Today, I watched a video exploring the meaning(s) of the fire metaphor(s) in the song titled Hellfire, in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The maker of the video argued that hellfire exists to punish the wicked, and punishing the wicked is a good (or at least just) thing, so hellfire is, arguably, a good thing. However, I believe that it's possible for punishments to go too far and/or to be executed by someone with the wrong motivations. Satan can be said to punish the wicked, but he does it to watch people suffer, not to purge them of their sins of deliver a just punishment to them.
I believe that there can be such a thing as a cleansing fire, a purifying fire, a fire that burns away the evil in us and leaves the good relatively unharmed. Such a fire would be a good thing. But a fire that merely torments someone, without helping them, regardless of how much or how little they deserve that torment, is almost certainly evil.
Hellfire can be good, if it helps someone repent while they still have a chance to do so. But if it's merely a punishment, then that, in my mind, is a bit harder to morally justify.
No comments:
Post a Comment