This Topic does NOT receive as much attention as it should in Most Churches today as it seems to be so cruel, inhumane & barbarous a place. Yet, no one really wants to face the real issue & that is - Against WHOM was the crime / sin committed & What is the punishment for such sin / crime?

So lets take a stroll through some of thes questions & see what we come up with. I do warn you right now that some of you will be just a little shocked what you will find below. Before you start to say one thing or another - Would you  please read the whole article & then use your own God Given Gift of reasoning & critical thinking see if it is true or not. One other thing, - by the time you read this article you will NOT be able to say that you don't have ALL the facts before you. Just getting in first :-)).

Bertrand Russell said that anyone who threatens people with eternal punishment, as Jesus did, is inhumane {Russell, 593 - 594}. Unbelievers in general have questioned both the existence & justice of hell. Orthodox Christians, however, Both Roman catholics & Protestant, have defended both the reality & equity of hell. One big difference between the 2 is that Roman Catholics say that person goes to purgatory first to be purified if remaining relatives can pay enough $$$$$ for High or Low Masses {depending of wealth that is} & if enough $$$$ are paid for these Masses then their relative will not go to hell & if NOT then your relative will go in to hell. While Protestants teach according to the Scriptures {Heb 9: 7} Straight after physical death we are Judged & our destiny is decided by our Judge - depending IF we turned our life to Jesus or NOT.

Jesus taught the Existence of hell. Scripture emphatically affirms the doctrine of hell. SOme of the strongest assertions that there is a hell come from Jesus Christ, the Second Person of The Trinity.

He had more to say about it than any other writer & HE said MORE about hell than He did concerning HEAVEN. HMMMMM

may be hE was trying to warn us about it?  Yes, he did warn us about it so that we are without excuse.

He said "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul & body in hell" {Matthew 10: 28}.

He added of those who REJECT HIM. "As the weeds are pulled burned in fire, so it will be  at the end of age" {Matthew 13: 4).

In Olivet Discourse our Lord said that at the finally judgement God will say "To those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil & his angels" {Matthew 25: 41b}.

Of the seriousness of the danger of hell, Jesus warned, "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it of. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out" {Mark 9: 43}.

The reality of hell is obvious  from a vivid story told by jesus in Luke 16. This is unlike a parable {or an ILLUSTRATION In Human Language of what heavenly things are like}, since in it Jesus uses the ACTUAL name of a person }Lazarus}. The story concerned the FATE AFTER death of a rich man & a beggar, Lazarus.

• The rich man also died and as buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up & saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
• SO he called to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me & send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I AM IN AGONY in this fire."
• But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that IN YOUR LIFETIME you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, BUT NOW he is comforted here & you are IN AGONY.
• And besides all this, between us & you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."
• He answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come this PLACE OF TORMENT."
• Abraham replied, "They have Moses & the Prophets; let them LISTEN to them."
• "No father Abraham," he said, "but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent."
• He said to him, "If they do NOT LISTEN to Moses & the Prophets, they will NOT be convinced if someone rises from the dead." {Luke 16: 19 - 31}.

Other inspired writings of the NT affirm the existence of hell. Perhaps the most graphic is found in Revelation of John.

• "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth & sky fled from his presence, and there w as no place for them. And I saw the dead, great & small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death & Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death & hades were thrown into the LAKE of Fire. the lake of fire is the second death.
• If anyone's name is not found in the lake of fire, HE WAS THROWN IN TO THE LAKE Of FIRE." {Rev. 20: 11 - 15}

• "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God & do NOT Obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They WILL BE PUNISHED with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power." {2 Thessalonians 1: 7b - 9}.

The writer of Hebrews adds a note of finality:

• "Man is destined to DIE ONCE & After that to face Judgement" {Heb 9: 27"

With God this Time Span is ETERNALLY SEPARATED FROM GOD & In no way are they annihilated. If they were annihilated then the suffering of Saints in THIS Life form is a waste of time. Those who commit crime on them {saints} with all sorts of evil - haven't received their punishment, but got away scot free of any punishment.  That is NOT Justice what so ever, is it??

In addition to direct affirmations, Scriptures offers reason for the existence of hell. One is that justice demands the existence of hell, & God is Just {Romans 2}. He is so pure & untainted that he cannot even look upon sin {Hab. 1: 13}. God is not respector of persons "For God does NOT show favouritism" {Romans 2: 11}.

As Abraham declared, "Will not the judge of all the earth do right?" {gen 18: 25}. Psalm 73 is representative of passages teaching that NOT ALL justice is accomplished in this life. the wicked seem to prosper {Ps. 73:3}.

Thus, the existence of a place of punishment for the wicked after this life is necessary to maintain the justice of God.

Surely, there would be no real justice were there no place of punishment for the demented souls of Stalin & Hitler, who initiated the merciless slaughter of multitudes. God's justice demands there is a place for them - that place is hell!

Jonathan Edwards argued that even one sin deserves hell, since the eternal, holy God cannot tolerate any sin. Each person commits a multitude of sins in thought, word, and deed. This is all compounded by the fact that we reject God's immense mercy.. And add to this man's readiness to find FAULT WITH GOD'S Justice & mercy do we have abundant evidence of the need for hell. If we had a true spiritual awareness, we {wouldn't have to write web pages like this one} wouldn't be amazed at hell's severity bt at OUR OWN depravity {Edwards, 1.109}.

The Bible asserts that "God is  Love" {1 John 4: 16 - & where there is LOVE there is NO fear}. BUT Love cannot act coercively, only PERSUASIVELY.

A God os love cannot force people to love Him. Paul spoke of things being done freely & NOT of compulsion { 2 Cor. 9:7}.

Forced Love is not love; it is rape. A loving being always gives "space" to others. He does not force himself upon them against their will. AS C. S. Lewis observed. "The Irresistible & the Indisputable are two weapons which the very nature of his scheme forbids him to use. Merely to override a human will .. would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can ONLY WOO." Lewis, Screw Tape Letters, 38}.

Hence, those who do not choose to love God must be allowed not to Love Him. Those who do not wish to be with Him must be allowed to be separated from Him. Hell is allows separation from God.

Since God cannot FORCE people into heaven against their free will, human free choice demands a hell. jesus cried out, "O jerusalem, jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" {Matthew 23: 37}.

As Lewis said, 'There are ONLY 2 kinds of people in the end: {1} Those who say to God, 'Thy Will be done,' & {2} Those to whom God says, in the end 'Thy will be done,'" {Screw Tape Letters, 69

Unless there is a hell there is no final victory over evil. For what frustrates good is evil. The wheat and tares cannot grow together forever. There must be an ultimate separation, or else good will not triumph over evil. AS in society, punishment for evil is necessary that good might prevail. If it does not, then God is NOT in ultimate control God's sovereignty demands a hell, otherwise he would not be the ultimate victor over evil that the Bible declares him to be {cf. 1 Cor. 15: 24 - 28; Revelation 20 - 22}.

At the centre of Christianity is the cross {! Cor. 1: 17 - 18; 15: 3}. Without it there is no salvation {Romans 4: 25; heb 10: 10 - 14}. It is the very purpose for which Christ came into the world {Mark 10: 45: Luke 19: 10}. Without the cross there is no salvation {John 10: 1, 9 - 10; Acts 4: 12}.

Only though the cross can we be delivered from our sins {Romans 3: 21 - 26}.

Jesus suffered great agony & even separation from God on the Cross {Heb. 2{ 10 - 18; 5: 7- 9}.

Anticipating the cross, jesus "sweat as it were great drops of blood" [Luke 22: 44}. But why the Cross and all this suffering UNLESS there is Hell?

Christ's death IS ROBBED of its eternal significance unless there is an eternal separation from God from which people need to be delivered.

Hell is away from the "presence of the Lord" [Matthew 25: 41; 2 Thessalonians 1: 7 - 9}. Of course, these are relational, not necessary spatial, terms. God is "Up" & hell is 'down.'

God is "INSIDE" & hell is "OUTSIDE." Hell is the other direction from God.

The nature of hell is the dark horrifying reality. It is like being left outside in the dark forever {Matthew 8: 12}. It is like a wandering star {Jude 13}, a waterless cloud {Jude 12}, a perpetual burning dump {Mark 9: 43 - 48}, a bottomless pit {Rev. 20: 1, 3}, a prison {1 Peter 3: 19}, and a place of anguish & regret {Luke 16: 28}.

