How can a loving God send people to hell?
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The concept of a final Day of Judgement is at the heart of the Bible’s teaching e.g. “God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31, see also Romans 14:10-12).
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In our culture, such an idea is one of Christianity’s most offensive teachings. Moral truth is not seen as absolute, so people have no trouble with the idea of a God of love who supports us no matter how we live, but they object strongly to the concept of God’s judgement. But this understanding of moral truth is a modern one. “It seems to our minds unfair that we should determine that it is alright to have sex outside of marriage and later discover that there is a God who is going to punish us for that. We believe so deeply in our personal rights that the very idea of a divine Judgement Day seems impossible” (Keller). This is a cultural viewpoint – in many cultures the idea of a forgiving God would be the more offensive teaching. The transcultural truth of God is bound to offend all human cultures at some point.
God is both a God of love and of justice. These are not contradictory characteristics – all loving people are sometimes filled with wrath, not just despite of but because of their love. “Anger isn’t the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference... God’s love is not a cranky explosion, but his settled opposition to the cancer which is eating out the insides of the human race he loves with his whole being” (Becky Pippert). Without belief in the justice and judgement of God, we want to take matters into our own hands and seek retribution. But the assurance that there will be a day when God, the perfect judge, will right all wrongs enables us to forgive and to love our enemies, leaving judgement to God. (Romans 12:19-21)
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But how can sending people to the eternal punishment of hell be reconciled with the idea of a God of love? In a real sense, God sends no one to hell, it is the consequence of our own choices. “The biblical picture is that sin separates us from the very presence of God, which is the source of all joy and indeed of all love, wisdom or good things of any sort. Since we were originally created for God’s immediate presence, only before his face will we thrive, flourish and achieve our highest potential. If we were to lose his presence totally, that would be hell – the loss of our capability for giving or receiving love or joy... Hell, then, is the trajectory of a soul, living a self-absorbed, self-centred life, going on and on forever” (Timothy Keller).
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“Hell,” wrote C.S.Lewis, “is the greatest monument to human freedom... It is not a question of God ‘sending us to hell’... There are only two kinds of people – those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ or those to whom God in the end says ‘Thy will be done’. All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice it wouldn’t be hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”
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The idea of a God of love is itself part of the Bible’s revelation about the nature of God. No other religion teaches that God created the world out of love and delight, and that he loves the people he has created in a deeply personal way (E.g. John 15:9-11, John 17:26). So the question, “How can a loving God send people to hell?” has no basis apart from the Bible itself. And the Bible sees no contradiction between the two teachings, because the God of love is also a God of justice and judgement who will put all things right in the end. As such, judgement is itself part of the Good News. And the Good News goes much further still, promising us that there is a way that we can all face Judgement Day with confidence (John 3:16-19, John 5:24).
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