There is a Problem if There is No Hell
We often hear people talk about “the problem of hell,” meaning, “How could a good God send billions of people to an eternal hell?” That is certainly a fair question. In fact, I devoted a chapter of my recent book on Why So Many Christians Have Left the Faith to that very issue. But have you ever asked yourself a very different question, namely, what if there was no future punishment at all? What kind of problems would that present? To be sure, many specific questions can be asked about the nature of future punishment. Does it consist of eternal conscious torment? Does it end in annihilation and final destruction? Is there a purgatory that some go through before going to heaven? Is the idea of hell in keeping with God’s goodness and love? What about devout people from other religions and non-religious, kind-hearted people. What about them? And what about those who never heard the gospel at all? What happens to them? These are all valid and fair questions, and in the relevant chapter in