To borrow the title of the book by Lewis, hell is the "GREAT DIVORCE" -  an eternal separation from God {2 Thes. 1: 7 - 9}. There is, in Biblical language, "a great gulf fixed" between hell &  heaven {Luke 16: 26}. so that no one can pass from one side to the other.

Nowhere doe the Bible describe it as a "TORTURE" where people ate FORCED against their will to be tortured. This is a direct caricature CREATED By Unbelievers to justify their reaction that the God who sends people to hell is cruel.

This does not mean that hell is not a place of TORMENT. Jesus said it was {Luke 16: 24}.

But unlike TORTURE = which is inflicted from WITHOUT against one's will, TORMENT is SELF - INFLICTED.

Even atheists have suggested {I will try to do a page on Atheism soon} that the door of hell is locked FROM INSIDE. We are condemned to OUR OWN freedom FROM God.

Heaven's presence of the divine would be torture to one who has chosen or irretrievably rejected God. Torment is living with the consequences of OUR OWN bad choices or actions. It is weeping & gnashing of teeth that results from the realization that we blew it & deserve the consequences.

Just as a football player may pound on the ground in agony after missing a play that loses the Grand Final or Super Bowl or World Cup Final in Soccer etc., so those in hell know that the pain they suffer is SELF - INFLICTED.

One common question or statement that I get on this is this : NO Loving parent would Place a Child's hand on a STOVE & Burn it or Send His / Her child to hell.

Hey, neither would I. BUT that is  a Straw man - & IT IS A FORCED straw man at that.

Child had NO choice in the matter as it was THE Parent who did the forcing.  If on the other hand - Child PLACED his / her OWN hand on the stove - that is a different kettle of fish. It was Child's OWN Choice to do it & hence, the child because of his/ her own free choice is paying the consequences of pain. NO parent would send a child to jail either, but on the other hand, if that child committed a murder would a parent STOP or Hide his / her child from the Police?  the right answer is NO as parents of the other child are demanding JUSTICE so the person who committed the crime MUST FACE JUSTICE & Penalty. Lets face it Jails are NOT a nice place either - no matter if a person spends a day in there or their eternal human life - the only thing that is different is the TIME SPAN.

Hell is also depicted as a place of eternal fire. This fire is REAL but not necessarily PHYSICAL {as we know it that is} because we {humans} will have a IMPERISHABLE pHysical Bodies {John 5: 28 - 29; Rev. 20: 13 - 15}. so NORMAL fire would not affect them. Further, the figures of speech that describe hell are contradictory, if taken in a physical sense.

It has FLAMES, yet is outer darkness. It is a dump {with a bottom}, yet, a bottomless pit. While everything in the Bible is literally true to God, not everything is true literally to us humans as we do no understand nor can we comprehend it in human mind & reasoning.

Many unbelievers would be willing to accept a temporary hell, but the Bible speaks of it as EVERLASTING.

Hell will last as Long as Does God! the Bible declares that God Will endure forever {Psalm 90: 1-2}. Indeed He had no beginning & has NO end [Rev 1:8]. He created ALL THINGS {John 1: 3 & Col 1: 15 - 16}. & He will abide after this world is destroyed [2 Peter 3: 10 - 12].

But God, by His very nature cannot tolerate evil {isaiah 6; Hab 1: 13}. Hence evil persons must be separated from God FOREVER. As Long as God is God  & evil is evil, the latter must be separated from the former.

Heaven is described as "everlasting" in the Bible. But the same Greek word "aionion," used in the same context, also affirming that hell is "everlasting" {Matthew 25: 41; cf. v 46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 & Rev. 20: 10}. So, since heaven is FOREVER, so is hell. there is absolutely no ground in SCripture for supposing that hell is temporal and heaven is eternal.

NOr is there a possibility of getting out of hell. A great gulf is fixed so no one can leave {Luke 16: 26}. Judgement begins immediately after death {John 8: 21; Hebrews 9: 27}. This is not unlike the fact that some decisions in life are irreversible. - Suicide is a one way street to hell.

People are conscious after they die, whether they are in heaven {2 Cor 5: 8; Philippians 1: 23; rev 6: 9} or in hell [Luke 16" 23]. The beast was still conscious after  a thousand years in hell {Rev. 19: 20; 20: 10}.

