No Hell For People Who Constantly Sin? Really?

Dear John:

Just finished reading your amazing book UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question! Thank you so much for giving me evidence that homosexuality is not a sin! I was wondering if you had a Spanish version of the book. I am straight but my brother is gay and that’s what made me read this book. I always knew that being gay wasn’t a sin. Thank you so much. I have so many questions. But one I would like to know is this: If there is no hell, then what happens to Christians or non-christians who sin constantly and who live their life as they please? What’s the consequence? If there is no hell than what is stopping me from doing whatever I want? Thank you John Shore. I also want to know if you have a book about the subjugation of women.

There is no Spanish-language translation of UNFAIR. But a while back a reader who is an English-to-Spanish translator took it upon herself to translate into Spanish essays from the book, the most important of which is the translation of the essay that eventually became Taking God at His Word: The Bible and Homosexuality. That translation is El mejor razonamiento de por qué la Biblia NO condena la homosexualidad. The other articles from UNFAIR that were translated into Spanish can be found here.

You asked: “If there is no hell, then what happens to Christians or non-christians who sin constantly and who live their life as they please?” But the flaw which renders that question moot lies in its very articulation. Namely, nobody who lives a life that is genuinely pleasing to them lives in constant sin. A sure consequence of my living a degrading life is that I will make myself miserable. Contrary to the assumption inherent in your question, in other words, nobody is happy when they are doing things that are bad for themselves and others—and certainly not if that’s all they’re doing (not that it’s even possible in the first place to be either constantly sinning or not-sinning: everyone’s sinner and saint lights are constantly flickering).

In any case, while morality can certainly be enhanced via concentration upon God or Jesus or the Bible or Christianity, it originates, always, with the human heart. The drive to morality is a universal human imperative, not a religious one. If moral goodness were the exclusive domain of Christianity or any other religion it would be impossible for an atheist to be a moral person. And of course that’s hardly the case.

Bottom line: Don’t worry about what happens to “constant sinners” when they die. Worry about how you are living in every moment—if you are being good, if you are being kind, if you are being fair and gracious and patient and respectful—and then trust that you, and everyone else, will be fine. I invite you to share my personal belief that if we believe nothing else we can believe that God is fair.

And I don’t know if this is what you have in mind relative to the subjugation of women, but I know this book of mine has meant a lot to a lot of women: