One of the most common objections I’ve encountered when discussing the Christian teaching on hell is its eternal nature. Ostensibly, hell is objectionable because it is by definition unjust. Damnation, being eternal, cannot possibly be fitting to a finite amount of evil committed. Therefore, if hell exists, God is unjust or somehow the idea of hell is off, with perhaps universal salvation or annihilationism as at least two possible alternatives.
But how is that no one objects to the flip side of this problem? No one objects to the idea that we receive eternal salvation from a finite life. I have yet to hear anyone cry, “It simply isn’t fair that people would receive bliss for all eternity for a finite life!” It is just as incommensurate as the problem of hell: something infinite cannot be seen as the fitting or corresponding reward or punishment for something finite.
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