Again, what's the point if the "reprobate" are unable to perceive or be able to understand? Like showing a 'stop sign' in France to a tourist who can't read French...
:nono: Heard the Christmas story? Know about Jesus Christ? As a 7 year old, when I heard what God had done, I KNEW it was a big deal.
I was drawn to the belief that there was a God behind life years ago, but one of the biggest hindrances was "hell" and the myriad conflicting and sickening takes on it, all from folk who thought they had the "truth" on the matter. I'd already repented and the rest of it.
Like in this life, we have a place as believers and unbelievers. In the next, there is a separation, and necessary or it would be just like here, forever. I try to take truths in increments when I have a hang-up. God chose Jesus Christ His Son as the means for redeeming people. The peril must have been real or God wouldn't have chose this specific way.
When someone else suffers you don't feel it yourself Lon, although you can empathize. "Hell" reduces empathy to a husk on the ground oftentimes.
Scripture talks about suffering with those who suffer. I have family I care about, so I don't think lack of empathy is my problem, Arthur. You are correct, I didn't feel my wife's pain while going through cancer treatment, but she is flesh of my flesh.
You don't have to be someone who claims ethical or spiritual perfection to balk at the doctrine of interminable suffering Lon.
I think you do, and you and I aren't. Your empathy is a good thing. Job certainly wrestled with God, but he also loved God. In my Christianity, I don't understand everything of God. I am but a finite creature trying not to redefine the infinite into finite terms. There are a lot of things I don't get, but I do genuinely get John 3:11-21
I'm not unfamiliar with scriptures so there's really no need. People's interpretations of them are a dime a dozen.
:doh: Then there is no point, Arthur. You might as well make up the god you want to believe in. You pretty much just closed off my only reason for entering the conversation with you: to point to the God who exists, rather than one we make up as we go. It does illustrate the difference in thread between gods though.
No, Lon, as a Calvinist you accept that people are either decreed to Heaven or Hell, that's it. You believe in limited atonement and the 'elect' are elected to Heaven and everyone else isn't to be blunt. It doesn't matter a jot what you do. You could sit in the house all day playing on an X box or spend your days preaching on a street corner. Ultimately it's all been decided in advance of us feeble human beings no matter what.
There are different forms of Calvinism, and this one is fatalism of which I do not subscribe. I don't believe God nor we sit back during this life, but both are intricately part of the story played out. I don't believe in fatalism.
Neither "side" can agree on the particulars, so why's that? And that's just on the 'eternal torment' side...
Let's just take the current thread. There are only two sides that matter, the side who are giving scripture, and the side that rejects the scriptures. There isn't much need to fracture the 'scriptures' side. It serves no purpose, rather it is about what scripture says and if one accepts it. This thread is far from even that
first step. You have cut that off as well. There is no point after this post for me to continue. It would place me on the "non-scripture" side and I'm not willing to take part of that conversation. Such is merely the collision of opinion that cannot matter. I didn't get to write history, just interpret it. It becomes fiction after that.
"Youthful exuberance"? Let me tell ya, an abhorrence to interminable suffering doesn't begin and end in youth so you're doing the OP somewhat of a disservice there IMO. Rational debate sure.
Yes, when you form a rally with not much deep thought, but reactionary angst, it is a sign of youth. We don't often see senior citizens with picket signs. We tend to think a bit more before congregating.
This particular topic
requires scriptural reading and contemplation, when wrestling with the God of the universe. You seem to have cut off that part of concern so there isn't anything left I can continue with in thread or indeed many others.