- Oct 4, 2022
- 16
- 8
- 77
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Divorced
I have been an evangelical Christian most of my life (I'm 77). About 10 years ago I read an article about Annialationism (The belief that sinners are annialated rather than experiencing eternal torment. I have become a solid believer in this theory for two reasons:
#1 - I never could accept that sending people to eternal punishment fit God's nature. Like one man said in a video I watched, "that would make God worse than a trillion Hitlers". It just doesn't fit.
#2 - I believe the proof for Annialationism is so straight forward that I can't imagine how today's church missed it.
The answer lies in the history of the Catholic Church and specifically the history of Pope Gregory 1st. Here is what Catholic church says about its own history:
The Catholic Church recognizes Pope Gregory the Great's writings, specifically his "Dialogues," as influential in the development of understanding about the afterlife, including Hell. His writings contributed to the distinctions made between different realms of the afterlife, including an "upper hell" associated with the underworld and the Bosom of Abraham, and a "lower Hell" for eternal punishment. The Catholic Church generally defines Hell as a state of self-exclusion from God, a consequence of freely and definitively choosing not to repent and accept God's mercy.
He believed that Purgatory was a place where souls could be purified from their last sins before entering heaven. This doctrine has been a cornerstone of the Roman Catholic Church's beliefs on the afterlife. Gregory's influence extended beyond his papacy, as he was instrumental in shaping the Church's understanding of the Christian faith and its teachings on Hell and Purgatory.
Jesus DID NOT USE the word "Hell"! Hell was not in the original Bible manuscript. Jesus was probably using the word Gehenna, which is place outside of Jerusalem where dead bodies were burned up to prevent disease. The idea of "an eternal flame" is no more that the flames at Gehenna. Men stoked the fires there day and night for many years. Jesus was simply saying that sinners would be perish. John 3:16 backs that up: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not PERISH but have everlasting life" Jesus didn't say that sinners would suffer eternal torment! He said they would PERISH. And there are a number of other scriptures that talk about sinners perishing. The idea of ETERNAL TORMENT and the word HELL were not used in the Bible, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
Somehow the church of Jesus has been blinded. It's right in front of the leaders but they refuse to look at the proof. Just start by looking at Pope Gregory! The answer is there. He was considered by the church to be "great" but in fact, he was a demon in robes.
#1 - I never could accept that sending people to eternal punishment fit God's nature. Like one man said in a video I watched, "that would make God worse than a trillion Hitlers". It just doesn't fit.
#2 - I believe the proof for Annialationism is so straight forward that I can't imagine how today's church missed it.
The answer lies in the history of the Catholic Church and specifically the history of Pope Gregory 1st. Here is what Catholic church says about its own history:
The Catholic Church recognizes Pope Gregory the Great's writings, specifically his "Dialogues," as influential in the development of understanding about the afterlife, including Hell. His writings contributed to the distinctions made between different realms of the afterlife, including an "upper hell" associated with the underworld and the Bosom of Abraham, and a "lower Hell" for eternal punishment. The Catholic Church generally defines Hell as a state of self-exclusion from God, a consequence of freely and definitively choosing not to repent and accept God's mercy.
He believed that Purgatory was a place where souls could be purified from their last sins before entering heaven. This doctrine has been a cornerstone of the Roman Catholic Church's beliefs on the afterlife. Gregory's influence extended beyond his papacy, as he was instrumental in shaping the Church's understanding of the Christian faith and its teachings on Hell and Purgatory.
Jesus DID NOT USE the word "Hell"! Hell was not in the original Bible manuscript. Jesus was probably using the word Gehenna, which is place outside of Jerusalem where dead bodies were burned up to prevent disease. The idea of "an eternal flame" is no more that the flames at Gehenna. Men stoked the fires there day and night for many years. Jesus was simply saying that sinners would be perish. John 3:16 backs that up: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not PERISH but have everlasting life" Jesus didn't say that sinners would suffer eternal torment! He said they would PERISH. And there are a number of other scriptures that talk about sinners perishing. The idea of ETERNAL TORMENT and the word HELL were not used in the Bible, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament.
Somehow the church of Jesus has been blinded. It's right in front of the leaders but they refuse to look at the proof. Just start by looking at Pope Gregory! The answer is there. He was considered by the church to be "great" but in fact, he was a demon in robes.
