Thoughts on Heaven and Hell - Sayings of Samuel Godfrey George

The idea of worshipping God all the time in heaven is the reason why some people are not drawn to the idea of a heaven. It seems like the most boring thing to do. It also seems like a terrible thing to do. Who would want to live such a life, to be subject to a dictator like God? Even on earth God is disliked because he is viewed as a dictator who wants all that a human can offer, especially every aspect of his fun life.

A book that I read recently claims that heaven is very different from what human beings conceive it to be. According to the author who was supernaturally transported to heaven many times, there are cinemas and recreation parks in heaven. And there are many more earth-like places that exceed earthly beauty in a supernatural measure. After all earth is a shadow of heaven, the book insists. I once read the atheist, Christopher Hitchens who wrote that Christianity never made a compelling case for heaven, ie., heaven didn't seem compelling enough for someone to desire to go there. After reading Kat Kerr's account of heaven, I feel that the people who are not drawn to heaven "may not" radically alter their opinions. Even if all means of entertainment are available in heaven, and God's presence is all-pervading, and opportunities for supernatural feats are always open to human beings along with an eternal life of immeasurable joy, these still do not argue favourably for heaven, especially to those who inherently dislike God and all that he stands for.

Hell is probably the worst argument used by God to bring people to him. It is also the best, as "the fear of hell" underpins the human effort to approach God. No one, really no one wants to go to hell, especially the hell that the Bible describes. But "hell" is also the reason why some people hate and avoid God. He is seen as an evil tyrant in the sky, who bullies people into liking and worshipping him, with the threat of an everlasting life of horror in hell. This feeling above all feelings brings about a seemingly insurmountable barrier between Man and God.

Those who hate the concept of hell and the scare tactics of God should consider this: a certain elemental fear of punishment is the most powerful reason that keeps Man from doing wrong. Even on earth there is a shadow of hell, the prison where criminals are kept. If prisons did not exist and punishments were not handed out, people cannot be restrained to behave the way they do. If there is any law and order on earth today, it is because of the threat of punishment, which is a shadow of the supreme threat of God.

Those who say that God uses scare tactics to bring people to him are not wrong. God in his written word does uses frightening images of hell and eternal punishment to motivate people to desire righteousness. I find modern conceptions of God as "all love and no hate" particularly divergent from the images that I derive from the Bible. God who is portrayed as loving and compassionate is also equally portrayed as a God who hates evil and evildoers and who will not flinch from the task of sending them to hell, the pit of fire kindled by his wrath. Nevertheless as a Christ follower I see beyond the scare tactics, which are certainly necessary and are not tactics at all for they constitute a terrible reality, at the loving salvation God offers to the human race that is doomed to self-destruction. Thus what scares others actually draws me to God.