A Usenet friend wrote:

Well the honeymoon is over and _ _ _ _ wants the house, the car and the 'Jesus Loves Me' CD collection. You know, those who see another as going to hell, would have to see that person as not only unworthy, but as thoroughly vile, infinitely so. Otherwise they would not be able to justify the outrageousness and extremity of such a punishment. The Christian 'love' for the hell bound, not only appears to be a facade, it logically needs to be - that is if the sizzle squad are to justify hell with 'God's infinite goodness'. Hell proclaimers being rude to you is far more understandable than their being nice.

Of course there will be Christians who believe in hell who do love their fellow human beings. But these folk, if they dwell on it, must be burdened with a massive philosophical dilemma.

My response:

Not just purely 'philosophical', but deeply existential.

There's got to be some sort of formula to express this: 'Christian agape love/emphathy + belief in the majority of humans (including those who have a heretical - ie. different-to-my - doctrine on this or that) going to hell and being tormented forever + a conviction that one has the power to stanche the avalanche of souls into hell via passionate evangelism ---->>>> (has to lead to) crazed life-long proselytization, to the exclusion of everything else, including insulting others on Usenet.'

If this outcome is not happening, something is missing in the rest of the mix/formula.

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Shalom! Rowland Croucher March 2007