Do you have a problem with the idea of a loving God condemning people to an eternity in hell? Well, you should. Because no-one ever had a bigger problem with this idea than God himself. In this series of articles we will examine Jesus’ teaching on this subject, in an effort to understand the nature of this problem. Have we misunderstood and exaggerated what Jesus said, or have we seriously under-estimated the near-impossibility of eradicating evil without eliminating ourselves?

This is a highly controversial and, in places, speculative subject; and we are not claiming to know all the correct answers. We ask only that you prayerfully weigh the evidence presented, whilst seeking fresh insights into the nature and ways of God that may surprise your current understanding.

We have attempted to organize this information so that you can either read this ‘book-fashion’, from beginning to end, or else focus on those topics, and level of detail, that are of particular personal interest. Space has been included for comments at the end of each section. It is to be hoped that these will lead in time to further insights from which we may all learn.

The material is arranged under the following broad headings:

Click here to return to Hell to Win or Heaven to Pay, or on any of the sub-topics below:

• What Does God Say, or What Do We Think?

  In seeking to make sense of human moral responsibility we must start with the admission that our own perspectives are almost certainly heavily biased towards our own self-interest.

• The Historical Background

  Man began by knowing God: but having broken faith he faced death not knowing what would happen next. God promised restoration: but how He would do it remained a mystery.

• The Vocabulary of Jesus

  By the time Jesus came some concepts were well established in Jewish thought; but their contemporary meanings did not always tally with the explanations that Jesus gave…

• Why is God so Strict?

  So much is said about Jesus’ love and forgiveness that we often think that Jesus has a more liberal attitude towards sin than God had in the past. In fact, his standards are much tougher.

• The Impossibility of Compulsory Love

  No English word has ever been more dangerously devalued than ‘love.’ To ask, ‘If God is omnipotent, why can’t He make us more loving?’ turns out to be a logical self-contradiction.

• Evil’s Viscious Spiral

  Why, given time, can we not improve? Don’t most of us really want to simply love and be loved? So why does evil tend to multiply in a downward spiral?

• Was Jesus Exaggerating?

  Rabbinic teachers often used deliberate exaggerations to make a point. Wasn’t Jesus simply dong the same thing?

• What Do We Know So Far?

  An attempt to summarize the key teachings of Jesus on death and judgement.

• The Struggle to Understand

  Why does God’s idea of Justice seem so unfair to us?

• The Grief of God

  Is God entitled to be angry with us?

• Hell to Win?

  Can love win without being impossibly compromised?

• Or Heaven to Pay?

  God’s unthinkably generous self-sacrifice to settle our unpayable debts.

• Appendix A – How Long is an Aeon?

  Does eternity ever end?

• Appendix B – The Buck stops Where?

  How can there be a permanent end to guilt and shame?