Does God Torture People in Hell Forever?

The underlying theme of the Bible is one of restoration by a loving and forgiving God. That message and the very image of God stands in stark contrast to the common picture of hell as eternal damnation in a place of pain and suffering beyond belief or understanding. While we all may agree that evil deserves punishment, the concept of a just God really needs to be stretched out of shape to be able to include lost souls writing in agony in and eternal fire that tortures but never kills. It doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of what we know of God.

Just because the concept of hell makes people uncomfortable, doesn't mean it should or can be rejected out of hand. Jesus poke more about hell than anyone else in the entire Bible. So it's safe to assume hell isn't something to be ignored.

But reconciling the traditional view of hell with the picture Jesus painted of a loving heavenly Father forms a stumbling block for many. Even moving beyond the sentimental definition of loving, to include moral, just, and compassionate, doesn't help. There is still a disconnect between the image of God and the traditional image of hell. The fact is, there's nothing wrong with the image of God. What's wrong is the traditional image of hell.

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