Pastor Arek O’Connell addresses the question, “Why would a loving God send someone to hell?” by breaking it into three parts—hell, a loving God, and “sending” someone—and stressing that people usually ask it from a place of pain. He explains biblical terms and common views of hell, then offers a simple, memorable line: heaven is where God is; hell is where God is not.  Pastor Arek argues that while God judges, people ultimately choose separation from God, and God offers many “lifelines” before judgment—so we should answer with both truth and compassion, leaving room to say, “I don’t know everything, but God is more loving and just than I am.”

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