Religion of Tuesday, 6 December 2011

Source: Mensah, Richard Obeng

Why Should God Cast People Into The Hell Fire?

God is still fair in His purported unfairness.

Real human rights advocates primarily seek to secure human life and human dignity. No wonder most of these admirable advocates are today seeking for the abolition of death sentence. Some have argued, pompously though, that death sentence is a cruel lobotomy and supreme human indignity. Likewise decriminalization of homosexuality, I do not support the abolition of death sentence although most of the reasons advanced for it make sense. In my candid view, the justice system must rather always endeavour to achieve complete and effective justice, if not perfect justice. It is worth noting that abolition of death sentence in itself perpetuates injustice, at least, to some members of the public. Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion because spiritual justice demanded it. God did not rescue Jesus from the cross despite his pains and the cries of his sympathizers. I do not think people like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi and so forth needed to have been immune to death sentence. They needed complete and effective justice, not necessarily butchering or sentencing them for life.

God continues to warn hardhearted and unrepentant people that He will cast them on the Judgment Day into the Hell Fire perpetually, a punishment originally prepared for Satan and his cohorts. Unfortunately, human rights advocates neither have the jurisdiction nor the right to challenge or change this kind of punishment. In fact, they themselves shall suffer the same punishment if they have not repented. Death sentence interestingly does not in any way come near this kind of divine judgment. We cannot effectively and reasonably question God because He will before imposing this kind of apparent heinous sentence achieve complete and effective justice. He, as usual, will in fact demonstrate perfect justice on the Judgment Day. But why should God choose this option? Why the Hell Fire but not temporary banishment; 40-day and 40-night flood; temporary rains of fire; or outright forgiveness if He truly loves us as He claims to?
God is not only loving but also He is the Lord of justice. He did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them into Hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for Judgment Day. He drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden because of disobedience. God also did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah and his family, bringing in the flood on the world of ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly. So the first reason is that we have many examples to learn from. Secondly, God’s Word is as common as water in our modern and knowledge-based world. Thirdly, God has given His only begotten son not only to warn us, but also to die for our sins so that anyone who believes in him shall be saved. Lastly, God is still longsuffering towards us, not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance. How shall we escape if we neglect this great salvation? Unfortunately, many people in the world toady have wrongly construed God’s longsuffering to mean that He is slack concerning the Judgment Day. Nevertheless, God will doubtlessly judge our world. The choice is yours but there is only one option-either Heaven or Hell!

Richard Obeng Mensah, co-author of 37 Benefits of Reading. borncapy@yahoo.com/www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com