It makes no sense to resurrect unbelievers to everlasting judgement [Dan. 12: 2; John 5: 28 - 29} before the Great White Throne {Rev. 20: 11 - 15} unless they are conscious.

Unbelievers have offered many objections to the doctrine of hell { see C. S. Lewis book "Problem of Pain" Chapter 8 for more insight if you want}

Hell is Annihilation. The Bible clearly affirms that there is conscious suffering in hell, such as will cause "weeping & gnashing of teeth" {Matthew 8: 12}. Annihilated persons are NOT conscious of any suffering. The best and false prophet in hell will be conscious after a thousand years of suffering {Rev. 19: 20; 20: 10}

My dear friends - Annihilation would NOT be a punishment but a RELEASE from ALL punishment. So why should we then Follow Christ - while others who live it up & persecute Christians, murder anyone etc etc & then Just be annihilated.   Just a thought!!

Job appeared to prefer annihilation to suffering {Job 3}, but God did NOT Grant his desire - did He?

Annihilation is of the wicked is contrary to both the nature of God & the Nature of humans made in His image & Likeness. It is not consistent with all - loving God to SNUFF out those who don't do HIs wishes. Were God to Snuff out human beings Spirit He would be attacking Himself as we are made in His likeness & Image {Gen 1: 27}, and God is immortal. The fact that these persons are suffering no more justifies SNUFFING them than it does for a parent to KILL a child who is suffering.

Even some atheist have insisted that annihilation is not to be preferred to conscious freedom.

Hell could not be just a long imprisonment & then one day people in it are snuffed out.. Hell must exist as long as a righteous God does AGAINST WHOM all hell is opposed.

While the world forever can mean a long time in the context of our human understanding. We must understand that in this context it {Forever} is used of heaven of heaven as well as hell - {cf. Matthew 25}. Sometimes the emphatic form of 'forever & forever" is used. This form is used to describe heaven & God Himself { Rev. 14: 11; 20: 1-}. And God cannot be temporal; He IS Eternal {Edwards, 2.85 - 86}.

The suggestion that temporal suffering will lead to ultimate repentance is unrealistic as Jesus death on the cross would mean nothing. People in hell are gnashing their teeth which does not indicate a more godly & reformed disposition but a more rigid & stubborn rebellion. hence, after the people have been in hell for some time there is more justification fo God's punishment of them, NOT LESS.

If hell had a reformational effect - a la Roman Catholic Purgatory -then Jesus would NOT have had to die on the cross & PRONOUNCE "Woe on those who Reject him & are headed for hell" - Would HE? {Matthew 11: 21 - 24}.

NO sin would be unforgivable if people in hell were reformable [Matthew 12: 31 - 32}. Likewise, jesus would never have said of Judas that it would have been better if he had never been born.

How can a place So DEVOID of God's  restraining Grace accomplish what NO EFFORTS of HIS Grace could accomplish hear on Earth, namely a change of the heart?

If hell could  reform wicked sinners, then they would be saved without Christ, who is the sole means of salvation {Edwards, 2. 520. Acts 4: 12; 10: 43 & 16; 31}.

Suffering has no tendency to soften a hard heart; it hardens it more. The recidivism and hardened criminality in  modern prison confirms Edwards' point.

God's justice demands eternal punishment. "The heinousness of any crime must be gauged according to the WORTH of Dignity of the person it is committed against" [Davidson, 50}. Thus, a murder of a president or pope for that matter IS DEEMED MORE heinous than that of a  terrorist or mafia boss.

Sin  Against an Infinite God is an INFINITE SIN Worthy of INFINITE Punishment [Edwards 2.83}.

The answer is that God does try very hard to reform sinners. The fact is that sinners don't want to listen & continue to do their own thing
That reformation is called LIFE.

Peter declared that "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, a s some understand slowness. He is patient  with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone too come to repentance." {2 Peter 3: 9; cf. 1 Tim 2: 4}

However, after the time of reformation comes the time of reckoning {Heb 9: 27}. Hell is only for the reformable and unrepentant, the reprobate {cf. 2 Peter 2: 1- 6}.

It is not for everyone who is reformable. If they were reformable, they would still be alive. For God in His wisdom & goodness would NOT allow anyone to go to hell whom he knew would go to heaven if he gave them more opportunity. As A. C. Lewis observed, the soul that seriously & constantly desires joy will never miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened {Lewis, Great Divorce, 69}.

