Lin Yutang and why no one is going to hell

In his book The Importance of Living, Lin Yutang outlines his conversion away from Christianity toward being pagan, and explains his view on sin:

Anyway, from pursuing literary studies, I feel, like all modern Americans, no consciousness of sin and simply do not believe in it.

Continuing that particular passage, he explains why he believes no one is going to Hell:

All I know is that if God loves me only half as much as my mother does, he will not send me to Hell. That is a final fact of my inner consciousness, and for no religion could I deny its truth.

When I first read that passage years ago, I was dumbfounded at its simplicity and its implications.

I admit that my conception of reality makes room for God’s existence or non-existence, without any change to my beliefs or behavior.

I’m not arguing that we should run around and do freely the things that have been traditionally labeled as “sin”.

However, the question must be asked, irrespective of belief in God and our actions here on Earth, how could he send his own children to hell? Doesn’t he love his children as good parents do?

Some people will argue that even our parent’s punish us for our wrong doings, but to them I ask: would that punishment ever be condemnation to eternal suffering?

Some people will argue that without the threat of eternal damnation, people will run amok. And so Yutang puts the argument forth:

“Why,” I reasoned with a colleague, “if there were no God, people would not do good and the world would be topsy-turvy.”

“Why?” replied my Confucian colleague. “We should lead a decent human life simply because we are decent human beings,” he said.

I believe that if our goal is a harmonious society, then we ourselves can see what things contribute to and hinder that goal. What need we of God and Hell?

Yutang ends thus:

This appeal to the dignity of human life cut off my last tie to Christianity, and from then on I was a pagan.

I for one, agree with him.