The Truth About Hell (feelings, Gospel, punishment, doctrine)
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I am taking up here a basic theme that I have dealt with elsewhere but which is so essential that I have no hesitation in repeating myself. It is the recognition that all people from the beginning of time are saved by God in Jesus Christ, that they have all been recipients of his grace no matter what they have done.
This is a scandalous proposition.
It shocks our spontaneous sense of justice. The guilty ought to be punished. How can Hitler and Stalin be among the saved? The just ought to be recognized as such and the wicked condemned.
But in my view this is purely human logic which simply shows that there is no understanding of salvation by grace or of the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ.
The proposition also runs counter to the almost unanimous view of theology. Some early theologians proclaimed universal salvation but almost all the rest finally rejected it. Great debates have taken place about foreknowledge and predestination, but in all of them it has been taken for granted that reprobation is normal.
A third and the most serious objection to the thesis is posed by the biblical texts themselves.
Many of these talk about condemnation, hell, banishment into outer darkness, and the punishment of robbers, fornicators, idolaters, etc. As we proceed we must overcome these obstacles and examine the theological reasons which lead me to believe in universal salvation, the texts that seem to be against it, and a possible solution.
But I want to stress that I am speaking about belief in universal salvation. This is for me a matter of faith. I am not making a dogma or a principle of it. I can say only what I believe, not pretending to teach it doctrinally as the truth.
Continued HERE (http://www.gtft.org/Library/miscellaneous/ellul.htm - broken link)
Hi, how do believers in everlasting hell reconcile this with God's omniscience? The only one that has responded is someone who believes that God intentionally created people to burn in everlasting hell. They believe that He created some for what they believe to be heaven and the others (the majority) were created to have no hope for salvation. But this must be the answer seeing that God sees beginning to end. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 05-14-2009 at 08:26 PM..
]1 John 3:5: "You know that he [Jesus] appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin." Did Jesus really come just to take sin to hell and leave it there like a toxic waste dump, or did He come to annihilate it?
To those believers who believe in everlasting hell: If God sees beginning to end, and you believe in everlasting hell, then you must believe that God brought the majoritiy into this world with no hope for salvation, but only for the purpose of burning in everlasting hell. How does this correspond with agape love? God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 05-15-2009 at 05:36 PM..
To those believers who believe in everlasting hell: If God sees beginning to end, and you believe in everlasting hell, then you must believe that God brought the majoritiy into this world with no hope for salvation, but only for the purpose of burning in everlasting hell. How does this correspond with agape love? God bless.
To those believers who believe in everlasting hell: If God sees beginning to end, and you believe in everlasting hell, then you must believe that God brought the majoritiy into this world with no hope for salvation, but only for the purpose of burning in everlasting hell. How does this correspond with agape love? God bless.
Very good question, Shanna. I've often wondered this, myself. Why would God deliberately bring people into this world, knowing full-well, ahead of time, that 99% of them will be consigned to an eternal hell? Actually, it wouldn't make any sense if the numbers were reversed, for that matter, and only 1% was headed to hell. It would still be a deliberate, questionable act by an all-knowing God, and the monstrosity of such an action, regardless of the percentages, would be absolutely overwheming, if it were true.
And, to add insult to injury, "hell-fire and brimstone" believers say that this, somehow, is all to the glory of God, but, he still loves us... How losing the majority of his creation brings glory is certainly a mystery, much less how it is supposed to showcase his love.
Shana, maybe God has a pet project? A worm farm? The Book "How to Serve Humans" was actually a book on how to serve humans to His pet worms. He likes worms. Humans build healthy worms 10 different ways. He has a special place "where the worm dieth not" even in the midst of flames thousands of degrees hot. Pretty neat trick if you ask me. Asbestos worms!
Very good question, Shanna. I've often wondered this, myself. Why would God deliberately bring people into this world, knowing full-well, ahead of time, that 99% of them will be consigned to an eternal hell? Actually, it wouldn't make any sense if the numbers were reversed, for that matter, and only 1% was headed to hell. It would still be a deliberate, questionable act by an all-knowing God, and the monstrosity of such an action, regardless of the percentages, would be absolutely overwheming, if it were true.
And, to add insult to injury, "hell-fire and brimstone" believers say that this, somehow, is all to the glory of God, but, he still loves us... How losing the majority of his creation brings glory is certainly a mystery, much less how it is supposed to showcase his love.
It is also very puzzling that when a earthly disaster happens and people are killed, they will say,it couldn`t be from God because he is a God of love and he would never do such a thing. Or, if a terrible accident happens and people are killed, they say the same thing..couldn`t be from God, he wouldn`t hurt anyone. But then, it`s perfectly ok for him to send people to be tormented day and night forever and all Eternity...huh?
Very good question, Shanna. I've often wondered this, myself. Why would God deliberately bring people into this world, knowing full-well, ahead of time, that 99% of them will be consigned to an eternal hell? Actually, it wouldn't make any sense if the numbers were reversed, for that matter, and only 1% was headed to hell. It would still be a deliberate, questionable act by an all-knowing God, and the monstrosity of such an action, regardless of the percentages, would be absolutely overwheming, if it were true.
And, to add insult to injury, "hell-fire and brimstone" believers say that this, somehow, is all to the glory of God, but, he still loves us... How losing the majority of his creation brings glory is certainly a mystery, much less how it is supposed to showcase his love.
Amen. God bless.
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It doesn't!
