The Biblical Basis For No Hell by David Sanderson

When Larry asked me to write this article, I turned a little whiter.  How do I write an article fit for a blog trying to explain “Why I don't believe in Hell”?  The 'reasons' I don't believe any such thing (or any version of it, no matter how delicate) extend throughout Scripture itself and it simply isn't possible to quote the entire bible in a blog post.

About six and a half years ago, after 30+ years of sincere christianity followed by 20+ years of rank worldliness and sin, desiring mostly that whatever was left of the God of my youth just leave me the hell alone, I suddenly and unexpectedly came to believe in just a few minutes the Scriptural 'basics' which I will attempt to share here.

Just as it is impossible to quote the entire Bible in a blog post, it is impossible to relate a “testimony” or life story that prepared me to make such a leap.  I simply didn't go from sincere eight-year-old wanting to be like Jesus, to cynical 50-year-old wanting to be an atheist “overnight”.  I did, however, come to believe in the Salvation of all—quite literally--“overnight”, though it took (for me) every minute of what preceded that night to make that night possible.

In considering how to answer Larry's invitation, I've forced myself to narrow it down to three major Scriptural reasons or headings.  These are insufficient both in number and in content to answer such a question, but perhaps will pry open a little thought.  I first 'believed' with less information than this, but I know of others who needed more.  The “more” I needed came after I believed.

Let me begin with this.  I am probably not a theological "liberal".  I say "probably" not, because I don't really know what that means.  I believe the Scripture and that the words of Scripture are inspired of God.  I have no such 'faith' in biblical translations, however.
I also believe the words of Scripture that explain what Scripture is, and how it must be read and understood, and consequently, taught.  Here are a few:

1. God cannot lie.  (Titus 1:2)
2. His words are Spirit and they are life, and they must be spiritually discerned.
3. It cannot be 'broken' (that is, contradict or be contradicted).
I absolutely do NOT ascribe the same characteristics to the words of men—not even to myself.
One more, related to Jesus' words recorded in the Gospels:

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mar 4:33, 34  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

It's also clear that He spoke to his disciples often with parables.
If I were a "theological liberal", I may could give you dozens of reasons from that perspective why I believe the christian hell does not exist.  Perhaps that is even what Larry expected when he asked me to contribute to his blog.  I've probably read most of them in the years since coming to believe in the ultimate salvation of all.  Some are based on human reasoning, and have a ring of truth about them, often supported by Scripture. They are enough to make a thinking (and feeling) man or woman 'think' (and 'feel'), but not enough to undo centuries of dogma based--let's face it--on the teaching of the bible.

Understandably, people steeped in those teachings, tend to 'think' in a different way―a Scripturally  unreasonable, and irrational way.
So...on with it.  Why don't you believe in Hell, Dave?
Firstly,  the Doctrine of Eternal Concious Punishment (embodied in the notion of a hell for those allegedly deserving of it) is unscriptural.
In other words, the common christian notion of “hell” is not in the Scripture.
There are 12 references translated hell in many bible translations (though not in all) from the Greek word "gehenna".  Gehenna was an actual place...a trash heap outside of Jerusalem where refuse was burned.  The 'place' is still there, of course, but the fires have gone out.  I'm not aware of any other biblical place-name being TRANSLATED into a word that does not even relate to the meaning of the name of the place!  Every other place-name is transliterated.

Here are a few such 'places' in the New Testament in Standard translations.

Mat 5:29 ...And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Gehenna).
Mat 10:28  ...And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).
Jesus is speaking above to the multitudes.  This is from the famous Sermon on the Mount.  Never without a parable did He speak to them.
Jas 3:4-6  Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (Gehenna).
James is teaching what Jesus taught, with a parable, and with the same word.

Maybe the most telling 'translation' of a Greek word into 'hell' is from the word 'hades'.  Hades is the 'realm of the dead', or more properly, the state of being dead.  Ten times the translators rendered 'hades' to 'hell' and once to 'grave'.

