To the editor:

I do not know how Richard Smith’s argument about the existence of hell can be “factually wrong” when he in no way states that hell is real. Furthermore, for an argument to be factually incorrect, there must be evidence against it, and there is no such evidence that hell does not, in fact, exist.

Aside from the existence argument, Mr. Springsteen’s statement that “complete suffering and eternal isolation for mere, fallible humans is the most gross perversion of proportional justice and sincere love imaginable” is itself a gross perversion of what we as Christians believe about the nature of both human beings and God.

We believe that all human beings are endowed with a free will that allows us to make any decision, even a decision that would seem illogical to someone else. This free will is what allows the ideas of both justice and sincere love to make complete sense when referring to hell: If someone accepts God’s will, then they are eternally saved from hell.

Finally, to those who refuse to believe in hell I ask: Do you believe in a difference between right and wrong? If you do, it’s because of your conscience, and where do you suppose your conscience came from? Certainly not evolution.

Thomas Prinsen,
Lawrence