This was meant to be a comment on "CHRISTIAN PESSIMISM – THE EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE BELIEF IN HELL" by ANDREJ JURGA, but he did not approve it.
Soon after I became a Christian, I had a difficult time comprehending how people can be held accountable for their unbelief when their decision to accept Christ can be negatively influenced by factors outside their control.
Not only that, they have absolutely no control over whether or not they believe! i
He could not accept the idea of a loving God sending billions of people to hell for all eternity. He could not see a way for hell and a loving omnipotent being to coexist.
Show him our article on that very topic.
After more than two years of searching, the inconsistencies my brother saw combined with the long unanswered question, forced me to give up my belief in hell as traditionally described if I did not want to give up my beliefs about fundamental characteristics of God and thereby my desire to follow Him.
God caused you to not believe, so that He may destroy you forever in that place you want to believe doesn't exist. ii And you do not desire to follow Him. iii
I had the obligation to warn them and yet I failed, day after day.
Amen!
Try to live a joyful life when every second a human being dies without hope for an eternity in heaven, while you can do nothing about it and yet have all the knowledge necessary to save them.
Not try. You must be full of joy. iv And they have all that knowledge too. v
If Christians believed what they preach and did not want to live as hypocrites they would do much more than a timid testimony to a friend or two about once a month when the time was right. Christians would be screaming at the top of their lungs, warning people of the oncoming judgment, postponing all activities, while having a clear priority.
There is "A time to keep silence, And a time to speak." vi "When people have no ear to hear, 'do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.'" vii "He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you." viii "A prudent man conceals knowledge." ix
I feel fear because eternal punishment awaits the people I love after they die, I am anxious because I do not know what more can I do to help save them
You should fear God x and hate those people. xi And be anxious for nothing. xii
I carried this burden for years until I realized the entire concept of hell, a place of eternal punishment for human choices made during their lifetime, is flawed to its core, freeing me of the burden, bringing much-needed relief. After years I was again able to see people as who they are, not as a binary scale of belief.
You came to this realization not from reading Scripture.
and the people are then left at the mercy of God. What you do barely matters. Where is optimism in that?
It's the believer's hope.
Using that logic you can justify absolutely anything God decides to do.
Amen! xiii
a topic that can point to a possible inconsistency between God’s character and the traditional conception of hell
What you call "traditional" is what Scripture calls a reality, and the inconsistency is with you trying to believe in Christ but not the Word of God. xiv
- Romans 9:
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
- Romans 9:
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
- Romans 3:
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”Psalm 10:
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.Psalm 53:
2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one. - Psalm 32:
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! - Romans 1:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
- Ecclesiastes 3:7 ^
- Proverbs 23:9 ^
- Proverbs 9:7-8 ^
- Proverbs 12:23 ^
- Matthew 10:
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 10:
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
- Philippians 4:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
- Romans 9:
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
- John 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.