For a variety of reasons, I have not posted anything for too long a time. No internet, I moved, I threw away the power cord to my computer thinking it was to an old laptop…
The good news is, I’m settled in, have internet, and bought a power cord, and am ready to post regularly here. And without further ado—which is a nice way of saying without any more bullshit, here is my next post…
Just: guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness ~Dictionary.com
(Retributive) justice is a theory of justice that holds that the best response to a crime is a punishment proportional to the offense, inflicted because the offender deserves the punishment… ~Wikipedia
The term “just" is used by theists to describe their deity… “God is a just God.” This is often their defense of him when anything that seems unjust in the bible is mentioned. It is important that this deity, who is going to judge everyone (according to Christianity) and in so doing determine the eternal fate of every person, be a just God. Anything less would result in a vindictive, cruel, anger-driven, control-freak bully of a deity who would readily punish billions. Without justice, there would be no analyzing the crime in order to make sure its punishment is deserved—that the punishment would be fitting for the crime.
The springboard for this article is hell, and God sending people there. The punishment—an eternity (as in never-ending, forever, without end) of the most unimaginable pain and torture and burning, by a fire that is never quenched—a fire which includes brimstone. According to biblicalscholarship.com, brimstone means “burning stone” or, “the stone that burns.” When a plain brimstone is exposed to the air, nothing happens--but if a match is put to it, it will burn in a peculiar way, like a liquid fire, and it emits noxious fumes. The stone melts like wax but the dripping is a peculiar thick fire, like a piece of wax on fire.
In this case, the crime is rejecting god’s sacrifice for mankind and not placing one’s trust in Jesus. The crime of not believing, or not accepting this free gift of god’s sacrifice for our sins. Sins which we inherited, according to the biblical narrative, from our great, great, great…grandparents. A sin in which we had zero culpability—a sin which transpired and sealed our fate thousands or billions (depending on which version one believes) of years ago.
For the sin of our ancestors of merely eating the fruit god said not to eat, the consequential sin nature all of us inherited, and for not believing such nonsense, the just punishment is fire and a torturous, burning, waxy-like substance melting and dripping all over you while it itself slowly burns, oozing across your flesh, burning every square inch of your body, slowly, torturously, agonizingly, not unlike lava from a volcano—forever and ever, with absolutely no end to the horrific pain and suffering. Screams. Tears. Weeping. Sobbing. Extreme anguish. Pain beyond anything anyone has ever experienced or imagined. Eternal separation from family, friends and loved ones who escaped the horrific nightmare. Gnashing of teeth (brought on involuntarily by excessive, extreme anguish and pain).
Think of the worst pain you have ever experienced... That pain is merely an inconvenience compared to the pain that hell inflicts on its citizens forever. Hell is non-ending. No relief. 50 billion years in, and you’re still burning, still experiencing the worst pain imaginable, still having molten, burning brimstone slowly dripping over your entire body. Another 50 billion years. Another. Another. Another… Revelation 14.11: “The smoke of their torture rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night…”
The very nature of the Garden of Eden story makes the entire hell as punishment that much more horrific and unjust. A “just” God who put the tree in the center of the garden, commanded them not to eat from it, and then dictated that another of his creation develop the ability to form sentences and to use that new-found ability to tempt Eve—to lie to her and to trick her into eating the fruit. All the while, that same God who set them up is standing by, watching, doing nothing to intervene. The same God who is described as all-knowing (omniscience) and all-powerful (omnipotent). This of course means that he knew long before he created Adam and Eve what the outcome would be, and yet still moved forward with his stellar plan. It is difficult to see this plan as being just; instead, it reeks of injustice.
How is this never-ending fiery hell just? How is it “proportional” to the crime? Does the offender (the sinner, in this case) deserve hell? Does the punishment fit the crime?
These are all good questions—questions that beg to be asked. And it is in the answering of these questions where theists come up short of anything reasonable, logical, and that actually explains how hell fits the crime of non-belief. The answer often is that God is a just God, with no good explanation of how or why that is the case.
When someone or something is declared to be something—in this case, God is declared to be just, simply by virtue of that declaration, the validity of said claim is at best compromised. If something can be attributed to someone simply by declaring it to be so, the entire concept of having a particular quality loses all credibility and is diluted to be nothing more than a mere matter of “because I said so.”
And to compound matters, this is most often the “proof” offered up to demonstrate that God is indeed just. He is just because the bible says he is, or he is just because he is God. It doesn’t take much to see the flaw in this thinking. One must be sold to the idea that God is just in the first place; otherwise, the “proof” would leave one doubting, at best.
If this serves as proof that God is just, a scrutiny of that reasoning will leave its integrity in jeopardy when applied to anyone outside of the bible—to anyone other than God. According to The Nizkor Project on nizkor.org, during an interview, Hitler said about himself, “Do you realize that you are in the presence of the greatest German of all time?" If we employ the same logic that theists will employ to prove God is just, then isn’t it only logical to do the same in the case of Hitler and to declare him to be the greatest German of all time? He’s the greatest German because he declared himself to be.
