God doesn't need to take revenge. Man stands condemned already and it is for all men to suffer the first death.
In this respect, Paulsen is no different than any other man. He insists upon separating himself in his incessant thinking that he is able to control all things he puts his mind to control. In a sense, he attempts on one hand, to make himself god and on the other hand, to simply ignore the things he can't control as outside any possible grasp. In a sense, he simply does things that are right in his own mind, but without faith in Christ all his works are simply good for eternal nothingness.
Perhaps the most obvious indicator of his error is his own mortality, but instead, he favors his personal thinking to insist nothing exists after his death, therefore he is immune to the consequences of his error, when he is not aware of them. His thinking demonstrates an incredibly arrogant perspective.