Shades of Sin: Underscoring God's Love by Understanding Hell's Fire

Traditionalists postulate an all-loving, all-powerful God who has revealed Himself in His inspired, inerrant Word. Since His Word speaks of hell, questions about hell in the final analysis are not philosophical but hermeneutical. Bible interpretation, properly done, provides ready answers for such life-and-death debates. We should not practice eisegesis, reading into the text what our philosophical penchant may be, but exegesis, getting out of the biblical text what the original author put in. Understanding the following elements will allay any fears of God being unjust when consigning unrepentant sinners to hell:

1. the duration of life
2. the definition of death

3. the description of hell

   Non-traditionalists claim God is neither just nor loving if He tortures everyone in hell forever regardless of the life they lived. They are offended by such an idea and believe God is too. Rather than jettison the doctrine of eternal punishment at the expense of biblical fidelity the author inserts into the debate an idea that undergirds God's justice while maintaining the traditional doctrine of hell. Hofer rejects the notion victims at Auschwitz suffer the same fate as the madman who dispatched them there. That is offensive to God.