The exegesis of 'hell'....and the wilting of TULIP......
The exegesis of 'hell'....and the wilting of TULIP......
Hell? Hell is in the Bible... right? Perhaps there is a Jewish word for Hell? [MENTION=10685]Brother Ducky[/MENTION], was the word "Hell" used in scripture, or is it actually another word?
If I might chime in,...as you may already know there are various words in the Bible translated into the English word 'hell', with different meanings, but a lot gets lumped up into a traditional concept of 'hell-fire' and 'torments', which complicates the whole 'hell' issue, unless a history of its nomenclature and use is understood. 'Sheol' and 'Hades' refer to the underworld, grave or realm of the dead,...'Gehenna' as you note is but the trash dump or old sacrificial burning grounds in the the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, where refuse and dead bodies were incinerated. Then 'tartaroo' is a prison of sorts for fallen angels awaiting judgment,...these words have been translated under an English umbrella term 'hell', ...then further compounded with the 'lake of fire' imagery in Revelation, with other layers of pagan mythology and metaphors woven thru-out.
The state of eternal punishment is a more divisive topic than the name of this OP. But, correct me if I'm wrong... you are now arguing that God is going to eternally torture humanity, that He made and predestined for an eternity of punishment for a max of 120 years of sin... while alive in the flesh. Do you, [MENTION=10685]Brother Ducky[/MENTION], believe in eternal, conscious torture?
ECT (eternal conscious torment) is a hot subject
- I share my own commentary in dialogue on this subject in at least 2 older threads
HERE (this is a blog-portal archive page, with links to some of my posts, other threads and pertinent resource links related to the subject) - as 'wordy' as I AM - there is plenty there for those interested in my expounding. I reject the traditional concept of ECT in hellfire, on moral, philosophical and ethical grounds, to say nothing of logic and upholding the essential integrity of God's character, which could not allow or enforce such a fate, unless he has granted souls individual sovereignty to determine their own destiny, but in such a case, the ultimates of 'life' and 'death' would be much more logical (as within annihilationism where souls who choose life, attain immortality, while those who utterly and wholly reject life, actually DIE, they are disintegrated, expunged from existence, terminated) than with an endless trial of ECT which brings no good effect, resolve or logical consequence, since one is wholly abandoned to eternal SUFFERING (conscious deprival of all life, goodness, love, blessing, joy, peace, etc.). In my ECT blog portal page, I also correlate views on the law of retribution (the karmic compensation of all actions) with the school of Spiritism (notably the Allan Kardec kind), which adds further depth and nuance. My studies also include Theosophy, but I'm still researching aspects of that school,...but I'm sure Madame Blavatsky could give some fundies a run for their money,- her views on traditional Christianity and the modern priescraft within Catholicism are well noted, but much of her moral grounds and criticisms are spot on.
I hold no final dogmatic assumption on 'eschatology', but espouse a more universal spiritualist concept of the law of karma, justice and mercy working in the case of sentient beings along the path of eternal progress, soul development and spiritual evolution, so ECT is
totally rejected, while within the traditionalist views, the other two views of 'soul death' (annihilationism) and 'universal reconciliation'(Univeraslism) remain as much more tenable, rational views of individual and collective destiny (things could certainly cross-weave or inter-sect, dimensionally speaking here, since we're dealing with aspects of man that are mortal, and some that are 'immortal' or at least have immortality-potential). The traditional orthodox concept of souls being tortured forever in flames or in some inconceivable state of suffering
TO NO END...is pure insanity. Any philosopher, spiritualist or theosophist would let the light of their own conscience attest to the barbarity and cruelty of such a doctrine, and the 'god' who enables such.
If we correlate this back to the OP point #1 and TULIP,....the very belief in
'total depravity' is all the more more heinous for hyper-Calvinists, since by
Preterition, souls by some mysterious or perhaps random process are
totally abandoned, having grace (love) withdrawn from them FOREVER, so they are left in their 'depraved state' and reap the fruit of such a state, to whatever end that is,....eternal doom/suffering/torment/insanity,....forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.
'God' in this scenario is the Ordainer and Enforcer then of keeping alive 'total depravity' in an eternal loop-cycle, offering it no remedy, release or salvation,....maintaining insanity for souls TO NO END. This is the clearest definition and example of insanity. Since the traditional view is assumed that all spirit-souls are eternal by nature,...these are stuck in a state of 'ECT' with no hope of rescue or relief. The mirror-psychology effect of this caricature of 'God' is one of a personification of 'God' that is 'totally depraved'. And there you have it,....TULIP begins with 'total depravity' and still, ends up with its perpetuity.
