Several years ago a book was published entitled Looking Out for Number One. On the dedication page the author wrote, "Dedicated to the hope that somewhere in our universe there exists a civilization where the inhabitants possess sole dominion over their own lives." There is such a place. It's called Hell.

Bottomless pit, no physical, solid surroundings, total isolation. Utter darkness--a person is isolated, restricted, totally and forever to himself/herself. The doctrine of hell is probably the major stumbling block to the return of a de-Christianized world to Christ. The doctrine of eternal damnation, more than any other teaching of the church, produces atheism. If you examine closely all the big name atheists like Feuerback and Nietzsche it is this teaching more than any other that offended them and turned them away. Out of these famous atheists came all the movements that have caused so much hell here and now. If God is to practice what He preaches, then it makes it hard to believe in eternal damnation.

In the New Testament, Peter asks how many times he should forgive his brother and Jesus tells him, "I don't say 7 times, but 70 times 7" which is a way of saying "infinitely." If God commands that of us, then how does He get away with not being infinite in His forgiveness?