- Aug 4, 2013
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This life is an illusion. It is not reality, but to those of us who have been born into it, it seems very real. Only Adam and Eve were capable of knowing what life was before the illusion set in, the illusion which came from sin.
Therefore, even the best of us labors under delusions and falsehoods regarding reality, especially that of life and God. Because we labor under these illusions, we cannot really be said to be able to me a "free-will" choice. If we cannot make a free-will choice, that is, a choice which is made without coercion of any kind, can it truly be said that we are culpable of willing to do evil? Some philosophers I have read (I think Aquinas may have said this) state that those who do evil see it as a good because of the deception they are under.
For instance, a tyrant may kill a whole group of people, but he thinks he is doing good because the good he sees is the "purity of the race" or the "unity of the nation." Banks charge interest (usury) because they see it as a good, i.e., making profits, despite the Bible prohibiting it.
So if we really cannot make a pure, uncoerced free-will decision, then is it just to send those of us who have been deceived into a state of eternal torment? Or is it more just to bring that soul to a place where it sees the reality as it really is - that is, the soul sees the reality of evil and the reality of Christ - and then say "Now, decide. Will you repent and submit to Christ's lordship, or do you wish evil forever?
That would be the only just manner in which souls could inherit eternal suffering, and I doubt that any soul, seeing clearly and without coercion the difference between evil (non-being) and Christ, would choose evil.
Therefore, even the best of us labors under delusions and falsehoods regarding reality, especially that of life and God. Because we labor under these illusions, we cannot really be said to be able to me a "free-will" choice. If we cannot make a free-will choice, that is, a choice which is made without coercion of any kind, can it truly be said that we are culpable of willing to do evil? Some philosophers I have read (I think Aquinas may have said this) state that those who do evil see it as a good because of the deception they are under.
For instance, a tyrant may kill a whole group of people, but he thinks he is doing good because the good he sees is the "purity of the race" or the "unity of the nation." Banks charge interest (usury) because they see it as a good, i.e., making profits, despite the Bible prohibiting it.
So if we really cannot make a pure, uncoerced free-will decision, then is it just to send those of us who have been deceived into a state of eternal torment? Or is it more just to bring that soul to a place where it sees the reality as it really is - that is, the soul sees the reality of evil and the reality of Christ - and then say "Now, decide. Will you repent and submit to Christ's lordship, or do you wish evil forever?
That would be the only just manner in which souls could inherit eternal suffering, and I doubt that any soul, seeing clearly and without coercion the difference between evil (non-being) and Christ, would choose evil.