But wait a minute, you may object. “Just because someone claims to be something doesn’t automatically make them so.” And I totally agree; in fact, that is my point. A study of Hitler and his actions (and a very short study at that) is all that is necessary to debunk his claim of greatness. Millions of Jews slaughtered in gas chambers because of who they were. An inhuman man, undaunted by the torture and suffering of millions, all the while believing himself to be superior and to be doing God’s will. It’s not difficult to see that Hitler’s claim to be the greatest German ever is a ridiculous one at best. So how does God fare in this same test? Does a study of God and his actions debunk or validate theists’ claims that he is just?
Just as we did in the case with Hitler, let’s do a short study of God and apply the same logic as we did with Hitler. Not long after creating mankind, God somehow comes to regret having made man and decides to wipe out his creation. Genesis 6.6-7: So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”
This is the point in the biblical narrative where God kills all but eight people, including the vast majority of the animals he had created. It’s interesting to notice here the reason God gives for regretting having made mankind in the first place, and for ultimately deciding to wipe them out. Verse 5: “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.”
His reason to wipe man out is because they were evil, wicked people. For just a moment, let’s suspend reality and logic, and go with that reason and even consider it a valid and right one. It still leaves the problem of the animals. Christianity teaches that people have souls and free will—something it teaches animals do not have. As a result, animals cannot make the choice to reject or to deny God; the mere thought is ridiculous. Yet there it is in verse eight. God decides to destroy the animals—even the birds of the sky. It’s interesting to contrast this scripture that shows God destroying even the birds with Matthew 6.26, which says, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.” Jesus is encouraging believers not to worry about their needs by pointing out how that God even takes care of the birds of the air—the same birds of the air he destroys in the flood because of man’s wickedness. In keeping with the theme of this article, is that just? Does the slaughter of the majority of all animals fit the crime—the crime they had nothing to do with?
And then there’s the issue with mankind. The flood would have wiped out everyone in its path indiscriminately; innocent babies, born and unborn, would die alongside the most wicked. The same question again begs to be asked. Does the punishment fit the crime? Did babies deserve to drown for the evil of the adults? Once again, the theme of punishing the innocent for something the guilty did prevails.
And speaking of innocent babies, God is at least consistent throughout much of the Old Testament in not sparing them, and instead ordering the slaughter of innocent unborn babies as well as infants. We see this in Hosea 13.16. God announces the sentence following a guilty plea for the people of Samaria. In it, he declares, “The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground (some versions say rocks), their pregnant women ripped open by swords.” The punishment (directed by God) is that everyone be killed. Not even the children—born or unborn, are spared. God orders the death of all unborn children—murder by sword. And the method to be employed to murder their infants? Dash them against the rocks! Remember, it is God who ordains these murders, including the method by which they should be murdered.
In 1 Samuel 15.3, God again orders mass murder. He commands, “Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Don't leave a thing; kill all the men, women, children, and babies; the cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.” Once again, God orders the murders of everyone; and, once again, not even children are spared. Not even the animals. What the hell did a sheep ever do to God? And the cause of God’s wrath and his punishment? I’ll let God say it for me. From the same scripture: “Because their ancestors opposed the Israelites when they were coming from Egypt.” Notice that the ones being punished were not the ones who had committed the offense which “warranted” such horrific consequences. The ones who committed the crime were the ancestors of the ones being punished; the people being punished weren’t even alive at the time of the crime.
Punishing people for crimes committed by someone else is a common theme with God. We first saw it as mentioned earlier when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, and thereafter, all mankind has been doomed. Guilty of another man’s crime. Sentenced to death. To a fire that never ends. Ceaseless torture. For something in which you and I played no role. Unless you go by what Christianity says—that we were born wicked and therefore deserving of hell. For simply being born, we inherit this wickedness brought on by the actions of someone who lived long before our existence. Justice? A just God? Did you ever wonder what it would look like if God weren’t just? Would it look any different?
One final example of God’s justice (or injustice, as the case may be). In Ezekiel, chapter four, God is having a discussion with his prophet Ezekiel. At the center of the debate is what was a very common theme with God—the Israelites sin and God’s anger in response to that sin. This is where God comes up with the stellar plan of having Ezekiel bear the sins of the people; yet another example of God punishing the innocent. He is instructed by God to lie on his left side for the sins of Israel and then on his right side for Judah—one day for each year of their sins. Those sins: 390 years’ worth for Israel and 40 years’ worth for Judah. If you’re keeping track, you’ve already figured out that this poor guy had to lie on his left side for 390 days, and then on his right side for 40 days. And of course, due to the severity of the peoples’ sins, God had to make sure Ezekiel lie there for the duration of that time. How did he do this? He tied him up, of course! Ezekiel 4.8: “I will tie you up with ropes so you won’t be able to turn from side to side until the days of your siege have been completed.”
