The History of Hell from Christian History

The Christian History Magazine sent this nifty little book that has snippets of writings of theologians writings about hell throughout history.  It was pretty iteresting and it got me thinking about how LDS doctrine provides the "Whys" of theoloty.

Why is there Hell?  That is a good question, and I like the answer that John Stuart Mill gives.  "I will call no being good, who is not what I mean when I apply that epithet to my fellow creatures: and if such a being can sentence me to Hell for not so calling him, to Hell will I go."

So if we can't say a person is good who would send a person off to eternal punishment for seemingly insignificant reasons we shouldn't then call that person God, and say He is unfathomable.

Here is the problem as I see it.  In Classical Christianity God is outside of time and creation and then decides that he will create creatures and a place for them to live.  Why?  That is un-answerable.  But some of the possibilities are that God wanted creatures to worship him.  Or that God wanted creatures to love him.  Or God wanted creatures to share his existence.  Or that God wanted creatures that he could love.  However, the point is that God created this existence and the way that it is.  So he created hell and creatures to go to hell.  He also created heaven and creatures to go to heaven, but again the question is why, but as John Stuart Mill points out the fact that Being that will create creatures to suffer means that he cannot be called good no matter what extenuating circumstances there are.

The LDS view is not perfect but at least it avoids a Being who creates creatures who's sole purpose is to suffer.  As I understand LDS doctrine there are eternal intelligence's and matter.  These two things are joined and can progress.  God is the greatest of these beings and he makes it possible for others to follow him if they choose too.  That's the difference in LDS doctrine and other Christian theologies.  We believe that for some reason Christ had to offer himself as a sacrifice and He willingly did so because all beings have the ability to make choices.  Those beings who choose not to follow God go somewhere where God is not and since God is light and love, if you go where God is not you go to a place where there is no light or love, a place of darkness.

Classic Christianity says that God the Father came up with a plan that required his son to suffer infinite punishment for the beings he made.  However the LDS and Christians agree that it is only because of Grace of Christ that we are able to enjoy the blessings of God and not anything we do ourselves.