A Most Successful Empty Threat

In my entire life, I've never been able to buy into believing a Hell exists. It's quite a threat, that forever I would be punished, even after dying, if I do not behave according to someone's list of virtues and requirements.

Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180)

Source: Wikipedia

We all have heard the story, and we have all been reminded of the story. At least twice I've received religious literature from missionaries on the street. The brochures they distributed advertised Hell as the ultimate place of fire and torture. 

It seems a pointless belief to have. Why can't they promise me just everlasting life, vs. no eternal soul if I don't? Why be so shocking if a softer sell would work? It always struck me as nudging me into accepting the Christian package of virtues and beliefs, or face negative consequences if I don't. It seemed like a false alternative meant to have me buy their preferred product.

The more I think about it -- not that I should give it too much time -- the more I conclude it's as ridiculous idea as you can get. 

If this is an eternal prospect, wouldn't the implication of having an undestroyed soul mean I'd get used to the tortures in, say, 100 years or so? It would be like living with pain as a daily background in my life, right? The threat of pain to the point of dying is no longer relevant. 

Let's say Satan makes a workaround to that problem. Why would a demon being go to enormous trouble to torture me in the most heinous way possible? If you were Satan, would you really care to beat and torture billions upon billions of people in perpetuity? Sure, heinous tortures and murder and genocide etc. has been committed by the human race, but not on the scale as forever torturing people you are somehow now in charge of. 

It's not a story that sounds well-considered in its overall architecture. And that's fine, if it's regarded widely as fiction and if we can have a little fun with the idea. But millions if not billions of people not only believe this to be true, but regard this Hell very seriously.

In my opinion, you don't need eternal damnation to be moral. Living a profoundly life on earth requires certain virtues in order to make one's life healthy. A long story, to be sure, but one that can be worked out without saying there's a fiery pit with your name on it if you choose an evil path. That kind of story is metaphorical at best, since vice is self-destructive. But it is not literal.

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