Why Would A Loving God Create A Place Like Hell?
When Rob Bell released his book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and
the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, he capitalized on the historic
controversy surrounding the existence and nature of hell. Critics of
Christianity have cited the hell’s existence as evidence against the loving
nature of God, and Christians have sometimes struggled to respond to the
objection. Why would a loving God create a place like Hell? Wouldn’t a God who
would send people to a place of eternal punishment and torment be considered
unloving by definition?
The God of the Bible is described as loving, gracious and merciful (this can be seen in many
places, including 1 John 4:8-9, Exodus 33:19, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Exodus 34:6 and
James 5:11). The Bible also describes God as holy and just, hating sin and punishing sinners (as seen in Psalm 77:13, Nehemiah 9:33, 2
Thessalonians 1:6-7, Psalms 5:5-6, and Matthew 25:45-46). It’s this apparent
paradox reveals something about the nature of love and the necessity of Hell:
Mercy Requires Justice
When a judge pardons an unrepentant rapist without warrant, we don’t typically
see this as an act of love, particularly when we consider the rights of the
victim (and the safety of potential future victims). Mercy without justice is
reckless, meaningless and dangerous. True love cares enough to punish wrongdoing.
For this reason, a God of love must also be a God of justice, recognizing,
separating and punishing wrongdoers. Hell is the place where God’s loving justice
is realized and executed.
Freedom Requires Consequence
True love cannot be coerced. Humans must have freedom in order to love, and
this includes the freedom to reject God altogether. Those who do not want to
love God must be allowed to reject
him without coercion. Those who don’t want to be in God’s presence must be
allowed to separate themselves from Him if their “free will” is to be respected.
God’s love requires the provision of human freedom, and human “free will”
necessitates a consequence. Hell is the place where humans who freely reject
God experience the consequence of their choice.
Victory Requires Punishment
All of us struggle to understand why evil exists in the world. If there is an
all-powerful and all-loving God, this God (by His very nature) has the power
and opportunity to conquer and punish evil. If God is both powerful and loving,
He will eventually be victorious. God’s victory over evil will be achieved in
mortality or eternity. God has provided a mechanism though which evil will be
permanently conquered and punished in the next life. Hell is the place where an
all-loving and all-powerful God will ultimately defeat and punish evil.
The loving nature of God requires justice if it is to be
meaningful, and the justice of God requires punishment if it is to be fair. At
the same time, human freedom must result in a consequence if it is to be
significant, and the consequence for evil actions must ultimately be
appropriate if God is to be just. Finally, the power of God necessitates victory,
and eternal victory requires an eternal mode of punishment. The paradox of
God’s love and justice necessitates the existence of Hell. God’s love does not
compel Him to eliminate the necessary
punishment and consequence for sin, but instead compels Him to offer us a
way to avoid this consequence altogether. By offering forgiveness through the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross (who took our punishment), God demonstrated
His love for us. It cannot be said that a loving God would never create a place
like Hell if that same God has provided us with a way to avoid it.
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