“O death!  Where is thy victory.  O grave, where is thy sting?”
Paul is referencing the Old Testament here.
Hos 13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave (hebrew:sheol); I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
“Hades”, then, is associated with the Hebrew word “Sheol” and has the same meaning.  Did the Old Testament preach the vernacular christian hell?  No, it didn't.  
Would christians still believe in their many versions of hell if the translators had been 'consistent', instead of rendering the perfectly sound word “hades” two different ways  Probably, if it were preached that way.

Was the bible written in English?  Do "bible-words" not have meanings?  Paul instructs
us to use 'sound words'.
2Ti 1:13  Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
(I believe that believing and using the 'sound words' leads to faith and love...that's my testimony).
Did the Inspired writers not use 'sound words'?
Must they be "theologically discerned"?  Paul again reminds us what Jesus said...they must be spiritually discerned. Why, then, do the translators fail to use sound language in translating?  And why do 'believers' fail to understand the Spirit of the words?  I believe I know why, but that is for another topic.

To be fair, at the time that the Scriptures were first being translated into European languages (including English) at least one dictionary definition of “hell” was a hole dug in order to store or preserve produce.  With THAT meaning, it is not quite such a terribly un-sound translation from 'hades' and “sheol” (though not for the other Greek words).  In the centuries since, however, the meaning of that word has been affected by the 'preaching' of men, by fiction, and by perverse imaginations.  Believe me, I know 'perverse imaginations'.
So then...if no hell, then surely eternal punishment of some kind, or eternal seperation?  No.
Even the word which is translated 'eternal' or 'eternity' in Greek is 'aionos' and it's derivitives, and means 'an age, eon'.  Its synonym is Hebrew is “Olam” and its derivitives.  It defies the logic of Inspired words to force a meaning of 'eternity' (meaning endless time) on a word which cannot mean endless time in all places it is used.  Indeed, it is rarely used in a sentence where it CAN possibly mean 'endless time'.

“Eternity” and “eternal” in scripture always refer to a period of time if the words from which they are translated (both the Hebrew and the Greek) do.  There are other terms and phrases in Scripture which denote that certain things do not end--here's one example:
Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end...
The sound words Inspired of God do not refer to endless time.  Every 'age' or 'eon', 'aionos' or 'olam' has both beginning and end.

Other more scholarly works on this subject are available.  This is a blog post.
There was no word in ANY language which meant 'endless time' until the 3rd Century.  Makes you wonder how that got into the dictionaries.  Remember, dictionaries do not CREATE definitions...they compile them.  Words are defined by their usage.  It was christian theologians who 'invented' the definition of “endless time”.
The majority of christians did NOT believe in “eternal punishment” before the Third Century.
Other 'places' where sound words are translated 'hell' speak of victory OVER it (the grave), and judgement THROUGH it (Gehenna).  The closest Paul came was his admonition to 'deliver such a one (a BROTHER) to satan for the destruction of his flesh, to the end that His soul be saved.

The destruction of one's flesh is a GOOD thing, in the overall plan of God.  Jesus 'recommended' the destruction of our flesh.
Mat 5:29  `But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
Mat 5:30  `And, if thy right hand doth cause thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to Gehenna.

Christians understand THIS spiritual principle when it relates to THEM—that's why you don't see too many one-handed, one-eyed christians--but not when it relates to others.  No, others must be completely destroyed in Judgment.
Secondly, the Doctrine of Hell negates the purpose of Death and Judgment.
So then, if no such thing as hell, and no such thing as a period of endless time, then perhaps everybody ends just as we are?
Death and Judgment...two more words that most Christians do not understand, though the simplest child can―assuming he or she has not been exposed to theologians and their dictionaries.

Christians typically believe and teach that there are two distinct 'destinations' for mankind―heaven or hell.  Scripture consistently and repeatedly teaches there is ONE destination for all mankind―death.  The good news is that the dead will live again AND that there will be judgment.

