Einar: Are People "Sent" to Hell?

Hey Kendra, thank you for letting me post on your blog!
With this post, I would like to address a somewhat unresolved issue that was brought up in one of the older posts, why would a loving God send people to hell, or torture them, just for not believing in Him?

http://toseizethenight.blogspot.com/2009/05/terrorists-live-and-let-live.html

A little known or acknowledged fact is that God does not torture people.
Ok, maybe that is not the right way to put it, I doubt any Christian thinks that when someone goes (not “is sent”) to hell, God is torturing them as punishment for refusing to believe Him. If someone who considers themselves a Christian believes that, then they do not know the same God the Bible talks about.
I am going to have to explain a little background here, to help make things clear, I hope ya’ll will bear with my wordiness.


God is holy, He is righteous, He cannot abide sin, and sin CANNOT exist in His presence. Therefore, for us to live in heaven with Him, we must never have sinned once in our lives.
This is not possible, so God sent His son, to live a life with all the temptations and trials we have, BUT WITHOUT SINNING.
In the Old Testament, the Law was set up to allow the Israelites to pay for their sins without paying the price with their own life. The wages of sin is death, therefore they had to slaughter an animal without defect to pay for their sins “for that month” or “for that week” or for an especially bad sin, “What I did in that bar last night.” This system (or covenant) worked, but it was incomplete and difficult, so once Jesus had lived His perfect life, He then had to die, to sacrifice Himself as THE ONLY truly perfect sacrifice. This sacrifice was so great that it was able to pay not only for the sins of those that lived in those times, but for all the sins of all those who came after.
As with the old covenant however, you cannot pay for someone else’s sins unless they accept the sacrifice, you could not kill a goat to pay for grandpa’s sins unless grandpa was willing to admit his sins needed paying for.
In the same way, the Christ paid for your sins, but you have to accept that payment, as well as that He is the only one who can pay for them.
Imagine how God must feel, after paying such a terrible price, only for someone, anyone, to reject him. God is not a flawed human, who would get angry and perhaps vengeful at this rejection, but rather, He feels sorrowful (in such a manner that words cannot describe it) at the loss of His child he watched grow up, watched so closely that He knew how many hairs were on his or her head, knew their very thoughts.

Look at this illustration in Luke of how God feels when one of His children return to him. I am sure you know the story of the prodigal son, but did you ever realize it is as much about God’s view of us as it is our view of Him?

17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:17-24 (NIV)

God does not resent that the young man left, He gives it no thought! He is nearly delirious with joy that his son has seen the errors of his ways and returned.

Do I think that this God would SEND someone to hell in a vengeful manner? NEVER!

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9 NIV (Emphasis Mine)

God does not send anyone to hell, hell is nothing more and nothing less than total separation from God, just as Heaven is total fellowship and closeness with God. After judgment there will be no middle ground, we will either have total communion with God, or total separation from Him.
As I said before, Sin cannot exist near God. It is inconceivable. Therefore when God comes to take away those who have chosen to have their sin paid for, He has to leave the others behind, much as it tears at his heart to do so.
He does not send anyone to hell, they “go” there of their own free will, and as He has given us free will, He cannot stop them.

As for "burning in the eternal and torturous fires of hell" as you put it, the Bible does say that hell will seem like a lake of fire. It may very well be an actual place where people will be tortured physically. However, I am of the opinion that this technicality does not matter, no pain, physical or mental, could possibly be compared to the spiritual anguish of being forever separated from your Creator.

In answer to your other example, as the verse above says, God is not willing that one should perish. In a “grey area” (such as aborted babies) do you really think God is gonna say “Ehhh, I dunno, I never really covered that in my book, you can have em Satan.”
NO WAY!
God loves us with a passion greater than any father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, or friend on earth! There are no grey areas for him. He may not have explained it to your satisfaction in the Bible (although he has for me) but that does not mean he has not thought about it! And because God is Holy, you can bet that whatever he has decided IS RIGHT.


However, this grey area (from our perspective) does not include those who’s upbringing or situation makes it DIFFICULT to accept Christ, it covers only those who never even had the chance to choose him, or to at least choose what they knew was right.
In the event they had never heard of him, adults who choose to do what they know is evil will still go to hell. Even a pygmy who has never heard the gospel has a conscience, and the Bible makes it quite clear that a gentile (in this context, someone who has never heard of God) has no excuse, because of his God given conscience.

Your mention of a tribe of Pygmies is a good example of this, but that particular issue is so massive and complex I would prefer not to address it here. If I have time I may post another thing about it later, in a reply to this or while the follower’s say thing is still going. It depends on whether or not I have time. (There are verses to back this up, and I can provide them, I just do not have time right now, this little tangent was a sort of last minute change.)

If anyone hears even a whisper of God’s truth, and rather than seek it out they still refuse it, then they have refused God, and their sin is not paid for.