Of course, Ezekiel is going to need to eat during this time, so God instructed him to gather certain foods, some of which he would use to make bread. “But you need a fire to bake the bread”, perhaps you’re thinking. And you would be correct. God, who has a history of coming up with stellar plans, once again, does not disappoint. The fuel for that fire to bake the bread? Human shit! (I shit you not!) Ezekiel 4.12: “While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread. Just, or just gross?
In chapter five, we learn that God’s anger has not only not been satisfied but burns stronger than ever—an anger that God himself describes as a jealous anger. In chapter five, God lays out a list of the horrific things he is going to do to punish his people.
“I (God) will cut you off completely. I will show you no pity at all.” And as a result, here is what God would go on to say he would do to them: 1) I will scatter my people with the sword. 2) A fire will then spread from this remnant and destroy all of Israel. 3) I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch. Because of your detestable idols, I will punish you like I have never punished anyone before or ever will again. (Hmm…what about hell?!) 4) Parents will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. 5) A third of your people will die in the city from disease and famine. A third of them will be slaughtered by the enemy outside the city walls. And I will scatter a third to the winds, chasing them with my sword. 6) I will turn you into a ruin, a mockery in the eyes of the surrounding nations and to all who pass by. You will become an object of mockery and taunting and horror. 7) I will shower you with the deadly arrows of famine to destroy you. The famine will become more and more severe until every crumb of food is gone. 8) And along with the famine, wild animals will attack you and rob you of your children. Disease and war will stalk your land, and I will bring the sword of the enemy against you. And then, God concludes this list of horrific punishments by saying, “I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Again, the question must be asked, “Does the punishment fit the crime?” Is this an example of justice in action?
Of course, as alluded to earlier, Christians will state (as proof of God’s just nature) things like “God is a just God because the bible says he is” and “God is just because he’s God.” While these statements are presented with conviction and resolve, what they are lacking is actual proof or evidence; instead, belief is considered to be evidence. “I believe it; therefore, it is fact.” The statement “God is just because he is God” is problematic on many fronts. It goes hand-in-hand with similar statements about God; statements such as “God can do anything he wants, because he is God.” This blanket statement gives God a signed, blank check, if you will, which allows him to do and say anything, without the possibility of being unjust or unloving. In this context, no matter what God does, he is just, good, and holy and perfect. A pastor once told me “God is God—he can do whatever he wants. If God himself were to rape a child, he would still be good, righteous, just, and holy…because he is God.” In that context, he was actually saying that the act of child rape, when committed by God, would be a righteous, moral, and good act.
With “logic” such as that, there is no room for reason and actual logic. Why does God get a blank check when it comes to his actions? Why is God considered just simply because he is God? Why does the title “God” automatically make him just?
The problem with this thinking is that a virtue is ascribed to someone (a deity in this case) merely by declaration, with no earning or deserving it, and without a shred of evidence or proof. “I am just because I say I am” becomes “He is just because he says he is” and ultimately “He is just because he is God.” This illogical “reasoning” or more accurately rationalizing gives way to an “anything goes” mentality. This is why we see apologists and Christian laymen defend the horrific atrocities mentioned earlier (and many more within the pages of the bible) with no thought or consideration of the facts or to the horrific nature of those atrocities. “God is just because he is; therefore, whatever he does is just, no exceptions.”
This kind of irrational thinking leads to statements about God like the one mentioned earlier wherein someone declared that God could rape a child and still be perfect. This leads to the defending of God, no matter how egregious his actions. This also explains why Christians can look you in the eye (without batting an eye) and declare that you are going to hell. They worship a God who has committed countless atrocities and yet is considered to be just. Therefore, they are just in declaring your eternity to be one in a fiery hell.
The problem with this reasoning is how one goes about “proving” and declaring God to be just. It doesn’t begin with an examination of the evidence; rather, it begins with the already established declaration (and belief) that God is just, and then works backwards from that “fact.” Everything is seen through and interpreted in that light—God is just, so whatever action God has taken is just. There is no examining the evidence with an open mind, but rather, a defending of or justifying those actions, no matter how absurd and unjust they may appear to be. There is no attempt to determine justice from injustice; instead, there is only a scrambling to defend the horrific nature of the atrocities committed by their "just" God. The bible is approached with a pre-determined belief, and any resulting debate of those issues is strictly to defend that belief.
And so, God is declared to be just. Not because his words and actions are those that would be indicative of a just deity. Not because they warrant it. Not because he has demonstrated the virtue of being just. Not because he is deserving of it. Simply because he is declared to be. And that blank check is signed, sealed, and delivered!
What do you think?
Do you believe God is just, or do you believe God, as presented in the bible, is unjust? I’d love to hear your thoughts on why as well as your thoughts about what you have just read.