In Job 14:14, the question is asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?”  Jesus demonstrated the answer and the Apostles promised it to everybody.
Act 24:15-16  And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

Christians typically, however, believe this question (as well as its answer) is inconsequential.  And they typically turn this 'good news' into BAD NEWS for anybody daring to (or unable to) believe.  Faith is a GIFT, after all, and not of ourselves.  Why do christians blame someone for not having been given a gift that they cannot give themselves?  Well, some do and others dither and dicker.
Christians typically believe 'death' is not death at all, but being 'alive' in a different state or location.  Scripture teaches that death is the 'undoing' of life (Ecc. 12:7) and a state without knowledge .  (Ecc. 9:5)   Even DEATH is good news to believers of the New Covenant, and FOR all mankind whether they believe or not--because, though dying may be hard and experiencing the dying and death of another may be hard, death itself is a cakewalk.  We know nothing of it, and will know nothing IN it.  We go from a knowledge of THIS life directly into a knowledge of life in resurrection.  I don't fear being dead, and I have no fear of 'death' for anybody else.

Dying?  That's another matter.  But a fear of being dead?  No.  Even if I am dead for 6 billion years, from MY perspective, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye I shall be changed.
1Co 15:51-52  Behold, I speak a mystery to you: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed.  In a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet; for a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. (YLT)
So then, christians are raised, and the “unjust” just stay dead?  No.
Act 24:15-16  ...there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust....
Setting aside the foolish notion that all christians are JUST, all those not chosen in Him are raised to Judgment.  To most christians, this means “hell”.  
Christians typically believe that judgment is either the 'sentence' or the 'punishment' for unbelievers and/or the wicked.  Scripture teaches that judgment is the means by which God makes all things right.  (Isaiah 26:9)  Judgment is on both GOOD and BAD (II Cor. 5:10) , and upon all men.

Judgment, according to Scripture, is the means by which God 'teaches righteousness', for when His judgments are on the earth, the whole world will learn righteousness.  He teaches—we learn. Judgment is corrective, and for a purpose.  Of what purpose is it to burn in hell or eternally destroy the very ones being judged?!
Even GRACE ITSELF 'teaches'.

Christians typically believe that Jesus' primary mission was to save us from hell.  Scripture says no such thing.  Theological assumptions do.  He came to save us from many things―sin and death being at the top of the list―and scripture tells me so.
Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Rom 4:8  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

So thoroughly infested it is with this belief in a hell of some description. that common christian theology applies this 'doctrine' to every temporary negative word in the whole of scripture (by 'negative', I of course mean anything that pits itself against our pleasure or plans in this life as grass).  The pit is hell, the wrath of God is hell, suffering is hell, fire is hell, the grave is hell, death is hell, judgment is hell.  In truth, NOTHING is this “Hell”.

Resurrection and judgment are sure.  I won't pretend to understand how these things occur or will occur and what the 'setting' will be like.  All we have in Scripture are 'descriptions', many of them in highly symbolic language.  But I ask this question frequently:  What 'judgment' has done me and others the most good?  The most consistent answer I know is that somebody loved us.  For if nobody had—no matter how imperfect that love may have been—then none of us would have survived our first few days.
Then, somebody (out of love) taught us.  For if nobody had, no matter how imperfect that teaching may have been, we would still be behaving as grasping infants or selfish toddlers even more-so than we are.

Matt 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with Holy Spirit, and with fire.
Luke 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with Holy Spirit and with fire.
Deu 4:24  For Jehovah your God is a consuming fire; He is a jealous God.
Let him who has eyes see.

Resurrection is my only hope for life beyond this one.  Right Judgment (heavy with Love and all the other attributes of God expressed in the fruit of His Spirit) is the only way to bring all manner of men and women (and you don't want to know what manner of man I am) to what we were created to be.  I don't even want to go to the christian heaven (having made at least two public professions of faith in Him) if it means I go “just as I am”.
Some are being judged now, and have been since Jesus left us His Spirit.  Such are also judging themseves.  Such are being made fit to judge the world later.  Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom of heaven.  He preached neither the christian hell, nor the christian heaven.

What?  No 'heaven' either?  Well, certainly not endless vacation of unending “praise songs” we can sneak out of to play golf on fairways of gold with dear old Uncle Boney who passed too soon.  “Eye has not seen, neither has ear heard, neither has it entered the MIND OF MAN  what glories await.'  Not even an UN-perverse imagination can fathom this future.
No, what Jesus and the Apostles 'preached' was the Gospel of the Kingdom.  Jesus taught it in parables, and gave 'explanation' for them all as “many are called, few are chosen”.  Every parable of Jesus refers to this in some part or in some manner, for “how shall you know all parables if you do not know one?”
Is every “christian” truly “Christian”?  Scripture says 'no'.  I, for one, certainly HOPE not.  But I don't trust 'christians' to make this distinction—at least not in every case.  The Lord knows who are His, and they are and have been in every generation those who have spiritually experienced His life, death and His Righteous judgment in preparation for judging the world (seen and unseen) later.

