The Problem of Pain – C. S. Lewis (1952)
The problem I have with that statement is the blatantly disregard for the doctrines of the bible on the notion of being cast into Hell for eternity, and as Lewis was a devote Christian this oversight surprises me.
It is common nature to want punishment to fit the crime and it to be sufficiently sever to cause suffering to the perpetrator in equal measures to the misery that those peoples actions have caused to others. Therefore, the notion that Hell is just the end of all ends with nothing further to the story goes against the grain of justice. Logic dictates that if someone is so bad that they go down rather than up then they should suffer for their crimes for al eternity not just be snuffed out of existence.
However, man as a species are infallible and get things wrong. Justice systems can be manipulated … lawyers often seem more interested in winning a case regardless of the facts that their client may be guilty. I always amazes me at the way these types of triumphs are celebrated with no thought to the victims and the injustice that has been done to them.
Punishment does not always fit the crime … in this lifetime or the next, or so it would seem.