Replies

When someone offers new teaching on old dogmas, searching the scripture is the high ground. This is why the Bereans were commended.

Paul wasn't preaching 'against old dogmas' he was showing Jesus Christ in the OT to the Jews. The source of 'dogmas' if you aren't Catholic is the Bible. So biblical dogmatism is the highest praise. God's Word has been searched. As for this issue, the destinations of believers and non-believers has been addressed by none other than the Judge Jesus Christ in Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus is Abraham's bosom, the rich man apart in torment.

Dogmatism is the refusal to even look at evidence contrary to your own viewpoint

Definition: dog·ma·tism ˈdôɡməˌtizəm/ noun the tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others.

In this case, the Bible is the source of the Savior's view of hell, Jesus should know as He will be executing the judgement. The Bible has to be the source of the things of God, His is the only opinion that matters. It isn't my opinion, it is what God records in His Word. Apparently you would not agree that the destination of man righteous or not is in the purview of God. Post resurrection, in Revelations 14:9-12 hell is described. No service is done to the unchurched or weak brethren when the scriptural consequences of unbelief are artificially softened. Doing so is also an offense to the Gospel.

Paul wasn’t preaching ‘against old dogmas’ he was showing Jesus Christ in the OT to the Jews

That IS preaching against old dogmas. They had an incorrect interpretation of their own OT and he was showing them the correct interpretation.

The source of ‘dogmas’ if you aren’t Catholic is the Bible.

The “dogma” is a belief in a particular interpretation of what the bible is actually saying and refusing to consider other interpretations, even when a reasonable argument is put forth. e.g. Does “death” really means eternal life apart from God (which is a bit interesting since God is omnipresent, but I digress) and not “death” as reasonable people would interpret the word?

the destinations of believers and non-believers has been addressed by none other than the Judge Jesus Christ in Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus is Abraham’s bosom, the rich man apart in torment.

That is not about the fate of the lost after the GWTJ. It is a parable. It is about Judah refusing to believe even when Jesus is raised from the dead. (the five brothers are Judah’s five brothers from the same mother).

http://www.jeremyandchristine.com/articles/lazarus.html

Dogmatism is the refusal to even look at evidence contrary to your own viewpoint Definition: dog·ma·tism ˈdôɡməˌtizəm/ noun the tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others. In this case, the Bible is the source of the Savior's view of hell, Jesus should know as He will be executing the judgement. The Bible has to be the source of the things of God, His is the only opinion that matters. It isn't my opinion, it is what God records in His Word. --------------------------------------- I strongly agree that the Bible is the source of the Savior's view of the fate of the lost. However, Jesus doesn't speak of Hell. He speaks of Gehenna, which was a valley south and west of Jerusalem and a garbage dump. He is speaking allegorically. That's the thing. We agree that the bible is the source. What we disagree on in the interpretation of its content. The dogmatism is not adherence to the bible. The dogmatism is the adherence to a particular interpretation. This is also what the Jews were guilty of regarding the scriptures.But the Bereans abandoned dogma and actually tested Paul's words against scripture, and many were saved due to their acceptance of a new interpretation of what had been in front of them all along.

Post resurrection, in Revelations 14:9-12 hell is described. No service is done to the unchurched or weak brethren when the scriptural consequences of unbelief are artificially softened. Doing so is also an offense to the Gospel.

You say artificially softened. I say artificially hardened. You say potato, I say potahto. ;-)

I think a great service is done when the lost are offered this choice: Choose God because you DESIRE to enjoy eternal life in the presence of your Creator who gave His very life for the remission of your sins, or choose to be the god of your life and enjoy the life God gave you as outlined in Ecclesiastes.

I call it very good news and an excellent example of allowing man to, of his own free will, choose Christ.

I think a very bad service is done when the lost are offered this choice: Choose God because you FEAR a terrible and unimaginable future where he will torture you in ways unimaginable for eon upon countless eons because of the crime of not really paying attention enough to believe he can and will do it. He will make Pol Pot and Stalin look like pikers.

I would not call that “good news”. I would call it coersion. That is not the message I see in the bible. Anywhere.

Apparently you would not agree that the destination of man righteous or not is in the purview of God. Post resurrection, in Revelations 14:9-12 hell is described.

Revelation is rife with symbolism. The churches are seven lamp stands, except they are not really lamp stands. And the second death is the lake of fire, except it is not really a lake of fire.

However, both have significant meaning. So, how would a reasonable person interpret people being thrown into a lake of fire? I would interpret it as them being utterly burned up. It IS what makes sense at a human level. And the whole point of this sort of thing is to explain the spiritual at a level we humans can grasp. So he uses the example of a lake of fire and lamp stands.