I've never understood the claim that a sin, no matter how small (say, a failure of cognition) against an infinite God, requires infinite punishment. I understand that many Christians also find that claim to be fatuous, and inevitably adjust their theology to one of universalism, annihilation or a finite punishment.
I've heard similar points made many times so rather than replying on FaceBook, I thought I'd make my reply into a post here. I have several points I can make.
So what if it were unfair?
I've always found it curious how some people have this expectation that the universe must be fair. A cat will kill a mouse. Is it “fair” that the mouse really has no defense against the cat except to hide from it? Where do people – especially atheists – believe cosmic justice would come from? The universe doesn't care what happens. “Fairness” can only exist if there is a real God who administers justice. In the absence of divine justice there is nothing but cruel, indifferent reality.
But assuming that God is real, why must He be limited to our sense of justice. I might think it's unfair to pay a $35 fine for failing to put 25¢ in the parking meter. Apparently, the city of Cincinnati doesn't think that's unfair since that was the amount I had to pay them once for a parking ticket. The laws are made by the person (or people) in authority and they also set the penalties for the people who break the laws. The guilty might feel his punishment is too great for his crime. That doesn't matter.
Now, I'll explain in a moment why God's law is fair. But even if it were to seem unfair by every measure of our sensibilities, what are we supposed to do? Should I conclude that God can't be real because He's not fair? You can see how that doesn't follow. Perhaps you could argue that He isn't worthy of our worship because He is unfair. That is foolhardy because your indignation toward the law doesn't excuse you from being bound by the law. The mouse can protest all it wants but, in the end, the cat will still eat the mouse.
It is far, far better to simply acknowledge the reality of the situation. There is a God who judges sin. Your protests, your finite understanding of justice, and all your moral outrage will not be a defense.
We're all guilty
The question asked on Facebook was why only one little sin will send someone to hell. It's rather optimistic to believe there is anyone who has committed only a single sin. Is it wrong to lie? Most people will say yes. OK, if it's wrong to lie then how many lies have you ever told? It's just you and the computer right now so at least be honest with yourself for a moment. How many lies have you told today? This week? This month? This year? Let's face it – we're all habitual liars.
Thou shalt not bear false witness is just one of the Commandments (Exodus 20:16). How about the other Commandments? Have you always put God first? Have you ever taken His name in vain? Have you always kept the Sabbath holy? Have you always obeyed your parents? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever coveted anything? You can see where I'm going with this. It's not like there's someone out there who has committed just one sin; everyone of us broken every Commandment many, many times. We're all guilty. If we want to talk about the fairness of going to hell over a single sin, then perhaps we should ask what is the just punishment for someone who is a habitual, unrepentant sinner?
God is more than fair
In Jeremiah 18:1-6, we read this haunting account:
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
The point of the story is simple. The potter shapes the clay however he sees fit. If he doesn't like how the clay is formed, it is the right of the potter to destroy it and start over. We are God's creation and, so, are subject to His will.
God created a perfect universe where there was no death or suffering or toil. He gave mankind dominion over the entire earth and everything in it was for our benefit. Yet we rebelled. We continously rebel. God has no obligation to conform to our limited sense of justice. He did not have to forgive Adam nor does He have to provide salvation to any of us. If He destroyed all of creation at the very moment Adam sinned, that would have been fair. But that's not what He decided to do.
People sin every day. We've already seen that we habitually break His commandments. If God should decide to destroy us at the very moment we sin, that would be fair. But that isn't what He decides to do.
God could have required us to earn our salvation. If He put some tremendous burden on us, where we had to do 1,000 good deeds to atone for each sin we commit, that would be fair. Since He has no obligation to provide any salvation, even a plan of salvation by works would still give us some sort of chance to be saved. But that's not what He decided to do.
What God did do is leave His heavenly glory to put on a body of flesh, He came to earth in the most humble of circumstances, He lived a sinless life, He was scorned and shamed, and finally He was tortured and put to death on the Cross to pay the penalty that we owed for our sins. After this, Christ rose from the dead and currently sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Finally, the Bible tells us that God will restore the creation that was marred by our sin and we will live forever with Him in a home He prepared for us.
Praise God!!
What exactly do these critics think is fair? Do they believe they can live their life however they want, they can indulge their flesh, they can spurn God, and they can mock the death of His Son – but if God punishes them for it, then they want to whine that He is being unfair? Yes, I think that's exactly what they want.
Given all these things, the original question seems rather absurd. There's no reason unbelievers should expect fairness. We haven't committed just one sin – we are each one habitual sinners who do things every day which, by anyone's standard, we know are wrong. We've been told the consequences of our sin but the lost continue to rebel against God. Yet even then, and even though He is under no obligation, God still makes eternal reward available to those who will simply confess their sins and accept the free gift of Christ. Why do people still claim that God isn't being fair?!
The point of the story is simple. The potter shapes the clay however he sees fit. If he doesn't like how the clay is formed, it is the right of the potter to destroy it and start over. We are God's creation and, so, are subject to His will.
ReplyDeleteThe potter destroys the pot; he doesn't torture it forever. You can't torture a clay pot forever, or even for a tiny while. That's a difference between pottery and people. For that matter, Jeremiah says nothing about eternal (or even temporary) torture of people; he speaks of the temporal, political destruction of Israel (also, the pot turning out badly reflects badly on the potter's skill; this is one of several passages in the Old Testament that imply that God cannot foresee in advance the results of His actions, and is sometimes displeased with His own past choices; see also Noah's Flood).
Nothing in the Old Testament (with one possible exception in the book of Daniel) speaks of post-death punishment of the wicked. The Mosaic Law, for example, says nothing of any sort of afterlife; all of God's punishments and rewards are in this life, either for His worshipers today or for their descendants while they are alive. There is no mention of Heaven or Hell or a perfect future world.
The later prophets speak of a future resurrection of the righteous, for a life lived on this Earth; the wicked apparently will be left in the grave. Still later, the idea of a future resurrection for everyone arises, but with only the righteous left alive, and the wicked returned to their graves: "eternal shame" rather than eternal conscious suffering. Even the earlier gospels speak of a "second death;" conscious eternal torment seems to be one of the later ideas to emerge in Christianity (Paul, notably, says nothing about Hell and shows no awareness of any such doctrine).
Is it fair? Note that there is something counterproductive in asserting that God is good, and then redefining His goodness so that it doesn't correspond to our own intuitions at all (one can argue over how large a fine for not putting money in the parking meter should be, but I think you would find very few people willing to argue that Cincinnati could, e.g. set a $35,000 dollar fine, or burn you at the stake for it). God doesn't need money; God by definition and biblical teaching doesn't personally need anything. Sin can't hurt Him, because nothing can hurt Him. It is profoundly against anyone's standards of justice to impose limitless punishment on action that cannot inflict the slightest harm on the offended Party.
There is also the matter of taking on flesh and suffering the penalties of sin on our behalf. Yes, that is extremely generous, and apparently quite pointless. If a child breaks my window, and I decide to pay to fix it on my own and spare him the expense, is it somehow necessary for me to take menial jobs at sub-minimum wage to earn the money to do so? Should I endure a spanking on his behalf? Why is an all-powerful God obliged to punish someone even though He foregoes punishing the actual offending party? This seems contrary to His own standards as taught in the Mosaic Law: do not punish one person for the faults of another (though admittedly, the Bible does not appear entirely consistent on this point).