...could a loving parent justify killing their infant child in order to ensure that their child spends forever in Heaven?
Conversely, is it reckless and unloving for a parent to allow their offspring to reach the age of accountability and risk that they will spend forever being tortured by Jesus in Hell?
These ridiculous questions demonstrate the illogical doctrine of forever punishment. Right?
Wrong. Why do you think that? I'm not following your logic here. Scripture teaches that there will be eternal torment for unbelievers, so why deny it? Coming up with these ridiculous scenarios can't change what scripture teaches.
Revelation 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 A
nd the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire which was originally "prepared for the devil and his angels". Clearly, the devil will be eternally tormented there, so why would that not be the case for unbelievers as well?
Revelation 20:10 And
the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Notice in Matthew 25:46 that Jesus said unbelievers will depart from Him "into the eternal fire" where they will "go away to eternal punishment". If they were going to just cease to exist, that would not be described as "eternal punishment" in "eternal fire". Unbelievers already think that they will cease to exist when they die and they accept that and are fine with that, so being annihilated would not be a punishment for them.
Yes...we can get into the just war theory and using lethal force if necessary to defend innocent lives but we have to start with the 6th commandment -it's there for a reason- and not look for excuses to justify the taking of innocent lives which would be the case in the OP scenario. The comandment tells us that we have no right to play God in that area-that the gift of life is inherently good and sacred and we certainly shouldn't presume to know the eternal destiny of those whose lives we take-we're not that smart-and we don't commit evil as a means to overcome evil. We need to be thoroughly prolife to every extent possible.
