Is It Morally Acceptable To Hope Anyone Goes To Hell?

The Federalist Patiot ^ | Dec. 6, 2004 | Dennis Prager

[MP5SD]

In the case of the 9/11 hijackers - You don't have to believe in hell to go there. Satan believes in Jesus, but not upon him for his salvation. I heard a guy say that hell wasn't bad enough for Satan and It struck me as wrong attitude. I love my enemies, but I don't worship them.

[nicko]

good answer...I've been there myself, a couple of times...and after suffering through a practice wife for a couple of years some time back, I learned there are different levels of hell...

[SavageRepublican]

look over here....

[G32]

If you wanna think the hijackers are sipping whiskey on some heavenly beach fine. I'd be really angry with God if that were the case though.

[Tax-chick]

Okay, but it's weird!

[texan75010]

So, if Jesus already died for our sins, we are going to heaven. There is not hell.
Therefore, we can do whatever we want?


Grace and forgiveness is a gift for those who are in Christ's family. Just like having an American Express Card...membership has it's privileges..

[durasell]

...and that's on top of the fact that you've been drinking out the glass they used to unclog the urinal the day before, right?

[It's me]

If we are predestined where does free will come in?

[SoothingDave]

And even if it were, that still doesn't address the issue of how it's "just" to have an eternal amount of punishment for, say, 50 years of "unrepentance". Maybe 50 years of punishment, perhaps, but not an infinite, unending amount for all eternity.

You can pour a finite amount of cream into a finite mug of coffee. But you have made an irreversible change in the cosmos. It's not so simple as saying that anything we do is finite. There are repurcussions.

Furthermore, perhaps given another decade of life (or after the first decade of punishment), the "unrepentant" may well come to see the error of his earlier ways and achieve that instant of salvation which erases the rest -- where, then, is the justice in eternal punishment? There seems nothing "just" about that.

Somehow I think God knows what He is doing. No one is in hell who "would have" been saved had he just lived a few years longer. Hell is for the unsaved. God is not shooting dice.

SD

[Cultural Jihad]

The worldly understanding of the author is faulty. To wish hell upon someone is to take the judgment away from God.

[MeanWestTexan]

Ah, an semi-unanswered debate -- do all roads lead to Heavan, since Christ's sacrifice is so large?

The most risk-adverse answer, reading the above passage in context, is that, to avoid Hell, one must: (1) believe Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins and (2) accept and acknowledge that free sacrifice to you (and sincerly accept the changes that go with accepting such a gift --- that's my part, it's not expressly in the Bible).

This prayer should do it: "Dead God, I believe you sent your son, Jesus to die for my sins so I can be forgiven. I want to live the rest of my life the way you want me to. Please put your Spirit in my life to direct me. In Christ's Holy Name I pray, Amen."

There are interpetations similar to yours, that acceptance of the gift is not even necessary, and while I like the thought, I am increasingly inclined to believe such hopeful interpretations to be incorrect.

[texan75010]

Here is my take on Predestination. A teacher gives a test. Depending on how well you prepared yourself for the test determines what grade you will get. If you are fully prepared, you are predestine to get an "A". It was determined before hand what it takes to get that "A". All you have to do is that amount of studying to achieve that.

God laid out what it takes to get to heaven before hand. It is predestined. It is up to you to take the steps to achieve that. (Not talking about works).

[wideawake]

I suspect P8riot may be a Five Point Calvinist, in which case he accepts the doctrines of Limited Atonement and Irresistible Grace - namely that free will is an illusion and that those who are saved (or damned) have no choice in the matter.

[MeanWestTexan]

Maybe.

Wars have been fought over the issue of predestination. I see both sides.

[Jeff Blogworthy]

Hell is not a blanket, one size fits all, state. There are degrees of punishment in hell just as there are rewards in heaven. God is just - Arafat is getting what he deserves.

The question at hand is, should that cause me joy? The fact that people reject Christ and therefore are condemned to hell for eternity grieves God, as it should all believers. It is necessary, nevertheless.

Also, if he had believed in the NT it would have caused a remarkable change of heart evidenced by his actions. Belief is not just "head knowledge." Real belief causes a change in behavior. Had he believed, he would not have acted so despicably and he would have most definitely been rejected by his own people.

[Modernman]

God laid out what it takes to get to heaven before hand. It is predestined. It is up to you to take the steps to achieve that. (Not talking about works).

I can't see how you can call it predestination if there are steps that need to be taken to achieve salvation. It's not a different concept than the Catholic position that you need faith plus works. You're saying you need faith plus something else, too.

[MaxMax]

If a Pagan tell's someone to go to hell, Are they really a Pagan?

[Ajnin]

LOL, meet me in Paradise, we'll drink the Hajis' booze and de-flower all their virgins.

[wideawake]

If you are fully prepared, you are predestine to get an "A". It was determined before hand what it takes to get that "A".

Ah, but what if the student decides to neglect his preparations? Does he do so voluntarily or involuntarily?

That's the key question of predestination.