#13 - Watchtower Reasoning vs. Logic – Part 3

Where is the evidence to support Christianity’s doctrine that hell offers the wicked eternal torment? In 1 Corinthians 15:53, the apostle Paul says, “For this corruptible must put on corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality”. Aren’t we ALL corruptible? And aren’t we ALL mortal? Indeed we ALL are. Therefore this applies to ALL who have ever lived. We shall ALL be changed to a state of incorruption and immortality!

Immortality is the key word in this discussion. Immortality means NO DEATH BY DESTRUCTION. There is no logic in the idea that an immortal body will suffer a mortal fate. Therefore, destruction of the wicked comes in the form of a hopeless future. A man thrown into hell, into “the outer darkness” (Matt. 22:13) called “Gehenna” (Luke 12:5, NWT), which is a “furnace of fire”, will “weep and gnash [his] teeth” (Matt. 13:42, RSV), and “mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25, NWT), and “the smoke of [his] torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and [he has] no rest day or night” (Rev. 14:11, KJV). Neither day nor night sounds like a pretty long time. And if this isn’t long enough, by Watchtower definition God’s ‘day’ is seven thousand years. True or not, that sounds even worse! According to definition, immortal man lives forever, enduring the flames and suffering pain eternally. With no future to look forward to, he is basically destroyed.

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the Christian doctrine of eternal torment in hellfire is unfair:

Many who give thought to the traditional doctrine of hell find that it seems to depict God acting unjustly, so it offends their natural sense of justice. In what way? You find one answered by comparing the doctrine of eternal torment with a standard of justice given by God: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” (Exodus 21:24) For the sake of argument, apply to the doctrine of hellfire that divine law given to ancient Israel, a law of exact retribution. What conclusion will you likely reach? That only those sinners who have caused eternal torment deserve equal eternal torment in return—eternal torment for eternal torment. But since humans (no matter how evil) can cause only a finite torment, sentencing them to eternal torment creates a disproportion between their crimes and the infinite penalty of hellfire. Simply stated, the sentence would be too heavy. It would go far beyond “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” Considering that Jesus’ teachings moderated the idea of retaliation, you may admit that true Christians would be hard-pressed to see justness in eternal torment—Matthew 5:38,39; Romans 12:17 (The Watchtower, 4/15/93, pg. 6) (underline added)

Man’s natural sense of justice? That’s a joke compared to the justness, righteousness and infinite wisdom of God! And it should be noted here that the Watchtower’s phrase, “true Christian”, underlined above, means Jehovah’s Witnesses, not real Christians. Jehovah’s Witnesses will argue that God is not so cruel as to punish the wicked eternally, that this punishment would be greater than the crime. But aren’t we assuming too much? How do we know that our sins against God aren’t greater than we imagine? Every time we sin against God, we slap Him in the face. In turn, we get what we deserve. Plain and simple! God is not unjust, but man is unjust a hundred times over. Jesus said, “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:24). This is logical. The reverse is also logical: that what is measured to us, is what we mete. First of all, we have to keep in mind that this law of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” was given to man, and therefore applies only to man, not to God—for God said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Romans 12:19, KJV). We Christians are not worthy to put ourselves in the judgment seat of Christ. It is also not our place to exact revenge on our fellow man. We are to not only love our neighbor, but our enemies as well, and to “forgive them” (Luke 17:4). Let’s face it—we finite humans with our limited wisdom cannot know for sure just how serious our sins are in God’s eyes. So, let’s take into consideration the possibility that the law of exact retribution does, in fact, apply to eternal torment; that all sins carry a very high price tag; that we do deserve eternal torment for our wickedness; and that maybe even that is too little punishment for us. Jehovah’s Witnesses then, must think all sins are on sale! Obviously, Watchtower reasoning does not take ALL the facts into consideration. Therefore it is not logical, and not based on the bible but rather on human assumptions!