Most But more importantly, the Bible teaches otherwise. Nevertheless, the opposite of Life is Death, not eternal torment. You would have me believe someone kept alive for eternal torment with an imperishable, ever renewing immortal body does not possess life. You have to develop and accept an odd interpretation of the word "Life", not me.
"QUOTE: [Btw, ‘annihilation’ didn’t arise as a doctrine/belief until around the same time as Calvin. It has not always been even a minority view.]
Perhaps you should read Ignatius of Antioch's Epistle to the Magnesians, Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho (chapter 5) and Irenaeus: Against Heresies: Book II, Chapter 34. Or especially Arnobius, Against the Heathen (Book II, paragraph 61). They all predated the reformation, if I'm not mistaken.
‘QUOTE: If you believe the righteous will enjoy eternal heaven, how can you not believe the damned will similarly be in eternal torment?’
“Most But more importantly, the Bible teaches otherwise. Nevertheless, the opposite of Life is Death, not eternal torment. You would have me believe someone kept alive for eternal torment with an imperishable, ever renewing immortal body does not possess life. You have to develop and accept an odd interpretation of the word “Life”, not me.”
So you’re saying an eternal reward/life lasts forever, but an “eternal punishment” lasts how long? A couple of seconds? A minute? I.e.: you can’t punish a corpse. You can’t punish something that’s no longer there. So according to you, ‘eternal’ in the first usage means ‘forever’ & in the second means, ‘however long it takes for a soul to die in the lake of fire’. Correct?
If you have any quotes re: annihilation you’d like to share, I will read each & every one. I do not, as a simple practicality, have time to ferret out whatever references you have in mind. [I barely have time for the present exchange, but I will reply as time permits. There may be gaps in my response times here & there. But I will gladly stick with the discussion as long as it can be conducted in a polite & responsive manner.]
I need to modify my suggestions as to how long ‘eternal punishment’ can last for annihilationists. I just remembered the ‘weeping & gnashing of teeth’. There are numerous, numerous references to both, but I will quote one only:
“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25:30
So under the annihilation theory, when does the weeping & gnashing of teeth occur? I’ll have to check the Greek as time permits, but depending on the form of verb, it may well indicate an ongoing phenomenon. If so, it would indicate an indefinite period of weeping & teeth gnashing. I’ll plan to check as soon as I can find sufficient time.