I tried to post this on facebook, but it wouldn’t let me because it’s too long. So, I simply asked the person to see my response here. His facebook posting was about God’s love and hell. It created quite a reaction including nasty accusations and flames (one could almost smell the wood crackling and burning around the stake being prepared!). My dialogue partner (a Pentecostal minister of long standing and strong reputation) stated that God’s love means nobody deserves hell. Below is my response that is too long for facebook.
“First, I love deep theological discussions–as you may recall from college days. Then I was a little less careful in how I conducted them. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about being respectful and civil even when I feel strongly about something. Second, it seems to me that we all might deserve hell without God, our loving heavenly father, assigning that condemnation to us. Perhaps there is a kind of cosmic law (based on God’s holiness, of course) that automatically “kicks in” when we sin presumptuously and without repentance that makes us condemnable. But the gospel is that God’s love and grace and mercy “kick in” even stronger to satisfy that law’s demands. In other words, there is a conflict within God himself–between his holiness and his love. His love, which is his very essence, wins over his holiness but not without satisfying its just demands. That’s where the cross comes in. It was necessary to demonstrate how seriously God takes sin and uphold God’s moral government of the universe. Jesus voluntarily suffered the punishment we deserve in our place. But, contrary to many misinterpretations of substitutionary atonement, it was not an angry, wrathful God “getting his pound of flesh” out of an innocent man. It was God himself in the person of the Son (second person of the Trinity) voluntarily suffering the consequences of our sins so that God’s love could “win” (as it were) over his justice without ignoring justice. Anyway, that’s my theory in a nutshell. And it is the traditional, orthodox view of God’s love and justice and atonement. Which is not to say it is the only right view. But it does seem to me the view that best accounts for all that the New Testament says about our sinfulness and redemption. From there one can go one of two ways. One can either believe that because of what Christ accomplished, hell is emptied (either immediately or eventually) or that God provides hell for those who refuse his mercy because he respects their free will as persons and will not force anyone to be with him in heaven against their wills. I’m a strong believer in free will, so I opt for the latter view–“hell’s door is locked on the inside.”
Anonymous responses welcome (so long as they are civil and respectful).
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