Queen of Swords

Further thoughts on the christian concept of hell…

For whom did god create hell?

I’ve heard many christians claim that their god created hell for Satan and all his minions (and not for us humans). If this is the case, why weren’t the most dangerous denizens of hell confined to it as soon as they rebelled against the christian god? Had Satan been put in hell and prevented from getting out, he wouldn’t have been able to engineer the Fruit Incident which supposedly damned all of humanity.

So I’m puzzled as to why this god would create hell but then allow the demons to leave it at will to roam around the world causing trouble. The security precautions seem to be ramped up for humans, though, given that the bible doesn’t mention dead humans causing half as much trouble as demons do. This makes hell look like a prison where the jaywalkers and pot smokers are kept under maximum security, while the serial killers and mass murderers have the run of the place, not to mention complete freedom to leave whenever they feel like it. Again, this doesn’t support the theory that hell was created for demons and not humans, unless what christians mean by that is that their god created their cosmic Alcatraz for the comfort and convenience of Satan.

And even after Satan is supposedly confined to hell, there’s a Shawshank Redemption in the sputtering climax of the story (Revelations 20:3). “He must be released for a little while”, says the verse, without any hint of why god needs to release his arch-nemesis. Maybe the thousand years that precede Satan’s release are going to be incredibly boring, with no conflict or change or excitement or anything much to do except tell god how wonderful he is. Or maybe it’s for more of a pragmatic reason. Perhaps the christian god fears that without an enemy, he’s less likely to keep his hold over people. Remove the wolf that prowls outside the fold, and the sheep huddling in terror might well venture outside to discover greener pastures. So the shepherd promises to protect them from the wolf, and winks at the wolf as it slips by to snatch a lamb or two in payment for a service well done.

Hamlet

You should work this into a comedy routine, travel the world.

mrzyphl

Good points QoS. I also have a question relating to this.

So did God put Satan in charge of hell?
According to Gods high standards of sin, 999,999 souls out of 1,000,000 probably go straight to hell.
If Satan is supposed to rise at some point and challenge God for the throne of Heaven then why is God sending Satan a disproportionate number of recruits?

DBT

The book of Job has God and Satan on quite friendly terms, chatting amiably, casual bets placed on human lives, etc......

BioBeing

QoS: you sound like you are, perhaps, expecting the Bible to be like consistent or something.

Shame on you!

Jobar

I've always liked Neil Gaiman's take on Hell; he had Satan (whose original name was Samael) quit, boot out all the demons and damned souls, and leave behind an empty Hell, locking the door behind him.

Look for Sandman: A Season of Mists for the entire tale. It kicks ass.

ziffel

God allows Satan to roam the earth, because this is all one big entertaining play to God, and every hero needs a villain. When you're omnimax, I guess things are just boring by yourself.

lpetrich

As to letting the Devil go out on the loose, I wonder if God didn't want to interfere with his Free Will. There's a common argument that states that it's very important not to interfere with the Free Will of wicked people, and what holds for ordinary human beings would also hold for quasi-deities like the Devil.

However, there is a certain problem with that argument. Jesus Christ had taught that you ought to remove parts of your body that cause you to commit sins (Matt 5:29-30, 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-47). So if Free Will makes one commit sins, then it's best to be rid of Free Will.

Queen of Swords

In that case, why even bother to create hell? And why chain Satan up for a thousand years? Isn't that interference with free will as well?

There's no way that I can see to defend the Revolving Door of Hell.

Excellent point!

Matt the Medic

I'm, quite frankly, bored with the Christian conception of hell.

I find the underworld of Greek mythology to be much more entertaining.

Matt