"If Hell were real, each occupant would be a shining reminder that God has failed."
I'm not a philosopher, but I played one in college. Profundity is fun. And when I spotted this quote somewhere I knew I had to have it. Kind of like when I first saw the current Mrs. Blythe. But that's another story.
The above quotation is from some 19th century writer, social commentary and agnostic Robert Ingersoll. When I first saw it I expected one of those Jerry Springer crowd responses to follow. Yeah, its a pretty badass thing to say. God is a failure? Look out for lightening bolts. Ingersoll survived the comment and was a rather well-respected orator, Civil War general and, for those few readers who hail from Peoria, a fellow Peorian. In fact there is a statue of him down there someplace.
The above quotation is from some 19th century writer, social commentary and agnostic Robert Ingersoll. When I first saw it I expected one of those Jerry Springer crowd responses to follow. Yeah, its a pretty badass thing to say. God is a failure? Look out for lightening bolts. Ingersoll survived the comment and was a rather well-respected orator, Civil War general and, for those few readers who hail from Peoria, a fellow Peorian. In fact there is a statue of him down there someplace.
It seems a shocking statement for the 1880's, much like the Newsweek cover of April 8th, 1966, "Is God Dead?"
I do believe it is the only time I have heard a comment giving the primer Mover job evaluation. By its very definition God is deemed, if one believes in Him/Her as a an entity which is entirely successful. Surely the creation of Heaven and Hell, the Cosmos, humankind, the animals and the beauty of Earth in six days has a pretty good understanding of the job. Sure, there could have been other lesser attempts scattered somewhere, but if there are we aren't privy to them. So we have to assume this is a one-off. And, a pretty damn good one at that.
My Logic professor, Dr. Theodore Khan, who referred to me as the "shy little boy in the back", taught us Midwest farm hired-men how to "prove" the veracity of a statement. Let's tackle it with some logic, then. First we have to examine the sentence like a grammarian. It begins with "If hell were real...". Those of you who don't think of the physicality of Hell or Heaven may be excused at this point, because if you don't believe in the opening supposition, the rest isn't relevant. Unless, of course, you just like profound comments. And if you do believe in the physical nature of Hell or Heaven, then you have a real problem on your hands. No, its fine if you do, but the problem is with the rest of the sentence, then.
And this is where it gets tricky. If you believe in a New Testament God, that is forgiving, merciful, benevolent, just and loving, then the notion that that God would send his "children" to Hell becomes problematic. I mean real problematic. If He/Her instilled in us free will, then then a percentage of us will err, and sometimes err in a big way. If we err in a big way, then we get a ticket for Hell, right. Isn't that the teaching of the Old and New Testaments?
Sounds like a rigged deal to me. But then I'm not in the God business. Of course we can also flip that sentence inside out and say "If Heaven were real, every occupant would be a shining reminder that God has succeeded." Wouldn't have much of a reason to quibble with that one, would you? Then why is the obverse so darn unsettling? I'm sure a couple of you fundamentalists have fainted by now. Someone get the smelling salts!!
So you see, what Ingersoll is suggesting is that God gave us Free Will, which gives us autonomy over our actions, then weighs us down with the very instruments for our own destruction. God gives us brains to reason with, but not always effectively. God gives us passion. Passion to love unreasonably or hate equally so. God gives us a well constructed body for us to either hew into something better or to corrupt with our addictions. God gives us the concept of love, which provides a maximum of enjoyment or destruction.
So, if God gives you all the tools to be human - for good or for ill, and sets you on the right path of salvation by following the rules set down by all the authors of the Bible, then you should avoid the brim fire of Hell. Right? Therein lies the conundrum. But we are human, for good or for ill, and along the way we might stray from that path so carefully set forth. Yup, that is a rigged game - carnival barking you right up to get you a teddy bear or to get fleeced. All there is, I guess, is to do the best you can and hope for the best.
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