What is the best argument against Hell?

Question

Saying an all-loving God wouldn't let His creation burn in Hell doesn't really work. It's more of opinion on your definition of love.

Answer 1

Anyone who doesn't believe in the existence of hell can attempt to come up with several arguments against it. But if you truly believe the bible like I do, then none of those arguments will stand up. I think the biggest problem is that most people are under the impression that God sends people to hell, which is not true. God doesn't send anyone to hell, we send ourselves. We are already lost. We need God to be come saved. I always use this example. Say you were in your home asleep and overnight your house caught on fire. I happen to be passing by and see what's going on. Therefore I begin to yell to you that you need to get out or else you will burn to death. Now if you believe me, you will exit as soon as possible. If not, then you won't and will have to face the circumstances. Now, did I start the fire? No! I am merely the means to try and save you. the bible says in John 3:17 - For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He merely wants to rescue you from a horrible fate, and give you a chance to live life eternally in heaven.

Answer 2

Read the Book of Revelations in the New Testament, and you can see just how loving God is. I mean come on, only a really great deity would release meteors, plagues, wars, etc upon his creations.

Not only that, but the idea of "burning in Hell"' isn't necessarily in the Bible. Read Dante's Inferno. He had a vision that he went to Hell and was told all about it by a demon. Before his time, Hell was often thought to be dark and cold (because of the lack of the Light of God or somesuch) and the devil was often portrayed as blue rather than the red we associate with him now.

And Rob Diamond...I am more and more impressed with every answer I see you give.

Answer 3

The best argument against Hell is that there's no evidence for Hell's existence. It's the same as the argument against Valhalla, the homeworld of the Galactic Overlord Xenu, and Candyland: if there's no reason to believe that a place exists, then the default stance is disbelief in that place's existence.

Regarding the Problem of Evil issue, this can be phrased either as an argument against Hell or an argument against the modern Judeo-Christian God. If you assume that Hell exists, then it seems that a loving God cannot, because eternally torturing someone (or even permitting them to be tortured) is inconsistent with loving that person. If, on the other hand, you assume that a loving God exists, then it seems that Hell cannot, for the same reason.

The most common two counter-arguments against this are that: (1) Hell might be bad, but the good it causes outweighs the bad, and the ends justify the means; or (2) God doesn't cause people to go to Hell; rather, they go to Hell of their own accord. Both are clearly weak counterarguments. The first is weak because we cannot conceive of any good that would outweigh the infinite, eternal suffering of Hell, and because it seems to contradict God's omnipotence that he couldn't find a better way. The second is weak because it makes no sense for people to voluntarily go to Hell if they have the option of, say, staying on Earth or going to Purgatory/Limbo; and if they don't have that option, God is still essentially "forcing" them to go to Hell, by virtue of the limited options available. The only real way to satisfyingly resolve this contradiction is to disbelieve in Hell, God, or both. (Of course, this only applies to the specific traditional conceptions of Hell and God; it is also possible to believe in, say, a Hell that's really quite pleasant, or a God that is evil, without necessitating a contradiction.)

Answer 4

If God is supernatural and He has said there would be a hell, to construct an argument refuting the existence of hell would first require the preliminary step of disproving the existence of God or the truthfulness of the Bible. The beguiling argument that hell could not exist because there is not enough evidence for it, is terribly delusive. This "argumentum ad ignorantiam" fallacy (also more commonly referred to as the "fallacy of appeal to ignorance") "uses an opponent's inability to disprove a conclusion as proof of the conclusion's correctness . . . One's ability to disprove a conlcusion cannot by itself be regarded as proof that the conclusion is true." The sine qua non of a good argument is that it would provide evidence rather than pointing to the lack of it as proof. Thus the proof of the non-existence of hell cannot be the lack of evidence for it (not that I am arguing there is or isn't sufficient evidence). During Ignaz Semmelweis's time, there was no proof of the existence of bacteria and his ideas were rejected by the medical establishment. Does that mean bacteria was non-existent in his time? Did you know that the same percentage of Christian believers and Jewish believers for scientists is about the same as for the rest of us? Hope this helps!

Answer 5

It's supernatural. As of yet, no one has been able to prove the supernatural.

The supernatural, by definition, lies beyond humans' ability to comprehend. By definition, one can never logically conclude the supernatural.

The best argument against Hell is that it's a supernatural concept.

Answer 6

I feel it is an offense to God to think that he would allow any person to suffer for an eternity. It also be against any concept of an all loving, all merciful and all compassionit God. It would be against the very nature of a God.

Answer 7

Ultimately the acceptance of what is in the Bible, including Hell, is a matter of opinion. Some call it faith. Given that, someones opinion of how God defines love is just as valid as the opinion of someone who believes that Hell is real.

Answer 8

Heaven and Hell are limited concepts at best. The afterlife has many levels...we can all gravitate to where we belong according to our own learning in spirituality. What we understand we will find. Of course, eternal progress is open to every human soul who wishes to proceed from where they arrive.

Answer 9

His definition of Love is Agape' --a one way flowing of Gods' love to and through man."God commended his love toward us in that we where yet sinners Christ died for us."

The best argument against hell is heaven.

Answer 10

Concept of justice:

Hell for eternity would be infinite punishment for a creature that is finite and thus can create only finite effects.

This would be neither Loving, Merciful, or Just.