The Paradox of Eternal Damnation

“The way of transgressors is hard.”
Proverbs 13:15

Many Christians profess a belief in eternal damnation; that certain actions taken by man can result in God’s inflicting endless suffering. This horrible divine threat may provide some incentive for believers not to deviate from the path of righteousness, but has it any merit in reality? What would be the justification for condemning anyone to total, endless suffering?

One reason given for this vengeful act is that it teaches a lesson to all mortals regarding the violation of God’s laws. But how can this affect the actions of others? If one is condemned to eternal damnation, we here on earth will not experience the fact that this punishment is actually occurring. We will not see or feel the condemned person’s agonies. Without such an experience there is no impact on mankind, and the lesson is lost.

Secondly, when a sinful act has been committed it can’t be reversed by torture, however intense or prolonged.

Thirdly, if the perpetrator is a threat to mankind, death alone would be sufficient to remove that individual as a danger to society.

Fourth, eternal damnation cannot be intended to rehabilitate the offender. What incentive would there be for rehabilitation if one were to be punished forever? Eternal torture would make repentance a useless action since the endless suffering would continue whether or not a true repentance was forthcoming.

And finally, the endless torture of any individual, for any reason, should not be expected of a benevolent and forgiving God. This idea of eternal torture as punishment for a mortal sin appears to be the creation of man, for only he is capable of such vindictiveness. We must trust that our God is not that cruel.

Worship

“’Tis not necessary to light a candle to the sun.”
Algernon Sidney

The concept of worship is one of great interest because it constitutes the most basic activity of the religious faithful. Worship is the ritualistic means by which the believer demonstrates his belief in, fear of, and admiration for, his god.
Worship, while generally including prayer, is not the same thing as the latter. Worship is the extravagant respect or admiration for, or devotion to, an object of esteem. It is the process of flattering one’s deity. Praying is the act of entreating or imploring a deity for help or a favor.

According to Freud, in order for man to control nature he must first humanize it. Man’s initial step in this direction was naming his deities. This personalization allows him to begin the process of worship. The implicit value of worship arose from man’s success in flattering his fellow man in order to pacify him or to secure favors. Throughout history man has humbled himself before the rich and powerful. Gifts and offerings to leaders or conquerors often produced favorable results. If it works on humans, why shouldn’t it work on the gods? It is, of course, fallacious reasoning to assume that because humans have egos, gods do also. There is no reason to assume that a god is subject to human weaknesses such as egotism.

Man’s attempts to influence or appease his gods have ranged from simple prayers and offerings to sacrificing human life. Primitive cultures were known to throw virgins into volcanoes or babies into raging rivers to persuade their gods to put an end to the ravages of various natural phenomena. The Old Testament mentions the use of human sacrifice to appease God. And modern man also makes use of human sacrifice for religious purposes. Some present-day religious groups have little difficulty in recruiting the faithful for suicidal, religion-oriented missions, which is, for them, the ultimate form of worship.

But a perfect God should not require worship. He has no ego problem. He already knows what is in your mind. He knows whether or not you are truly sincere. In the final analysis, we participate in acts of worship because it makes us feel that we are doing something to improve our lives.

Most of today’s human beings are engaged in some form of worship. The teenager that follows a rock star with the objective of touching his clothing is not unlike the biblical stories of believers attempting to touch Jesus’ robe. Both constitute attempts to obtain emotional or other vicarious benefits from someone they idolize. The sycophants that accompany the rich and famous are participating in acts of worship. Fans that idolize sports figures, movie stars, or political personalities are also engaging in worship. They derive vicarious pleasure from being in the presence of people they envy and admire.

Because worship is the very essence of religion, it will always play an essential role in man’s interaction with the divine aspects of his world.