The problem of Hell is a purported ethical problem in the Abrahamic religions of Christianity and Islam, in which the existence of Hell or Jahannam for the punishment of souls in the afterlife is regarded as inconsistent with the notion of a just, moral, and omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient supreme being. Also regarded as inconsistent with such a just being is the combination of human free will—on which the justification for eternal damnation for sinners is predicated—and the divine qualities of omniscience (being all-knowing) and omnipotence (being all-powerful), as this would mean God (not humans) would determine everything that has happened and will happen in the universe—including sinful human behavior.
C. P. Ragland of Saint Louis University writes in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy that the problem of hell is "a version of" the problem of evil. He defines the problem of hell: "If there is an omniperfect God—one that necessarily has the perfection of Goodness—then no one will be damned."
The problem of hell derives from four key propositions:
Hell exists. It is for the punishment of people whose lives on Earth are judged to have been sinful. Some people go there. There is no escape (recognized by religious traditions advocating eternal punishment; for religious traditions recognizing Hell as a realm, like any other, where the period of a being's life is of limited duration due to impermanence and reincarnation, see Buddhism or Hinduism)
Issues and criticisms There are several major issues within the problem of Hell. The definition of Hell. Whether the existence of Hell is compatible with the existence of a just God. Whether Hell is compatible with God's mercy, especially as articulated in Christianity. Whether Hell is compatible with the concept of an all-loving God. Whether any sin or combination of sins could warrant never-ending punishment or eternal torture. Whether free will is compatible with God's omnipotence and omniscience.
Traditionally Hell is defined in Christianity and Islam as one of two abodes of Afterlife for human beings (the other being Heaven or Jannah), and the one where sinners suffer torment eternally. There are several words in the original languages of the Bible that are translated into the word 'Hell' in English. There are also a number of names in the Quran that translate as hell, perhaps the most common one being Jahannam. In at least some versions of Christianity there is a question of whether or not Hell is actually populated forever. If it is not, one must suppose that those populating Hell may eventually die, or that God will ultimately restore all immortal souls in the World to Come, i.e. Heaven, which would at least lessen the issue of divine injustice and deal with one of the key propositions of there being "no escape". This is known as the universal reconciliation doctrine. In Islam it is commonly thought that Muslim sinners will not spend eternity in Hell but spend time there to be purified of their sins before being allowed into Heaven.Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p. 93A F Klein. Religion Of Islam. Routledge 2013 p. 92
The question of compatibility of free will on the one hand, and God's omnipotence and omniscience on the other, can be framed as:
An early Islamic school of thought known as Muʿtazila could not accept the orthodoxy of determinism since it meant that a person "could be punished for acts which God himself had commanded him to perform".Guillaume, Islam, 1978: p. 132 Muʿtazila were then accused of the heresy of "dualism" because they gave human beings 'power' over their actions (free will), which made them the 'creator' of their works, and "thus encroached on the almighty power of God, for there would be two creators of actions".Guillaume, Islam, 1978: p. 133
In some respects, the problem of Hell is similar to the problem of evil, with the suffering in Hell equivalent to the suffering of victims of evil in the temporal world. Framed this way, the suffering of Hell is caused by free will and something God could not have prevented; or worse still is caused by the lack of free will, as God's omniscience—His knowing/determining all that will ever happen in His creation, including human acts of good and evil—makes free will impossible and souls predestined, but God still decrees punishment in hell. The problem of Hell could be viewed as the worst and most intractable instance of the problem of evil.
If one believes in the idea of eternal Hell, unending suffering, or the idea that some souls will perish (whether destroyed by God or otherwise), author Thomas Talbott says that one has to either let go of the idea that God wishes to save all beings (suggesting that God is not omnibenevolent), or accept the idea that God wants to save all, but will not "successfully accomplish his will and satisfy his own desire in this matter" (suggesting that He is not omnipotent and omniscient).Talbott, Thomas, "Heaven and Hell in Christian Thought", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), forthcoming <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2017/entries/heaven-hell/> "Theists who accept the traditional idea of everlasting punishment, or even the idea of an everlasting separation from God, must either reject the idea that God wills or desires to save all humans and thus desires to reconcile them all to himself (see proposition (1) in section 1 above) or reject the idea that God will successfully accomplish his will and satisfy his own desire in this matter "
Judaism
Judaism teaches that the soul continues to exist after death, and that it is subject to both reward and punishment after death. However, this punishment is held to be temporary, normally only lasting up to 12 months after death. After this period, the soul is able to enjoy the light of God in the afterlife. Because the punishment is temporary, the problem of Hell in the Christian sense is less applicable to Judaism. Both non-Jews and Jews have a share in the world to come, if they are righteous.
