Episode 63: Lake of Fire
October 21st, 2011 at 2:00 pm (Eschatology, Larry Dixon, Hell, Annihilationism, Eternal Torment)
Dr. Larry Dixon, author of The Other Side of the Good News, joins me to discuss why he believes the traditional view of hell, and not annihilationism, is the biblical teaching concerning the fate of the wicked. This episode is part 2 of the interview; for part 1, listen to episode 62, "The Other Side."
Music
- Nirvana, Lake of Fire from the album, MTV Unplugged in New York, 1994
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Jesse Toler said,
December 21, 2011 at 10:58 am
Chris;
You must list the Biblical references on the blog under the “Episode” heading, so that we can research both the Greek, Hebrew and Latin translations before listening to the podcast. I also like to have the references beforehand so that I can review the writings of Sts. Jerome and Augustine, Cyprian [et al].
Jesse Toler said,
December 21, 2011 at 2:03 pm
A good enough debate, though I think Chris may be ignoring the fact that Annihilationism is wonderfully attractive to the lifelong atheist and the maliciously wicked. It is in fact, heresy. Nazis are now happy to know that Adolph Hitler is not suffering torment, nor are pedophile priests. They are just dead and gone. What a lovely doctrine, this “Annihilationism”. No need to repent of anything. Death is the end. Every atheist I know could sign onto this “Annihilationism” with a happy heart!
theopologetics said,
December 21, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Hi, Jesse. I’m sorry, but I’m simply not interested in whether or not a doctrine is “attractive” to atheists. I want to believe what the Bible says, regardless of whether or not the wicked like it.
And no, my view said nothing about whether or not Hitler and pedophile preists are suffering torment; in fact, it explicitly allowed for their present suffering in Hades. And of course, the claim that my view results in “no need to repent of anything” is patently false, for failing to do so would result in a painful destructive process resulting in an everlasting death, and the wicked will never enjoy eternal life in the presence of God. To suggest that that is no motivation to “repent or anything” is absurd.
Ronnie said,
December 21, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Thankfully, we don’t determine the truth of a doctrine by speculating about its consequences. I, for one, could not possibly care less if the maliciously wicked find the truth attractive or not.
Why would an atheist “sign onto” a doctrine which states that God exists and will raise, judge, and punish sinners? That hardly makes sense Jesse.
Before you blithely call something “heresy” and sarcastically mock it, try to address the actual arguments. Until that happens, I think we can safely assume that you are either unwilling or unable to do so (most likely the latter). If I’m wrong, feel free to bring something of substance to the table.
And why do you keep putting annihilationism in quotes?
Joey said,
December 21, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Now Jesse, I have little doubt that you hold the word of God in the scriptures above human philosophy. We do the same.
In this case, we are firmly convinced that that the Bible teaches annihilationism (though not necessarily anihilationism as you represent it, since there is a resurrection of the lost, judgment, and some sort of conscious suffering, if nothing else than the terror of standing before God as a condemned sinner). Therefore, just as you would rightfully dismiss someone arguing that the traditional view cannot be true because they think it is so awful, so we are not convinced simply by the philosophical and emotional arguments against annihilationism. That makes sense, doesn’t it?