In the last post we looked at the first argument for the biblical
texts ‘supporting’ annihilationism. In this post we’ll look at the last three.
The second is that of the inconsistency that an eternal hell is to the
love of God. That for God to be truly loving then he would not damn any person
to an eternity in hell. However the same problem arises for the annihilationists.
In other words this is really a non-argument. It would be unloving for God to
damn anyone to hell forever, but it would be loving for God to damn anyone to
hell for a set time in such a way so as to annihilate them. Do you see? On one hand
it’s unloving to damn and on the other hand it’s loving to damn is essentially
the argument. (There is also another type of annihilationism, called
annihilationism proper or immediate annihilationism, that is that upon death
those unsaved completely cease to be and do not enter hell at all. But this
cannot properly be called punishment. Therefore it’s not right because there
would be no ultimate justice in the universe.)
Third is the inconsistency between the punishment and the grievance,
the sin committed. “The argument that eternal punishment is unfair wrongly
assumes that we know the extent of the evil done when sinners rebel against God.
(Grudem)”, “Sin against the Creator is heinous to a degree utterly beyond our
sin warped imaginations to conceive of….Who would have the temerity to suggest to
God what the punishment … should be. (Kingdon).”
Along this point it should be asked of the annihilationist if once a
person has entered hell and has served its ‘time’ is it then justified to be
annihilated? If the sin that was committed by this person is now dealt with in
their ‘time’ in hell, then why not let that person go to heaven? What is the
reason or point of annihilationism whatsoever if that person’s sins have been
dealt with fully in hell? (Grudem)
Fourth, that allowing evil to persist would be a corruption in God’s
perfect universe he creates after the Judgment Day. That hell exists in
eternity does not detract from the perfections of God’s universe, in fact it
enhances it. It forces us to realize that God has triumphed over sin perfectly
and, as Edwards said, to the uttermost revealing the glory of his justice and
the perfection of his wrath. That for all time his people will behold God’s
triumph over all evil.
On a side note before I end this particular post Grudem brought up an
interesting thing, one which I’ll post here as a warning – a shot across the
bow, if you will – of where, the dangers of fighting against the eternality of
hell could lead. “Because the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment is so
foreign to the thought patterns of our culture, and, on a deeper level, to our
instinctive and God-given sense of love and desire for redemption for ever
human being created in God’s image, this doctrine is emotionally one of the
most difficult doctrines for Christians to affirm today. It also tends to be
one of the first doctrines given up by those who are moving away from
commitment to the Bible as absolutely truthful in all that it affirms…”
We must believe that eternal punishment is true and just even though
it does hurt us to believe that there is a place that offers eternal
punishment. Even though the prospects of people going there is devastating.
This doctrine gives literal fire to our message of redemption.
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