Jesus HImself tells us in Matthew 10: 28 that NO ONE will be able to take a believer out of His hand & Paul tells us in 1 Cor 5: 1 - 5 that it is better for flesh to be tormented as long as the Spirit is saved.  Choice IS YOURS!!! Choose Jesus & you will not have to worry about Hell.

God cannot force free creatures to be reformed  if they don't want to be. Forced reformation is worse that punishment; is is cruel & inhuman. Just ask any person who has been in a Religious Cult!!

At least punishment respects the freedom and dignity of the person. AS Lewis insightfully notes, "To be 'cured' against one's will .. is to be put on a level with those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals" [Lewis, God in the Dock, 226}.

Humans are not objects to be manipulates; They are subjects to be respected because they are made in God's Image. Human beings should be punished when they do evil because they were free & knew better. They are persons to be punished, NOT Patients to be cured.

To punish a person eternally for what he did for a short time on earth seems at first like a gigantic case of overkill. However, on closer examination it turns out to be not only just but necessary.

For one thing, only eternal punishment will suffice for sins against the eternal God. The sins may have been committed in time, but they were AGAINST the Eternal One.

Further - more, no sin can be tolerated as long as God exists, & He IS Eternal. Hence, punishment for sin must also be eternal.

What is more, the only alternative to eternal punishment is worse, namely, to rob human beings of freedom & dignity BY FORCING them into heaven against their free choice.

Would you like to live in a place that you don't want to be in?? Just curious!!

That would be ""HELL"" For you wouldn't it?? Since you DON'T fit in a place where everyone is LOVING & PRAISING GOD - the person that you WANT  MOST TO Avoid.

Or, God's other choice is to annihilate His OWN Image within His creatures. But this would be an attack of God On Himself. Not Likely!!

Further, without eternal separation, there could be NO Heaven. Evil is contagious {1 Cor. 5: 6} & must be quarantined. Like a deadly plague, if it is  not contained it will continue to contaminate and corrupt. If God did not eventually separate the tares from wheat, the tares would choke out the wheat. the only way to preserver an eternal place of good is to eternally separate all evil from it.

The only way to have eternal heaven is to have eternal hell.

Finally, if Christ's temporal punishment is sufficient for sins eternally, then there is no reason why eternal suffering cannot be appropriate for our temporal sins.

It is not the duration of the action but the OBJECT that is important. Christ  satisfied the eternal God by His temporal suffering, and unbelievers have offered the eternal God by their temporal sins. Hence, Christ temporal suffering for sins satisfies God eternally {1 John 2: 1} & our temporal sins offered God eternally.

To the objection that there is no redeeming value is the damning of souls to hell, it can be pointed out that hell satisfies God's justice and glorifies it by showing how great & fearful a standard it is. "The vindictive justice of God will appear strict, exact, awful, & terrible, & therefore glorious" {Edwards, 2.87}.

The more horrible and fearful the judgement, the brighter the sheen on the sward of God's justice.

Awful punishment fits the nature of an awe - inspiring God. By a majestic display of wrath, God gets back the majesty he has been refused.

Those who give God NO glory by choice now / during this life time WILL BE Forced to give glory in the after life.

All people, thus, are either ACTIVELY or PASSIVELY useful to God.

Just as a barren tree is useful only for firewood, so the disobedient are only firewood, so the disobedient are only fuel for eternal fire {Ibid., 2.126}. Since unbelievers prefer to keep at  distance from God in Time {This life}, why would we not expect this to be their chosen state in eternity?

Some critics believe hell is only a threat that God will not carry out. But it is blasphemy to hold that a God of truth uses deliberate lies to govern human beings. Further, it implies that 'those who think hell is a deception have outwitted God Himself by uncovering it {Davidson, 53}. As Edwards stated it, "They suppose that they have been so cunning as to find that it is not certain; and so that God has not laid His decision so deep, but that such cunning men as they can discern the cheat & defeat the design: [Edwards 2.516}.

The presumption on this question is that we are MORE merciful that is God. God is perfectly happy in heaven, and He knows that NOT everyone will be there.