Christianity
In Christianity, Hell has traditionally been regarded as a place or state of punishment for wrongdoing or sin in the mortal life, as a manifestation of divine justice. Nonetheless, the extreme severity and/or infinite duration of the punishment might be seen as incompatible with justice. However, Hell is not seen as strictly a matter of retributive justice even by the more traditionalist churches. For example, the Eastern Orthodox see it as a condition brought about by, and the natural consequence of, free rejection of God's love.
In some ancient Eastern Christian traditions, (such as 7th century Syriac Christianity), Hell and Heaven are distinguished not spatially, but by the relation of a deceased person to God's love.
In terms of the Bible itself, issues of salvation and access to heaven or to hell are mentioned frequently. Examples include John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." which tends to show the wicked perish and the saints have everlasting life or (NIV), "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them", and (NIV), "Those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."
The minority Christian doctrine that sinners perish and are destroyed rather than punished eternally such as is found in John 3:16 "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.", is referred to as Christian mortalism; annihilation for those not awarded immortal life, conditional immortality for those who are. This Christian view is found in early Christianity, resurfaced in the Reformation, and since 1800 has found increasing support among Protestant theologians.Richard Bauckham "Universalism: a historical survey" (@ theologicalstudies.org.uk), Themelios 4.2 (September 1978): 47–54. "Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated (in its commonest form. this is the doctrine of 'conditional immortality')." "Since 1800 this situation has entirely changed, and no traditional Christian doctrine has been so widely abandoned as that of eternal punishment.3 Its advocates among theologians today must be fewer than ever before. The alternative interpretation of hell as annihilation seems to have prevailed even among many of the more conservative theologians."
Justice Some opponents of the traditional doctrine of Hell claim that the punishment is disproportionate to any crimes that could be committed. Because human beings have a finite lifespan, they can commit only a finite number of sins, yet Hell is an infinite punishment. In this vein, Jorge Luis Borges suggests in his essay La duración del Infierno that no transgression can warrant an infinite punishment on the grounds that there is no such thing as an "infinite transgression". Philosopher Immanuel Kant argued in 1793 in Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason that since morality lies ultimately in a person's disposition, and as disposition is concerned with the adoption of universal principles, or as he called them: "maxims", every human being is guilty of, in one sense, an infinite amount of violations of the law, and consequently an infinite punishment is not unjustified.
Divine mercy Another issue is the problem of harmonizing the existence of Hell with God's infinite mercy or omnibenevolence which is found in scripture.
Some modern critics of the doctrine of Hell (such as Marilyn McCord Adams) claim that, even if Hell is seen as a choice rather than as punishment, it would be unreasonable for God to give such flawed and ignorant creatures as ourselves the responsibility of our eternal destinies.Richard Beck. "Christ and Horrors, Part 3: Horror Defeat, Universalism, and God's Reputation". Experimental Theology. March 19, 2007. Jonathan Kvanvig, in The Problem of Hell (1993), agrees that God would not allow one to be eternally damned by a decision made under the wrong circumstances.Jonathan Kvanvig, The Problem of Hell, New York: Oxford University Press, , 1993 One should not always honor the choices of human beings, even when they are full adults, if, for instance, the choice is made while depressed or careless. On Kvanvig's view, God will abandon no person until they have made a settled, final decision, under favorable circumstances, to reject God, but God will respect a choice made under the right circumstances. Once a person finally and competently chooses to reject God, out of respect for the person's autonomy, God allows them to be annihilated.
Catholicism Official teaching The Catholic Church does not believe in the problem of hell, but believes - as dogma - that because God is all-good he condemns the impenitent to eternal punishment in hell at death and at the Last Judgment. This dogma was defined by the Council of Trent based on Jesus' teaching of the same during his public ministry and when "he descended into hell."