Our 'destination' is death, resurrection, and judgment.  For most of the world, in the course of their lives, these things have been (and for any reading this, ARE) 'future'.  For a few, however, these things have 'happened' in a deep, spiritual (and by 'spiritual', I of course mean REAL) sense during the course of their lives.  Paul wrote most of what we know concerning this.  With “Reckon yourselves dead...”, “For I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live...”, “...baptized with Him into His death...” and many other passages, he explained the “way” in which we can 'die', 'be raised' and experience God's corrective, fruit-producing judgement while we yet 'live'.
So then, if no “hell” and “eternity” and no 'ending up as we are', then surely annihilation for some?  No.  And that brings me to the last of these points...and ultimately the most important.

Lastly, the Doctrine of Hell negates the work of the Cross and the Gospel.
Acts 3:20-21  He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
1 John 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 Cor 13:8  Love never fails.

1 Tim 2:3-4  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

1 John 4:14  we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world

...My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

John 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work

2 Pet 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

1 Cor 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness

Ecc 3:17  I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

Acts 17:31  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead

Luke 3:6  all flesh shall see the salvation of God

Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it

Phil 2:10-11  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

Isa 52:10  The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Mic 7:18-19  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Ps 22:27-28  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.


Jer 31:34  they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more

Matt 18:11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost

Luke 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was destroyed.

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 12:32  if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me

1 John 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 2:2  He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Rom 11:15  For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

2 Cor 5:18-19  all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Col 1:20  having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Isa 25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Gen 28:14  thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed

Ezek 16:53-55  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Gen 26:4  I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed


Hos 13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O hell, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

Rom 5:18  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Rom 8:20-22  For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now

Rev 20:13-14  the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death

1 Cor 3:13-15  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1 Cor 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge  the smallest matters?

Rev 21:4  God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Matt 19:25-26  his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mark 10:26-27  they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Luke 18:26-27  they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Isa 2:4  He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more

Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea

Isa 11:5-10  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen

Let him that has eyes see, and him who has ears hear.

“No Hell” is certainly good news for any who have feared or hated the idea.  But if you and I had been raised to believe that sea-monsters will devour us if we sail too far, to learn differently would be good news as well.  Both are equally false.  But neither is the “Gospel” in and of itself.  There is so much more, and even this false doctrine has a part to play in our 'judgment' as something to be overcome.

Our God is an Optimistic God, knowing the END from the Beginning.  He's no Pollyanna and sees things more clearly than we do, knowing what must come to pass before His workmanship is complete.  It's not easy on any of us, any more than giving birth is easy on mother or child.  We who know Him must become more like Him until we are just like Him in spirit.  THAT is His purpose and desire and will for us, revealed from the beginnings of the Book.

I've stopped now and re-read such as I wrote.  In text, this may appear dry and “preachy”, in an amatuerish sort of way.  But, trust me, my faith in God's ultimate purpose is not dry nor chin-strokingly scholarly--nor is it amatuerish, except that I do love it and I 'preach' it for free.

Like any good messenger, I too rejoice when a sinner is converted.  I expect my joy to be FULL.  I expect my tears to be wiped away when I see all I have loved and admired, and all I have despised and feared brought together, being filled with, and ultimately full of the Fruit of His Spirit―and most especially LOVE―and not by some magic christian tear-removal ointment.  And they will feel the same towards me, chief of sinners.
I realize that this understanding of the Scripture is foreign to many.  It was foreign to me until about six and a half years ago.  I willingly went along with the doctrines I had been raised on--including a sort-of “light” version of hell--even though I've had reservations about them all since I first read the New Testament on my own as a teenager, without preachers and theologians loosely interpretting (sucking the very life out of) every word and 'adding to' or 'taking away' with theological assumptions.  I 'agreed' with them even though the very thought of hell to a young sinner unable to repent and seemingly left-out of this supposedly wonderful experience of the “christian life” brought me nothing of the love, joy, peace I had been promised as a christian.  It only brought about depression and despair, loss of faith and lovelessness.  And all this in a believer!!
I'm still recovering.  But salvation means healing above any other meaning, and I've seen a good share of that as well, since coming to believe Him over old wives-tales and perverted traditions.