Yet He is infinitely more merciful than are we. What is more,, if we could not be happy in heaven knowing anyone was in hell, than our happiness is not in our hands but someone else's.

But hell cannot veto heaven. We can be happy in heaven the same way we can be happy eating knowing that others are starving, if we have tried to feed them but they refused the food.

Just as we can have healing of bad memories here on earth, even so God will "wipe away ALL tears" in heaven. {Rev. 21: 4}.
 

Edwards noted that to suppose God's mercy does not permit suffering in hell is contrary to  fact. God allows plenty of suffering in this world . It is an empirical fact that God and creature - pain are not incompatible {Gerstner, 80}. If God's  mercy cannot bear eternal misery then neither can it bear a lesser amounts {Edwards, 2.84}.

God's mercy is not a passion or emotion that overcomes his justice. mercy so constructed is a defect in God. It would make Him a weak & inconsistent with Himself, not fit to be a Judge. We know that God is fit to judge & HE will judge Justly.

The attitude and feelings of saints is heaven will be transformed and correspond more to God's. hence, we will love only what God loves & hate what he hates.

We Should be doing the same thing right now - that means that LITTLE WHITE LIES MUST NOT be told. Are you willing to take that risk & may be loose few friends ?? That is tough one, hey!!!

Since God is not miserable at the thought or sight of hell, neither will we - even if it holds people we love in this life.

Edwards developed a sermon to this: "The End of the Wicked Contemplated by the Righteous." In Gerstner's digest of it, "it will seem in no way cruel in God to inflict such extreme suffering on such extremely wicked creatures" {Gerstner, 90}.

Some critics of hell argue that if God knew tat his creatures would reject him & eventuate in such a horrible place as hell, then why did He create then in the first place? Wouldn't it have been better to have never existed than to exist and go to hell?

It is important to note that NON - EXISTENCE cannot be said said to be a better condition that any kind of existence, since non - existence is nothing.

And to affirm that nothing can be better than something is a gigantic category mistake. In order to compare two things they MUST have something in common. But there is nothing in common between BEING & Nothing. they are diametrically opposed.

SOme one may FEEL like being put out of a life misery, but such a one cannot even consistently think of not being as a better state of Being. True, Jesus said it would have been better if Judas had never been born {Mark 14: 21}. But this is simply a strong expression indicating the severity of his sin, not a statement about the superiority of non - being over being.  Another thing to note with Judas is this:  He didn't repent to GOD for His sin of doubting in Jesus - he went instead to Priests! That was a big mistake - Jesus dies for him just as He died for all of us - What he should have done is to ASK GOD for forgiveness, just as we NEED to do all the time & we will be forgiven.

In  a parallel condemnation on the Pharisees, Jesus said that Sodom & Gomorra would have repented had they seen Jesus miracles {Matthew 11: 20 - 24}. This does not mean that they {every person in S & G} actually would have repented or God would surely have shown them these miracles. It simply shows that & indicates that their sin was so great that "it would be more tolerable" {verse 24} in the day of judgement for Sodom then for them.

Further, simply because some will lose in the game f life it does not mean it should not be played. Before the Supper Bowl, any game or Grand final of any sport is played - BOTH teams go in with the knowledge that one of them will be a looser of that match. Yet they all want to play & do play. Before every driver in any country of the world sits  behind a steering wheel of a car knows full well that people will be killed. Yet  we all drive every day without to much of a problem or foresight that one of those killed will be us.

Parents know that having children could end in a great tragedy for their own offspring, like infant death, deformed child, born with a serious disease, may have to go to war, be killed in a car accident or being murdered by some other person  etc,. etc. Yet this foreknowledge of evil or sickness does not stop us from having children. Does it?

NOW, WHY is this so?? The answer lies in this: We all know & deem it better to have played & lost {or had a go} as there is a 50 - 50 chance that we may actually have a BIG WIN. Hence, it is better to have played than not have played at all.

It is better to have lost in Super Bowl or Grand Final of any sporting event, than not be able to go through that experience at all.

From God's stand point, it is better to have Loved the WHOLE WORLD {John 3: 16} & lose some of its inhabitants who do not return the love, than NOT to love them at all.

The Bible says we are born sinners {Psalm 51: 5} & are "by nature the children of wrath" {Eph. 2: 3}. If sinners cannot avoid sinning, is it fair  to send them to hell for it?

