Yes, and it greatly influenced my understanding of hell for a long time. The other great influence was a scenario towards the end of The Last Battle from the Chronicles of Narnia. Emmet meets Aslan and is devastated because he had worshipped Tash his whole life. However, Aslan accepts Emmet as one of His own and declared that all Emmet did for Tash, he really did for Aslan.
I would like to apply a little Lewisian logic to the hell problem.
The Great Divorce posits that some people, through choices made in this lifetime, become more suited to be a denizen of hell than heaven and even though they can leave hell, most are unable if not downright unwilling to do so.
But if anyone chooses hell over heaven, she must be a) deceived, b) in bondage or c) insane. God is more than capable of healing all three conditions and He has all eternity to do so. Would anyone who know the truth, who is freed from bondage and in his right mind choose hell? The man freed from Legion wanted to follow Jesus.
Jesus Christ came to bring us truth and life. He came to give sight to the blind and to set the captives free. In the end, He will be all in all.
Eternal damnation is neither logical nor necessary.
I'm glad you introduced logic into this debate. The arguement that fell apart for me is that all lost persons are spiritually dead but when they die physically they live eternally in hell. I began to ask what it is that lives it eternally in hell and there was no answer. Yet, most still cling to the traditional view of eternal torture whether it or not it is scriptural or logical.
Pam
Posted by: pam | August 07, 2008 at 03:37 PM
silly.
Heaven is where God is. If His abode were hell then hell would be Heaven. People don't reject hell, they reject God. People in this life who are tortured in order to convert might make a nominal conversion but don't really love God. People in this life who are bribed or begged will make a false choice, not a real choice, to follow Jesus. That's when the man that wanted to bury his father first and then go follow Jesus was told, "nope, now or never." We can see that a person in this life who has rejected Jesus the longest, an old hardened person, is the further from accepting Him than he was as a child. A million years into eternity that person will be exponentially further from wanting to follow Jesus. You are silly! Follow Baxter and he will tell you all the people are in the boat, then sell you some lures and make you a fisher of fish. Stinky!
Posted by: tim | June 01, 2009 at 11:19 AM
The Psalmist said that God is everywhere including the grave and sheol. While some writers have posited that hell is God removing His presence from a space to graciously let His rebellious children live and let live, other writers (and I agree with this group) believe hell is hell BECAUSE God is there. God's presence is experienced as holylovingkindness by some and as wrath by others.
Posted by: Caroline | June 01, 2009 at 12:32 PM
The call to convert is always in the "here and now". If a person refuses, that does not mean, he has lost his chance. The call still comes to him daily or even every moment and it is the call to convert "here and now".
People who convert later in life usually regret not converting sooner. They often wished they had known sooner. It's all about escaping the kingdom of darkness and entering God's kingdom.
It is NEVER "nope, now or never" with Jesus. In fact, His call for repentance comes to the saved with equal frequency and fervor.
Posted by: Caroline | June 01, 2009 at 12:37 PM