Read in Christianity today. What do you all think?

quote:

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7. 1f we have emotions in Heaven, why won't we be sad about those we loved who are in hell?

We know there is no sadness in Heaven: God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17). I think we will not be sad about the damned for the same reason God is not. According to the Sermon on the Mount, he will say to them, "I never knew you" (Matt. 7:23). God will wipe our memories clean. This is not falsehood or ignorance, but truth, for in a sense, the damned no longer are—that is, they no longer are in the most real place of all, Heaven. They no longer count. They are like ashes, not like wood. They once were fully human, fully alive, real men and women. But hell is a place not of eternal life but of eternal death. We do not love or weep over ashes; we only love or weep over the thing that existed before it was burnt. In Heaven, however, we will not live in the past—we will have no regrets; nor will we live in the future—we will have no fears; but like God, we will live in the eternal present. Our heavenly emotions will be appropriate to present reality, not past reality.

8. Does this mean hell is unreal?

Certainly not. Jesus is very clear about the reality of hell. But he is also clear that it is death, not life, for the soul. In Greek philosophy, souls cannot die. In Christianity, they can—in hell. Is this annihilation? No, it is death. Annihilation is the opposite of creation; death is the opposite of life.

9. What happens in hell?

Nothing.

10. What happens in Heaven?

Everything.

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For reference here is the article

An interesting way of stating things, but the article still demonstrates belief in an old error: the natural immortality of the soul. According to the author, hellfire doesn't mean annihilation, and the dead in Christ are in heaven looking upon us as we speak.

I'm not sure either about the idea that God will "wipe our memories clean." That idea just doesn't seem like something God would do.

If He would wipe our memories clean, then why didn't he just destroy Adam and Eve and create someone else in their place so all down through these 6000 years we could live in peace and happiness? Afterall we wouldn't have known about it. We are told that God is a fair God and He doesn't want us to love and serve Him out of fear. If he destroyed Adam and Eve (and satan) then we would serve Him because we would be afraid He might destroy us too.

Tears are the result of suffering/sin/death and in Heaven there will be none of that. I think we will have memories and with the passing of time (1000 years in Heaven) before the new earth is created, those memories will have dimmed in the lovliness of Heaven.

We also will judge those who are not there and we will see how fair and just God is. I don't have the answers, I'm just expressing what I think. If anyone has a Bible or SOP quote that proves me wrong, I'm most willing to accept it.

What I mostly reacted to here was that the author did away with the error of eternal torment in hell. I also found the difference between annihilation (=unmade) and dead (=no longer alive) interesting. This secould part could well stand a discussion I think. And no, I wouldnt go to the rest of the article to learn bible truth, though possibly for a view of what the genearl american christian may be believing...

/Thomas

Thomas, this was very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

Another interesting thing about this is that the author is a professor of philosophy at Boston College, a Catholic Jesuit university. Though his wording comes only close to our understanding on some points, and he expresses believe in detachable souls, he certainly diverts in places from standard Catholic teaching on hell and the damned.

I also found the annihilation vs. dead interesting. Words he used in referring to the damned—eternal death, nothing, ashes, existed before it was burnt, past reality, etc—all sum together to illustrate what annihilation is. He is very subtle, toying with the idea of annihilation, yet falling short of saying it. Catholic theology on death is very compatible with Greek philosophy on immortal souls, yet the author distances his view from that explicitly.

I’ve come across a few Christians from various denominations who don’t believe in eternal torment, but they still can’t dislodge themselves from belief in detachable souls.

Jeff