Originally Posted by evangelicalhumanist

I recently read some questions from a tormented soul about why God would condemn people to Hell. I was concerned not so much for the questions that this person asked (which are troubling enough from a religious view-point), but from the one that nobody asked in their replies, but which is much more troubling to me. Among other things that the person asked were:

Let us suppose for a moment that the questioner is genuine, that his angst and fear are real. Can we then also suppose that this notion of eternal torment in Hell, this fear, is something that was taught to him when young? I doubt that it is something that any person would dream up all on their own, so I think the answer is “yes.” And what this has done to him is to turn his doubts about the personal God of the Abrahamic religions into a persistent inner dread that this is going to land him in eternal flame!

Now let me ask another question: what would you think of the parent who tells a young child, sternly and in all seriousness (while holding the chef’s knife), “If you touch that again, I’m going to chop off your hands and make you eat them!”

I can see the child bursting into tears of absolute terror as I imagine the scene. As someone who has ACTUALLY SURVIVED that sort of thing, I can tell you that I would consider it wanton cruelty to the child. It would be unconscionable, and I think if that parent were found out, they might in fact be punished by the law for mental cruelty.

So why do so many parents – and their churches – teach children in their millions that God will condemn them to eternal torture for any number of things, including not believing in just the right thing?
Is that not precisely the same sort of cruelty?

I am reminded of a girl of about 9, on a CNN special about Christian fundamentalism, answering the question, “what happens to those who don't believe?" Without any pause, this child replied, "They go to hell." Not a trace of pity, no remorse, nothing but a chilling certainty. Taught by parents and community this fundamental truth of a loving God, she could see absolutely no reason for concern.

So this girl is not tormented by notions of hell, but she knows that her Jewish, Catholic, Muslim friends at school (although where she comes from there probably aren't any!) are condemned to eternal torture. What sort of thing does that do to a young mind?

How many of our great works of art depict this wanton cruelty (I admit to liking Heironymous Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights")? What child in western society can't now conjure up a mental picture of hell?

To my way of thinking, the questioner's posts around this matter are genuine, the answer is obvious, and right there before us. Not only is it deeply cruel, it appears to leave lasting scars (or to have left them with this person at least, and others that I can personally name) – scars that can move that torture forward into this life as well as the next.

Why do we not condemn this despicable notion of a punishing god in the strongest possible terms? To a non-religious person like myself, this is completely unfathomable.