14
votes
Looking for an apologetic to the "Cosmic Child Abuse" objection
According to the doctrine of the Trinity, Jesus being the Son of God means that He is fully God made manifest in human form (John 1:14). Jesus is simultaneously both fully God and fully man. As such, ...
13
votes
Accepted
How do non-universalists account for these passages talking about the salvation of all?
Once one logically considers the relevant extant documents (by the genuine methodology of truly scientific textual criticism) ; once one has accurately translated these same documents ; once one has ...
- 22.8k
11
votes
Accepted
How do proponents of Apokatastasis deal with the "Everlasting punishment" texts in scripture?
Those who believe in Apokatastasis believe Revelation 20:10 is grossly misunderstood. The Greek says:
καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ...
- 2,482
10
votes
Accepted
What is the biblical basis for the belief that people do not go to heaven or hell immediately when they die?
Introduction
I intend to show that the concept of a universal realm for all, outside Heaven, where all await the resurrection (Waiting in the Grave, WitG hereafter) is united against other beliefs ...
- 2,104
10
votes
Accepted
How sound is the doctrine in Dante's Inferno?
How sound is the doctrine in Dante's Inferno?
Dante’s Inferno is basically just one part of the now famous work known as The Divine Comedy. Dante Alighieri’s epic poem was written in 1321 and was ...
- 65.7k
10
votes
Accepted
According to believers in the inexorable damnation of the unreached, how is God not unfair for letting someone be born in unreachable conditions?
There are three common landing points that most believers fall into: (personally I progressed in my own thoughts along all three and don’t think its of absolute importance as to which place a person ...
- 31.6k
10
votes
How do non-universalists account for these passages talking about the salvation of all?
I read through a Universalist's web-page and I think you meant to refer to Colossians 1:19-20 (and not 3. Corinthians 1:19-20). Assuming that to be the case, I will just deal with that one proof-text ...
- 25.9k
9
votes
Accepted
When did "he descended into hell" become part of the Apostles' Creed?
For the larger context of the authorship and development of the creed, please see my answer to this question: Did the Apostles' Creed originate with the Apostles?
Church historian Philip Schaff ...
- 42.3k
9
votes
Without Hell, from what does Jesus save?
"Liberal Christianity" is a loosely defined and wide-ranging group, and there can be many approaches to salvation, but let me describe a commonly believed approach.
While we often use the word '...
- 31.2k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of the belief that Satan tortures the unsaved in Hell?
There is no biblical support for Satan or any of his demons torturing people in Hell. Rather, the adversary, Satan is said to travel around the world (Job 1:7) and even to have access to God's ...
- 7,540
9
votes
Accepted
Where did Augustine say that the same fire that tortures the damned purifies the elect?
This quote does come from Augustine, but its application to the doctrine of purgatory seems to be the work of Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas (who mistakenly attributes it to Gregory the Great) quotes ...
- 42.3k
8
votes
Do saints and church fathers generally make the claim that most people go to a hell of everlasting torment?
1) the large majority of people go to hell
See ch. 32 § "The Mystery of This Number" of Life Everlasting: A Theological Treatise on the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell by Fr. Réginald ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Who said that the mere sight of devils was one of the greatest torments of hell?
The most obvious reference I see comes from St. Catherine of Siena, one of the Doctors of the Catholic Church.
St. Catherine wrote a work known as the Dialogue, representing a discussion between a ...
- 18.4k
7
votes
Accepted
According to the Catholicism, is a conscious denial of the gospel of Christ a mortal sin?
The short answer is “not necessarily”.
“Conscious” denial of the Gospel is not the same thing as denial “with full knowledge.”
“Grave matter” vs. “mortal sin”
In Catholic moral theology, a distinction ...
- 13.2k
7
votes
Accepted
What is an overview of Reformed beliefs about hell?
Like most labels, Reformed theology defies clean boundaries, especially on a divisive topic like this one. But if we consider the term broadly, we will notice that the positions tend to follow those ...
- 42.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How many hells did Swedenborg say there were?
G.K. Chesterton is here referring to Swedenborg's common (for him) and somewhat unusual (in general religious writing) expression "the hells."
In his voluminous theological writings, Emanuel ...
- 8,506
7
votes
Accepted
Was there a non-Augustinian response to universalism in the early Church?
Two church fathers who (a) reject Origen's universal salvation and (b) are not influenced by Augustine are Basil (d. 379) and Chrysostom (d. 407). Their theological systems, however, are not nearly ...
- 42.3k
7
votes
Isn't it illogical for an atheist to go to hell?
It is illogical for an atheist to think they would go to hell.
Given they have arrived at the conclusion God does not exist, then they must also disbelieve in any place of eternal torment after death.
...
- 28.7k
7
votes
Isn't it illogical for an atheist to go to hell?
The illogic is in the question itself.
You say: “God gives me reason. … God doesn't exist”.
Asking a question based on two mutually exclusive facts doesn't make logical sense.
One can't believe both ...
- 8,156
6
votes
What is the origin of the belief that Satan tortures the unsaved in Hell?
There are two pieces of the puzzle here: First Hell, and Second, Satan. The question is when were these two pieces first merged together. Technically speaking, the Bible never explicitly links these ...
- 2,616
6
votes
According to Reformed Theology do non-trinitarians go to hell?
Reformed theology has indeed, generally speaking, affirmed that those who reject the doctrine of the Trinity are not saved and therefore go to hell.1 Birdie's answer to this question mentions the ...
- 42.3k
6
votes
According to Catholicism, how should Christians react when an unbeliever dies?
According the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one
and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy
Spirit ...
6
votes
Accepted
Concept and permanence of hell and the "outer darkness" according to LDS beliefs
Is the hell that is a spirit prison in the lds.org answer, or the place were people learn the truth about God, the same as the hell that is a permanent place for Satan and the sons of perdition?
No, ...
- 11.7k
6
votes
What is the Anglican teaching on Hell?
Here is a list of all the official Anglican statements of belief that talk about hell:
The 39 Articles of Religion
Contrary to what you say, the 39 Articles do mention hell, in Article 3:
As Christ ...
- 3,813
6
votes
Do Seventh Day Adventists believe people who attend church on Sunday will go to hell?
Do Seventh Day adventists believe that people who go to church on Sunday will go to hell?
No we do not, we believe only those who are unfaithful to God will be not be in heaven.
The Bible is clear ...
- 3,260
6
votes
Is it morally commendable to volunteer your own life to go to Hell in place of someone else?
It is pride for any human to think that they can redeem another fellow human being.
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; [whether material wealth or ...
- 22.8k
6
votes
What is the biblical basis for the idea that "hell is locked from the inside"?
The quote is from C.S. Lewis's book The Problem of Pain chapter VIII (Hell) which shows that although God gives every opportunity for a human being to repent and choose God, a person can be so blinded ...
- 21.8k
6
votes
Accepted
According to mainstream Christian groups, is it the soul or the body that goes to heaven?
The confusion here lies in an equivocation on the terms "heaven" and "hell." That is, the term heaven is used at different times to signify different states of affairs.
In ...
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