I see scarce little resemblance to common christian theology and the Scripture.  On what they do 'teach' that is in accord with Scripture, when pressed, they do not actually believe.  They teach as if Scripture contradicts itself on MAJOR points (is anything more MAJOR for a human being than the meaning of life, death, the prospect of living again, and being created in His image?) yet fret when others claim it contradicts on MINOR points.  Ye strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.

I'm not worried, however, because this is just how my Lord and the Apostles said it would be.  Perhaps disappointing, but not therefor, because of the prophecy, unexpected.
Read the New Testament (and the Old in light of the New) without the spectre of everlasting punishment, and contradictions begin to melt, love and fellowship begin to grow and extend, faith and love and joy and all the fruit of His Spirit is not forced or 'feigned', and the words of Jesus and the Apostles 'return' to the good news for all mankind that the angels proclaimed at His birth.

Gal 5:22,23  ...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
I understand that many think I (and others who have taught me, and learned with me―both known and unknown to me) am 'taking things out of context'.  I would far rather be accused of 'taking a TRUE STATEMENT out of context' than hurling scriptures at others as if the Scriptures themselves disagree with one another and war with each other.  The sum of God's Word is truth.

...stedfast is the word, and of all acceptation worthy; for for this we both labour and are reproached, because we hope on the living God, who is Saviour of all men--especially of those believing. Charge these things, and teach...(1Ti 4:9-11)
I hope on the Living God, and believe He is the savior of all men, women, and children.  And this is what I am “teaching” here.  Among His many salvations is the salvation from the notion that He will NOT save all men, and this makes His salvation even more special to me.

For all of this, I thank my God―especially that He didn't do what I desired during the depth of my crisis of faith, but does do what He desires.  I hope you think His ultimate desires and the purpose for which He sent His Son are what He Himself expressed.
If you think He will ultimately fail―even with a few--perhaps you should ask Him in your prayer time what HE thinks about His “chances” of success.  I'm just going to believe Him.

The Wrath of God

Christians often fall into two camps concerning the wrath of God--those who reject it entirely and those who embrace it with joy. If you listen to many on the left, it would be easy to conclude that Alan Alda was the second incarnation of Christ, the ultimately sensitive male, while many of those on the right, who preach the wrath of God without remorse, paint a portrait of God as one who is very close to a Jekyll and Hyde. These images of God are never easy to harmonize.

For the longest time I tried to be in the first camp because I could not reconcile the wrath of God with the Bible's description of the love of God in Christ Jesus. And the truth is, secretly (and silently), I have always sympathized (though never agreed) with the 2nd century heretic, Marcion, who claimed that the God of the Old Testament was inferior and demonic while the God of the New Testament was superior and a God of love. For anyone who has read the Bible it is not difficult to see why he thought that.

The God of Israel does seem rather evil and capricious at times, commanding the deaths of rebellious children (Dt 21:18-21), adulterers (Lev 20: 10-12), Sabbath-breakers (Ex 31:14) and women who lie about their virginity (Dt 22:20-25) to name a few, while justifying, or at least ignoring, bigamy (Gen 4:19), female oppression, and victims of rape (Dt 22:28-29).

God also seems to lose his patience and his temper at the drop of a hat and without much warning as he did when Moses struck the rock two times instead of one time at Mariah in order to bring forth water. Or like God did with Uzzah when he was carrying the ark of the covenant back to Israel on an oxen cart. When the oxen stumbled Uzzah instinctively reached to stablize the ark and God struck him dead. Apparently no human hands were supposed to touch it.

And maybe worst of all is that God comes across as blood-thirsty and as murderous as any Hitler could be in his continuous commands of genocide concerning the surrounding nations. "Under the ban" is the biblical expression for it--usually the complete destruction of every living thing having to do with an opposing country (Josh 6:17). It all comes under the title of the "wrath of God".

