Reason 5: 'am I more merciful than Jesus?' - wrapping the hell debate
The final reason claims the author's mercy instinct proves eternal torment can't be true; the hosts reject the argument as man remaking God in his own image, noting our popular picture of hell owes more to Dante's Inferno than to scripture. They land on trust: scripture is sparse on hell's specifics, but whatever Jesus does will be just, good, and merciful - and downplaying hell diminishes what the cross (propitiation, 1 John 2:2) actually rescued us from.
More on Hell
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How much damage can misreading Revelation do?
- How much damage can a strong misinterpretation of the book of Revelation do?
A host poses the episode's hard question: how much damage a strong misinterpretation of Revelation can do.
From No. 409 · Super Sign of the End Times
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Did Jesus spend three days in hell?
- Did Jesus spend three days in hell after his death?
A host raises a theological question after reciting the Apostles' Creed at a visiting church and wondering whether he believes the 'descended into hell' line.
From No. 367 · Sir Billy McAllistair
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Time article reason 1: torture is morally wrong
- Why are so many Christians rejecting the traditional view of hell as eternal conscious torment?
Ben reads the first of five reasons from a Time Magazine article arguing Christians are rejecting eternal conscious torment: something in our spirit says torturing people is wrong, so a God who tortures with pleasure would be morally offensive.
From No. 263 · Hell, Closed Hands, and Prophecy
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Reason 2: the Bible supposedly teaches annihilation, not torment
- Does the Bible teach annihilationism - that the unsaved cease to exist - rather than eternal torment?
The article claims scripture's 'entire testimony' points to the second death - the unsaved simply cease to exist - rather than eternal conscious torment.
From No. 263 · Hell, Closed Hands, and Prophecy