Is eternal torment of the wicked compatible with God’s personality?
From my understanding of the Bible: I see hell (separation from God and thus all that is good) compatible with a God that I understand to be all powerful, merciful, loving and just. The reason is that the promise of a final judgment is God’s pledge of justice, that one day He will say “enough is enough, I will not let people continue to use and/or abuse ME, themselves and/or their surroundings”. It shows that God is not indifferent to evil and our sufferings. (Psalm 96 tells of creation rejoicing because God comes to judge the earth). What is scary is the idea of an all-powerful God who did not or will not punish the wicked, because then there is no justice. What brings God’s wrath (and thus hell) is what the Bible calls “sin”. Sin is not in essence breaking rules. It is rebellion against God. It is the attitude of saying “I don’t want God to be my Ruler or part of my life. I want to be my own ruler”. You can also look at hell as God eventually giving people what they want: A life and