People go to hell NOT because they are born sinners as Children are righteous in God's eyes {Isaiah 57: 1} - reason why people go to hell is because of their / our OWN CHOICE by rejecting God's Free Gift or grace {Eph. 2: 8-9; Romans 3: 23}. So when a person rejects that free gift what can God do, Force them to be with Him in heaven? Not Likely as that would be against His nature & Love. We humans choose to sin of own back.

Just because we are born sinners or on the road to hell, we fail to heed the warning signs along the way to turn FROM destruction {Luke 13: 3; 2 Peter 3: 9}.

While we human beings sin because we are sinners {by nature}, our sin nature does NOT FORCE us to sin. As Augustine correctly said, "We are born with the propensity to sin & the necessity to die." Please notice, he didn't say we are born with the necessity to sin.

While sin is inevitable, since we are born with a bent in that direction, SIN IS NOT UNAVOIDABLE!!!!

The ultimate place to which sinners are destined is also avoidable. All one needs to do is TO REPENT {Luke 13: 3; Acts 17: 30; 2 Peter 3: 9}.

All are held responsible for their / our decisions to accept or reject God's offer of salvation. And RESPONSIBILITY ALWAYS implies the Ability to respond {if not on our own, then by God's Grace}. All who go to hell could have avoided going there if they had chosen to.

No pagan anywhere is without clear light from God so that he / she is "Without Excuse" {Romans 1: 19 = 20; cf. 2: 12 - 15' - see Salvation}

As God sent a missionary to Cornelius {Acts 10: 35}, so He will provide the message of salvation for ALL WHO SEEK  IT / HIM!!

For, "Without Faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him Must believe that He exists & that He rewards those who earnestly seek him" {Heb. 11: 6}.

While many believer hell is unreasonable, following Jonathan {Edwards, a  good argument can be made for its rationality:

It is a most unreasonable thing to suppose that there should be no future punishment, to  suppose that God, who made man a rational creature, able to know his / her duty, and sensible that he / she is deserving punishment when he does not; should let man alone, and let him live as he will, and never punish him for his sins, and never make any difference between the good and the bad  ...   How unreasonable i is to suppose, that he who made the world, should leave things in such confusion, and never take any care of the governing of his creatures, and that he should never judge his  reasonable creatures {Edwards, 2. 884}.

As surveys show, people are far more willing to believe in heaven than in hell. No good person wants anyone to go to hell.

But, as Sigmund Froid would say, IT IS AN ILLUSION TO REJECT something simply because we wish not to believe in it.

Indeed, as even some atheists have observed, the belief in hell eliminates the charge that it is a merely an illusion. Whether there is a hell must be determined on the basis of evidence, not desire. The evidence for the existence of Hell is Strong - otherwise Jesus is a liar as it was He who spoke more about Hells existence then of heaven.. That in it's self should tell us that HE WAS WARNING US about it.

If the evidence for hell is substantial, why then do so many people reject it? Edwards listed two main reasons of the UNWILLINGNESS to accept hell: {1) It is contrary to OUR personal preference; {2} We have a deficient concept of evil & its deserved punishment.

Actually, a denial of hell is an indication of human depravity. Edwards draws attention to our nature of wars & acts against humanity. Why were we not equally shocked at how we regularly show contempt for THE MAJESTY OF God [Edwards 2.83}.

Our rejection of hell & God's mercy are an indication of our own depravity - & therefore are deserving of hell. Edwards wrote, "Doth it seem to the incredible, that God should be so utterly regardless of the sinner's welfare, as to sink him into an infinite abyss or misery? Is this shocking to thee? And is it not at all  shocking to thou shouldest be so utterly regardless as thou has been to honour & glory of the Infinite God?" Edwards 2.82}.

I trust & pray that you will have obtained a little different view on hell!! Just because you may not cherish the idea that your loved one's may god there, may I suggest that you get of your back side & Tell them about it & What Christ has done for them. That way you will not have to worry about them going to hell!!.

I would like to thank may authors - Like Augustine, Edwards, W. Crocket. B. W. Davidson. L Dixon etc for their great work on this subject. More then any I would like to recommend a book titled "Baker Encyclopledia of Christian Apologetics
 By Norman L. Geisler for his summary fo most of the writings above.