The Hitler button

[Hippasus]

Suppose there is an afterlife and in this afterlife Hitler has been strapped to a device that will set him on fire for all of eternity. All that is needed to start this torture is the press of a button, and you have been given the task of pressing it. Would you press the button?

If you believe in hell do you believe it will consist of maximum torture for an infinite duration, or will it be something less severe than this?

What if the person strapped to the maximum torture device is a homosexual or an atheist? Would you press the button then?

As an atheist who faces this remote prospect I am curious how many people really believe I should burn forever.

[Charlie]

You picked the wrong book - do your homework next time. In How God Became King, N.T. Wright (an Anglican bishop) refutes the interpretation of the gospels that says Jesus' teachings were about an afterlife or an 'eternal reward', and also makes a very intellectually-principled exploration of some of the doctrinal schisms that have come out of post-enlightenment christian thought.

I'm a part-time atheist myself, but I'm also hip to Chris Hedges critique of Richard Dawkins as someone 'criticizing a religion of his own invention'.

...and no, I wouldn't push the 'set you on fire forever' button. Though if there *is* a hell for people who bait evangelicals on message boards, I certainly wouldn't want to end up there. ;)

[Lee]

A part-time atheist! I'm intrigued. What do you do on your time off? :)

[Charlie]

Lee: still trying to get my Hitler-jerky business off the ground.

[Brian]

I am an evangelical Christian, but I agree with Charlie...the "part-time atheist." This is not the book you're looking for if you want an exegesis on hell. That being said, I believe that hell exists, but I wonder if hell has a variation of levels as the apocalyptic book 1 Enoch describes. 1 Enoch is not found in the Bible, but is an apocalyptic book found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It reads much like Dante's "Divine Comedy."

In its' essence, hell is a place that God has separated Himself from. Hell is the choice of people who rebel against God. It's not God's will that anyone goes to hell. It is a free will choice by the individual. So in essence, if a person does not want God in their lives, God will oblige. At least those are my beliefs and I know that critiques will come.

[Nick]

Hi, Christopher. First of all, I would like to agree with those that have written before me that this book is not really a fitting launch point for a discussion on hell. But things being what they are, I would like to weigh in on your question.

As I see it, the problem with your question lies in the concept of Hell merely as a place of torture for so called wrongs and sins. For instance, you begin with a person that most people in history would deem evil. It might be easy for the average person to want to inflict maximum pain and suffering on Hitler because we have a sense of justice and believe that he got off too easily in this life. With this in place, you would have us move to people groups that might seem more arbitrary, such as atheists or homosexuals.

With Brian I believe that God does not will that people should go to hell. According to the Bible, God made us for loving union with Himself. Our lives find their meaning in Him. We were created eternal beings. As C.S. Lewis famously said, "You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." Therefore, I believe that if a person where to be separated from God (the source of all joy, happiness, pleasure) then the pain and loss they would experience would indeed last forever.

As a Christian, it breaks my heart to think of anyone enduring eternal torment. It is not something I would wish on anyone...even Hitler. As Jesus was forecasting judgment on the towns that rejected him, he expressed that it was not his will but theirs.
If someone where to reject God and despise His laws, His character, and His holy love wouldn't having to spend all eternity in the "all consuming fire" of His holiness itself be a torment and a hell?

To view hell in the way you have described is to view God as a vindictive meanie, rather than a loving Father who wishes that all people would come into relationship with Himself. I believe that the Bible and logic clearly point towards free will. It is people who send themselves "to hell" by continually rejecting God Himself. The corrections in this life that are meant to turn them away from sin and back to God have the opposite effect on some people who buck correction and dig their heels in deeper. With each encounter they spiral down deeper into the gravitational black hole of self. Self apart from God the Creator is no self at all. This going on into eternity is all the pain and torment anyone would ever need.

If you would like for me to work with your model...if there were torture devices that would set someone on fire for eternity, it is the people who reject God on His terms who strap themselves in and push the button (cutting off their nose to spite their face).
If you are looking for a good book that explores this topic, the Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is a great place to start. I hope this helps you in your quest.

[Martin]

Hi Christopher,
your question is more sociological than theological, isn't it? I'm not an atheist but I can relate to your question. Are there really people who would push such a button?
Regarding a god who would push such a button himself (and not just one but billions of buttons) I find the words of the theologian Walter Wink would fit well: "Against such an image of God, the revolt of atheism is an act of pure religion.” I tend to agree.