by Paul Schingle

Created on: May 02, 2010

The Bible is full of so many contradictions that any "believer" has a lot to explain-and this is right up there.  If God is all-loving, then why did he create hell?  (The Bible literalist's answer:  "Because Lucifer became a bad angel who challenged God's authority.")  If God is truly omnipotent (all-powerful), why would he need to punish Lucifer?  Why not just end his existence for all eternity?  ( "Because Lucifer was strong and put up a good fight.")  So, God is powerful, but not all-powerful?  No answer from literalists.  They would tell you you're just being obstinate.  So, let's just give them that one.  God created hell to punish Lucifer.  What's the next logical step?

If God created hell to punish Lucifer, why is the threat of eternal damnation used as a threat to us, his children?  ("Because, at his very core, man is a sinner and unless he recognizes, and asks forgiveness for, his sins, man is doomed to perish.")   Ah, but why is man a sinner at his core?  ("Because he succumbed to temptation.")  And, this is where the Bible literalist really gets tripped up.

God created man in his own image.  (Verbatim quote from the Bible).  Then, he gives man a beautiful woman and a beatuiful place to live, with one caveat-don't eat of this particular tree.  Now, God knows man is easily tempted.  He knows this because he made man that way.  So, God tempts (or rather, allows "the serpent" to tempt) man.  God has to have known man would fail that test.  Now, the Bible literalist would say that God gave man free will and that this is a good thing.  I wouldn't disagree with that idea.  Free will is a good thing.  But, if God knows that man is easily tempted and gives man free will and then tempts him, isn't God just setting man up to fail?

So, this is the scenario.  God gets a bunch of grief from one of his angels (Lucifer) and  creates this horrible place (hell) to send him for all of eternity.  Okay, fine.  Now, God creates man in his own image, but exposes him to temptation, that he knows (in advance) that man will succumb to.  In order for man to get out of the trouble he's gotten into (with God's help, by the way), man has to follow a specific prescription (accept Jesus as his savior) in order to avoid hell and to get into heaven.  But, to top it off, God is going to continue to tempt man with other faiths (i.e., Islam)  which specifically state that Jesus is not the messiah.  God knows man is easily tempted-he's seen it.  God knows a good percentage of man will fail the test.  But, if any individual man fails the test, he fries forever in hell?  And, this is the work of a loving God? 

Sorry, Bible literalists.  You can't have it both ways.  God either loves all of His children or He created hell, but not both.  It just doesn't make sense.

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