt]

Since you have purposed such a terrible thing then you must assume that God is real and who He says He is. With that said go to scripture and find this verse, God will allow no one to snatch a real believer from His hands, and I say true believer because they would be the only ones God would protect in that way. So now what do you think might happen to the torturer, I see it this way, God can do what ever He wants to in protecting the believer, so the torturer beware.

no i do not assume that god is real, i do not understand how you made the connection from my post to me assuming that

in an ideal christian's world, god would protect the victim from such horror but once again, christians also believe that god allows for free will and free reign --while on earth at least-- so according to such beliefs he would not intervene in any case

as can be seen in many examples of "evil" in our world. holocaust being the primary example raised here

[kılıç_mehmet]

through methods of torture such as physical torture, psychological torture and all of those methods, person B attempts to make person A's life so bad that person A loses faith in there being a god

I don't understand. Does the person give up his beliefs on his own accord? Or is he forced to recant his beliefs in god due to more torture?

has a high chance of losing faith in religion.

You sound like you have a lot of experience with people who are christians, and were kidnapped and tortured for 2 weeks of 46 years.
I on the other hand say that a christian would be more strongly attached to God, perhaps, with his/her faith being the only thing keeping them alive.

Christian history is full of such martyrs, maybe you'd bother to look up.

in such a scenario, by the direct involvement and influence of person B, person A is now sent to hell for all of eternity even though he did nothing wrong except lose faith in his god after 46 years of severe torture.

Yes, a highly hypothetical scenario. However, I'm sure you've heard of the story of Job, did you not?
Maybe you should read it, and then think up an answer for yourself.

a similar but more boring case could be killing new born babies who are not yet old enough to believe in god and thus sending all of those innocent souls into hell but thats less interesting than this one by far

Not old enough to believe, you say, meaning that they ought to be blameless for dying that young. Catholicism maintains that such babies are sent to purgatory. Protestants on the other hand say they go to heaven directly. How did you come to know that these babies went to hell?

[KichigaiNeko]

You fail at the second line.

There is no Hell

[Drich]

So ive recently been thinking about something rather strange

im not sure if there will be any practical use or application but it is an interesting thought experiment (well at least to me it is)

regarding Christianity, the most common belief is that non believers are sent to hell to rot for all of eternity

now suppose we have person A, who is a christian, and person B who is a psychopathic atheist hell bent on ruining lives -- forever

person B, through nefarious and ingenious plans, captures person A and takes person A to a place where they cannot be ever found

person B proceeds to torture person A using the most sick and depraved methods, but always keeping person A alive.

now comes the interesting part

through methods of torture such as physical torture, psychological torture and all of those methods, person B attempts to make person A's life so bad that person A loses faith in there being a god-- due to the amount of suffering he is receiving

this may take a while, but being a human being who can only take so much torture, person A, maybe after 2 weeks or maybe after 46 years, has a high chance of losing faith in religion.

if person B connects person A to a lie detector, or something which can detect lies, the moment person A loses faith, stops believing in god, person B kills person A

in such a scenario, by the direct involvement and influence of person B, person A is now sent to hell for all of eternity even though he did nothing wrong except lose faith in his god after 46 years of severe torture.

i find this interesting because if this thought experiment could be feasibly carried out in real life, a person could potentially send a lot of believers to hell even though they did not do anything wrong.

feedback would be appreciated on this topic (:

a similar but more boring case could be killing new born babies who are not yet old enough to believe in god and thus sending all of those innocent souls into hell but thats less interesting than this one by far

I think on both accounts you would be disappointed on the results of your experiment. For you do not seem to understand how the 'Faith' we are called to have works, and you seem to think being born is a sin in of itself... Plus not to point out the obvious, but how does an 'Atheist' suggest an experiement in something he does not believe in?