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Post by rizdek on May 1, 2019 8:35:40 GMT
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Post by Zos on May 1, 2019 8:59:29 GMT
Colin.
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The Lost One
Junior Member
@lostkiera
Posts: 2,676
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Post by The Lost One on May 1, 2019 10:01:57 GMT
From the Calvinist perspective, no one sends herself or himself to Hell. They were already destined to Hell before they were born. Their time on Earth is just a temporary respite before their eternal damnation. Regardless of when they were committed to hell ... Who made the decision to send them to Hell and also had the power to enforce that decision? Is it the kind a benevolent Yahweh to whom you pray? And since Jehovah is omnipotent, why would she create someone that she has predestined to burn for all eternity? This is logical gobbledygook. The Calvinist idea is that due to the inherent sinfulness of mankind, no-one deserves salvation. God in his grace handpicks a select few to be saved. Those who are not chosen are therefore unlucky perhaps, but not unfairly treated since they deserved nothing more. Those who are saved are given more than they deserve however so even if God saves hardly any, he is still giving some more than they deserve whilst not giving anyone worse than they deserve therefore God is still good. Like much of Calvinist thought, it's got a cold and harsh logic to it. One of the major problems of Hell is how ill-defined it is. There are a number of theories within Christianity: 1. Hell is eternal torment 2. Hell is annihilation 3. Hell is temporary torment followed by annihilation 4. Hell is temporary torment followed by salvation 5. Hell is simply being without God (which to the religious person would feel like eternal torment if it were to happen to them) 6. Hell is living your life in a sinful manner rather than an afterlife per se The unfairness of Hell obviously varies a lot depending on which option you pick. Annihilation for instance is no different from what would be the case if no afterlife existed. Being without God could be argued not to be a punishment if it's what the person wants anyway and seeing it as punishment would only be true for those who don't experience it. The same could be said of the view of Hell as a sinful life. While I wouldn't say options 2, 5 and 6 completely solve the Problem of Hell they are definitely better answers. Options 3 and 4 are harder to reconcile with a Good God and Option 1 is very difficult indeed. It's crazy to think Calvin thought the inherent sinfulness of mankind doomed people to eternal suffering with no ability to change that, relying completely on God choosing them at random.
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