one of the big arguments against hell seems to be that just punishment for sin should be finite
if sin against an Infinite Being can be paid for with finite punishment, why did we need a Sacrifice of Infinite worth? I am talking about the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross?
why not just stick with lambs and doves being offered in a Temple?
my understanding is that those offerings might be able to atone for the finite consequences of sins, but not the eternal consequences of sins
since all sin is a sin against God, justice demands eternal punishment
I don't agree with a satisfaction theory of atonement. That the crucifixion was the will of God is not problematic for me, but the assumption that the will and intent of God is revealed through those doing the crucifying, implies that God is not on the cross, being crucified by the sins of those around Him. I also have to wonder about whose will it was that Christ's crucifiers were acting in accord with, and I think this corresponds to a bit of a controversy in the Gospel about the identity of Christ's Father, versus the father of His opponents, whom Christ did not have very kind words for: one, Christ is obedient to, the other is a liar and a murderer (satan), who is not presented as a just character.
Because the overall picture is ambiguous, basically it's a lot like the scenario I outlined in my last post. Yet, Zechariah 11:13 plainly states:
...[YHWH] said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of [YHWH] for the potter.
we can also get into private revelation, of course this should not supersede the Bible, but there have been hundreds (thousands?) of Christians who have seen visions of those suffering in hell
I think I would be one of those, except that I ended up with a different interpretation. I experienced something I could call a vision, but really I think it was an intense imagination associated with a very sick desire. Long story short, I was awoken in the middle of the night once by a vivid dream, and quickly experienced an inexplicable and extremely altered emotional state, but the believer in me wants to say it was an evil spirit. The "vision" was very hell-ish, and basically I saw lots of people being tortured alive. The most disturbing thing about the experience was the desire this thing had to do it. But, instinctively I knew that that was not the character or disposition of God, and all I could do was refuse to give into that and pray until that state left me, and it did.
Given that my past leading up to that point was painful and traumatic, for quite a while that experience encouraged me to believe that God was possibly very cruel, contributing to OCD like symptoms, but that was just something I had to deal with for a while. Years later, having basically rejected that experience as being from satan and not from God, I did have some very positive spiritual experiences that helped solidify my faith in a benevolent, merciful God. Now, I'm not trying to take credit for anything, but I get the impression that had I given into the maliciousness of that "spirit," or whatever it was, that I might have never experienced the good stuff.
So, I know that doesn't prove anything to you, but my experience proves to me that visions of hell may not be real visions related to the actual nature of God.
