Comments on: the significance of the doctrine of hell http://2mites.com/2008/11/07/the-significance-of-the-doctrine-of-hell/ spending it all, because He is our treasure Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:37:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Dorian http://2mites.com/2008/11/07/the-significance-of-the-doctrine-of-hell/comment-page-1/#comment-44 Dorian Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:47:09 +0000 http://2mites.wordpress.com/?p=93#comment-44 I'm so glad your speaking out on this. I'm so tired of "hell" being something that unbelievers are going to "want" because "heaven" will seem "hellish" to them. "Hell" is just going to be some passive absence of God. I wonder what the Bible means, then when it talks of God's wrath being "poured down" from heaven? What about the rich man who wanted to escape to warn his brothers, and wanted just a drop of water from the tip of Lazurus' finger? The passive, "absence of God" "Hell" is no where in the scriptures, just something that people paste over the top of it to avoid the hard truths. I’m so glad your speaking out on this. I’m so tired of “hell” being something that unbelievers are going to “want” because “heaven” will seem “hellish” to them. “Hell” is just going to be some passive absence of God. I wonder what the Bible means, then when it talks of God’s wrath being “poured down” from heaven? What about the rich man who wanted to escape to warn his brothers, and wanted just a drop of water from the tip of Lazurus’ finger? The passive, “absence of God” “Hell” is no where in the scriptures, just something that people paste over the top of it to avoid the hard truths.

]]> By: John http://2mites.com/2008/11/07/the-significance-of-the-doctrine-of-hell/comment-page-1/#comment-43 John Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:41:12 +0000 http://2mites.wordpress.com/?p=93#comment-43 Hi Jeff, Thanks - this is a great post. I have also left a reply for you over on my blog: I see why you were concerned that I was saying "hell is simply a place of our choosing" that is not what I intended to convey at all, perhaps I was not as clear as I could have been. In fact earlier in my post I agree with you about the fact that if God is a just and righteous God, in fact if he is a loving God - then he must punish evil and sin. Hi Jeff,

Thanks – this is a great post. I have also left a reply for you over on my blog:

I see why you were concerned that I was saying “hell is simply a place of our choosing” that is not what I intended to convey at all, perhaps I was not as clear as I could have been. In fact earlier in my post I agree with you about the fact that if God is a just and righteous God, in fact if he is a loving God – then he must punish evil and sin.

]]> By: Steve Marquardt http://2mites.com/2008/11/07/the-significance-of-the-doctrine-of-hell/comment-page-1/#comment-42 Steve Marquardt Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:02:24 +0000 http://2mites.wordpress.com/?p=93#comment-42 Jeff, This looks like it should be a very interesting and helpful series of posts! One of the things that I have always found interesting about the doctrine of hell is that Jesus is usually the one referring to it in the New Testament, while other New Testament authors seem to prefer concepts such as "destruction", "punishment", "wrath", etc. In some sense they are definitely referring to the same thing, but the very notion of "hell" is something that we gain uniquely from Jesus, thus destroying the notion that Jesus simply taught all love and no condemnation. One thing that might be helpful to discuss further is the issue of what exactly hell is a punishment for. Is hell a punishment for sin and lawlessness in general, the rejection of Jesus in particular, perhaps both, or even something else? Another pressing issue is how the topic of hell should be used in evangelism. Is hell a legitimate tool that we can use in persuading sinners to come to the Savior? If so, how can we best do this? If not, why not? Jeff,

This looks like it should be a very interesting and helpful series of posts! One of the things that I have always found interesting about the doctrine of hell is that Jesus is usually the one referring to it in the New Testament, while other New Testament authors seem to prefer concepts such as “destruction”, “punishment”, “wrath”, etc. In some sense they are definitely referring to the same thing, but the very notion of “hell” is something that we gain uniquely from Jesus, thus destroying the notion that Jesus simply taught all love and no condemnation.

One thing that might be helpful to discuss further is the issue of what exactly hell is a punishment for. Is hell a punishment for sin and lawlessness in general, the rejection of Jesus in particular, perhaps both, or even something else?

Another pressing issue is how the topic of hell should be used in evangelism. Is hell a legitimate tool that we can use in persuading sinners to come to the Savior? If so, how can we best do this? If not, why not?

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