Christopher D Marshall has written a fantastic book: “Beyond Retribution. A New Testament Vision for Justice, Crime, and Punishment” Grand Rapids: Eerdmans (2001).

He says:

“More worrisome is that the doctirine of final damnation could be taken to mean that the God we are to imitate is finally vindictive, not forgiving; that salvation is, ultimately, the achievement of coercive power, not of self-surrendering love; that punitive pain is an everlasting reality, not a remedial or restorative mechanism. Any such implications, if applied to criminal practice today, would have disastrous results. Nor is this merely a hypothetical concern. Throughout Christian history, the fear of being consigned to hell by a truly merciless God has fueled and justified all manner of horrific violence.

It is a short step from denying the future existence of one’s opponents after death to denying their right to exist before death.

Moreover, for centuries the use of torture to convert heretics and infidels was considered justifiable, even merciful, since it would serve to deliver them from eternal torture in hell.” (178).

A friend’s comment:

We should be very careful about how our understanding of God’s judgment influences our behaviour towards those we believe to be beyond God’s (and our) love and care. Is it surprising that according to statistics 1/3 of all youth suicides among Australian males are related to same-sex issues? Is it surprising that young gays in particular are in danger of being beaten up by their class mates?

Discrimination is a killer. I don’t want to take part in it.