If the offer was made to you, and with the reasons so far beyond your understanding that you’d not be given an explanation, would you be willing to spend eternity in hell with Satan if all of your loved ones and everyone else that had lived, are living, and will live, be granted total immunity as a result of your (insane) compassionate generosity? That is, you’d cook in agony … whilst the rest of us would be enveloped in sheer bliss for all of forever!
For what it’s worth, I’m sure that “IF” you were to agree to the deal, you’d be richly honored as the greatest person to have ever lived! Streets would be named after you and people would adore your memory to the utmost, always crying tears of joy whenever your name was mentioned. Certainly that sort of honor and love would count for something, right? (Imagine the hell you’d feel if you declined and you then had to face those you love and tell them you don’t love them THAT much! :eek: )
So how 'bout it, could you? Would you make the ultimate sacrifice for your poor fellow human beings if it really came down to it?
I don’t know, but I do know that when the tornado alarms go off, the first thing I do is run to get my ferrets. I don’t know how I would get by if something bad happened to them and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. I don’t know about granting everyone immunity -wouldn’t that kind of rob life of much of its meaning if there were no cause and effect? No actions and consequences? I do know that I would gladly die in the place of my true loved ones, but I don’t think I would rot in hell so everyone else could go willy-nilly in a world that had no pain to give perspective to the joy.
P.S. I’m agnostic and don’t believe in any hell beyond the ones we create for ourselves.
Couldn’t resist such an appropriate response, but that really does sum it up. I would maybe briefly consider it if the field was limited to people I love, but all of humanity? Kim Jong Il and the like? I seriously have a hard time not being angry at people who cut me off in traffic; I cannot conceive of consigning myself to eternal agony on behalf of that bitch on 62 yesterday, let alone Saddam Hussein.
Physical agony is one thing, but the satisfaction of knowing what I had done- that would ALSO be eternal, and I’ll take a tradeoff like that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Although I would want to massage the deal to include knowledge of their sin for past sinners, so that they’d know what they had done and hopefully want to repent.
As far as “me go to hell so Hitler can go to Heaven,” that would suck a bit, but “me go to hell and Hitler go to Heaven so that untold sould will be saved-” I’ll take that.
If it’s any consolation, I’m sure that Satan would be a terrific conversationalist, assuming you could over the course of time get somewhat used to the flames to the extent that you could gather your thoughts and form some words. It would be a heck of a challenge.
I doubt you would get to keep the memory. It’s Hell, remember? Besides, that would very likely get you nailed for the sin of Pride as well. Satan may be sympathetic to that one, but he’d still torment you good.
To quote Sebastian from Babylon 5:
No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother. Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame, for one person … in the dark where no one will know or see.
Agreed. Especially since if you love somebody else that much, an obvious torment is for the God in question to grab them and torture them in front of you for eternity as well. Knowing you agreed to eternal torment for nothing would be another torment.
Besides what silenus said, you’d be far too miserable to care. Physical agony overwhelms everything else.
The knowledge that my sacrifice would keep people from suffering would be enough for me. I’m no saint but I can’t stand the idea of people hurting and, if I could eliminate their pain, I would do it. Hey, if Jesus was willing to die for people’s sins and come back to life, I guess I could handle the next best thing.
I understand that Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, Osama, Dahmer and Morris Albert would all get a clean slate for their crimes against humanity. If my eternal torture allows a few thousand sickos to be redeemed along with countless billions, then it’s a price I would pay.
If we’re talking about making everybody happy and blissful, then forget it. If you mean everyone goes to Heaven and spends forever with God, then I’d think about it.
I think I’d said no though. However fucked up the world is, this seems to fly against the order of things.
If I don’t get to keep the memory, then I’m essentially being punished for nothing, which pretty much ruins the concept of Hell anyway. And if I don’t get to keep the memory, then I’ll wonder what I’m in for, and if I don’t know what I’m in for, I can always take pleasure in “they got the wrong guy, because I know I didn’t do anything.”
As far as being nailed for “Pride,” going with Wikipedia for expediency’s sake, we find "It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to give compliments to others though they may be deserving of them, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). "
None of those things are even remotely implicated. I saw what I had to do and I did it; that’s all.
And no offense, but I’ll take Jesus over a Babylon 5 character any day of the week (and six or seven times on Sunday); besides which- it’s not about the numbers or the glory or the fame. I’d do it if nobody remembered who I was. I’d know. Even if I didn’t know, God would know. That’s good for me.
How do YOU know? You don’t know me, and you don’t know Hell (and neither of us knows what the hypothetical Hell in this question is). But physical agony certainly does not overwhelm everything else.
Both of the bolded areas are highly implicated. By your own admission, you would derive satisfaction from your deed. “Knowing what I had done” sure seems to be a smug, self-righteous attitude to me. As for “proper position to God”…since it was Jesus that died for all of us, you are placing yourself on His, and therefore God’s, level by assuming to suffer for all of humanity. That, my friend, is Pride writ large, and the kind of presumption that got Lucifer booted in the first place, if you believe Milton.