A good analogy would be: Someone invites you to a banquet, and they tell you that you have to wear a ring that they gave you to get in, just the ring, and nothing else.
You do not have to bring a gift. (Although he would love one, and if you truly cared, you would try to bring one)
You do not have to dress nice. (Even though others will, and you would be ashamed to come in rags)
You do not even have to be on the dot. (Although if you miss the banquet completely, nothing can be done.)

However, this friend explains, you will not be admitted unless you wear the ring, otherwise, you shall be left outside in the cold.
If you were to show up, bearing a gift, dressed in a tux, perfectly on time, but without the ring, who’s fault would it then be if security did not let you in?
In the same way, if someone thinks that they can get to heaven any old way, so long as they are a good person, they will find that, as the Bible says, there is only one way to heaven (or one way to avoid hell, depending on how you look at it) and no amount of good deeds will cover over their sin.

I know the above example has lots of “real world” flaws, obviously the person throwing the party could just come to the door and make an exception because he knows the person, but this is not the case with God.

“Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Mathew 7:23 NIV

The ring is salvation, your verbal and mental acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice.

The gifts would be “Good Deeds”, martyrdom, souls brought to Christ, or help given to the poor, the Bible says that we will receive crown for these things, which we can then lay at Christ’s feet to show our love and gratitude.

The “Good Clothes” represent Personal Character, what you do alone when no one is watching, why you do good deeds, and what you think, separate from what you do.

Being punctual represents coming to Christ at an early age, or as soon as you hear of him. Many people know of God, and many believe Christ exists as well, but they refuse to accept his blood to pay for their sins. God does not welcome someone who truly accepts Christ the day before they die any less than someone who has known and loved Him since the day they heard the Good News.
That does not mean God does not appreciate the things we do, but that He does not allow them to cause Him to think less of his more wayward children, as seen in the last part of the story of the Prodigal son.

25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' “Luke 15:11-32 NIV

All these things are not required to “go” to heaven per say, but if you truly do understand and accept the sacrifice Jesus paid, you cannot possibly go on living without at least trying to change, even if you have only one day to live. (Why do you think so many people try to set things right with their family on their deathbed? When faced with their own mortality, many accept Christ, and attempt to help further His kingdom with their dying breath. Even those who do not accept Christ try to fix things, because in our soul, we know that the true reason for being here is to serve a greater power. Although many do not acknowledge exactly what that power is before they die, they still try to make amends on their own, not knowing that without Christ their efforts do no good, aside from the relief it may give to others.


You might think the parable I used a bit farfetched, but in reality, it is a modern adaptation from one in Matthew 22:2-14, look it up if you do not believe me.

In Conclusion, as Jesus states quite clearly in John 14:6
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

No one “gets” to heaven except by accepting the priceless gift Jesus paid.

This is a post primarily for Christians who already believe God (as defined in the Bible) exists, if you do not believe this, please feel free to ask questions, but please don’t make useless comments like “You idiot, There is not god! We evolved from monkeys!” This post is not about proving Evolution or Creation is true, it is based on the assumption that the God who wrote the Bible (By literally putting words in the mouths of men, whole different post/argument) Created the earth, and then sent His Son to die for us.

If you read this post, and asked questions, but still do not feel satisfied enough to accept Jesus into your heart, I would like to encourage you to read a Bible (NIV would be easiest to understand, I know many dislike the NKJ version) and then find a Church to attempt to learn more.

One thing you must do, if you are seeking these truths, is be careful not to accept what the staff of said church says at face value. Once you have heard a sermon or teaching, compare it to the Bible to make sure it is sound. There are many pastors out there who teach entire sermons without using a single Bible verse, or assume things they have been told without checking the Bible. I nearly fell prey to such a fallacy in writing this post, I had initially thought there was a verse in the Bible explaining that everyone will get a chance to accept Christ. I thought those who died before getting that chance would get it after their death, and after seeing Jesus, making their decision that much easier, but upon further research, I could not find this verse. That is when I realized that the “tribe of pygmies” issue was more complex than the abortion one. You could obviously have “good” and “evil” pygmies, but I do not believe there has ever been an evil baby born.

If you read this post, and agree with some, but not all of what I have said, please tell me why in the comments. I am sure enough of my views that I am not afraid to have them questioned. Be aware however, that I will not accept “feelings” as good reasons for disagreeing. No one likes the idea of even their worst enemy spending eternity in torment, completely separated from God, but that does not mean it will not happen.

Once again I would like to thank Kendra for allowing me to post on her blog, and I hope that this helps someone in some way.
Any ya’ll please make sure to read the other posts that are pushed down by this (extremely long) one, sorry Bethany, I hope you don’t get missed!

I have a new blog by the way, prolly just wasting cyberspace, but if yall want to check it out it is at http://einarslair.blogspot.com/