How many people have I heard say, "I don't believe in hell but if anyone is in there its Adolf Hitler."
How can we reconcile our ideas of natural justice with a God who will forgive Adolf Hitler?
The way to so this is to look for the reasons that Adolf Hitler did what he did.
These lie in his childhood; his experiences, especially after World War 1; and his temperament.
"'Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'" John 8:7b (NRSV)
This saying of Jesus does not just relate to minor offences or sexual indiscretions, it relates to everyone.
Punishment and hell are out of character for a loving God.
So do not torment yourselves about past sins, they are forgiven, look to the future and "'do not sin again.'" John 8:11b (NRSV)
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
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