The American megachurch Pastor Rob Bell has a book coming out suggesting that hell may be empty. For this he has been attacked with extraordinary violence by other evangelicals, who accuse him of betraying the essence of Christianity. "If indeed Rob Bell denies the existence of hell, this is a betrayal of biblical truth that has severe spiritual and evangelistic consequences… Jesus was himself very, very clear about the reality and threat of hell." said one noted conservative.
But was Jesus right? If God is so loving, how come he tortures anyone eternally? Hell is by definition infinitely worse than anything which happens in this life, yet even the hardest edged evangelical would nowadays hesitate to claim that the suffering of a mother whose baby has cancer, or of a baby whose mother has Aids, demonstrate the justice of God. So how can Hell – which never ends – demonstrate that either?
Of course there is nothing specifically Christian about the notion of torment in the afterlife. Buddhist hells are remarkably varied and imaginative. But the need to reconcile eternal punishment with boundless love is a difficulty that seems unique to some forms of Christianity. The atheist, too, has problems with justice. Where is the argument for justice, or for good behaviour, in the thought of Stalin dying quickly, old and plump?
Monday's response
John Richardson: 'Hell' is about justice for everyone, for ever
Wednesday's response
Mary Finnigan: Hell as a temporary measure
Thursday's response
Roz Kaveney:: Divine control-freakery can go to hell
Monday's response
Mark Vernon: Rob Bell's intervention in the often ugly world of American evangelicalism