Of course, thank God, there are other ways of interpreting these things without concluding that God is evil but if the truth be told, those answers are not very obvious ones and some of them are not very good either. I have recently concluded again however that if the Bible is to be taken seriously--and it must be by the church-- then God's perplexing wrath cannot be denied or ignored.

There are at least two things that we can conclude from the stories of God's wrath. The first is that God, like C.S. Lewis said of Aslan in the Narnia Chronicles, "is not a tame lion". To be untameable means to be uncontrollable and that makes everyone nervous because Yahweh shatters neat little theologies that define God either too narrowly or too broadly and that, in turn, evokes fear. But fear isn't all bad and the Bible calls fear of God the beginning of wisdom. Maybe it is the beginning of wisdom because we must come to this God as listeners of the Word rather than knowers of the Word and fear often shuts our mouths. Wisdom must listen first and approaching God as untameable means we must always be on guard because God is on the offensive.

Secondly, the stories of God's wrath tell us that because God is uncontrollable, therefore God is also unpredictable and thus in large part, unknowable. Although  I prefer to think that life is unpredictable while God should not be, the Bible won't allow for such facile distinctions. As the Psalmist declared...God shrouded himself in darkness, covering his approach with dark rain clouds.... For Christians however, the truest expression of the nature of God is in the cross of Jesus the Messiah and everything else must be interpreted in light of that wonderfully absurd revelation.

I have to admit that I haven't come to the place where I can embrace the wrath of God as I do the love of God and I am not sure that is the proper response anyway. But to the degree that Scripture gives us images of God, that is, pictures of God to compare with one another, then the image of God's wrath, especially in the Old Testament, must be continually held up next to the image of God's dying and undying love in the cross of Jesus Christ In the New Testament.

Six Reasons Why Jesus Was Not A Very Good Christian

In the Christianity of my youth and young adulthood I was taught many things about the morality and ethics of the Bible. So, like all others, I tried to play along and I think I did a pretty good job at it. I was sincere and earnest in my pursuit of Christ and the good. It wasn't until many years later however that I realized that Jesus was really not a very good Christian! Here are six reasons why I say that.

1. Jesus drank wine and even made his own.

In Southern Baptist circles we were taught that drinking alcohol is a sin, yet here Jesus is, disregarding that. But what's far worse is that he made his own and then encouraged others to drink it. I mean, he didn't put to their lips, but what did he expect to happen making wine at a wedding party (John 2:1-11) and then only after the guests were very well soused? Apparently they could still tell that his was the good stuff but that misses the point.

Then a couple years later he decides to institute his own supper covenant with none other than...you guessed it...wine again! He must have known that alcohol was the only drink that would still be around 2100 years later. But that doesn't make it forgivable and he must have drunk plenty himself since his critics called him a wino (Matt 11:19). I know one thing for sure...Jesus wouldn't be caught dead drinking wine in some of my old churches.

2. Jesus hung out with the wrong crowd which is a terrible witness.

How can anyone believe you love God if you spend all your time with people from "the other side of the tracks"? That's what they were called when I was younger but the Bible calls them "sinners and tax collectors" (Mark 2:15).  Same thing. Apparently this was a very bawdy crowd and not the kind of people you want to introduce to your mother.

My pastor used to say that he never saw one good apple change a whole barrel of rotten ones and he was right.  Me neither. And Michael Jackson said that "one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch girl". What was Jesus thinking? Even the Apostle Paul said "bad company corrupts good morals" (1Cor 15:33).

Either Jesus didn't know that or he didn't care. Given his rebelliousness he probably didn't care.

3. Jesus had the wrong view of Scripture.

In my first five years of the faith I memorized hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Bible verses. I was a memorizing maniac for which I am still very glad. The words of the Bible are God's words. I studied them religiously and literally in Bible College.

But when Jesus came upon the same type of people he insisted that the Scriptures were secondary to God. He ignored the fact that we can't know God apart from the Scriptures. He even criticized the Bible believers of his day by telling them then they search the Scriptures for eternal life and missed the point entirely...which is him (John 5: 39).

What in the world was he talking about? We find God IN THE BIBLE! If we can't find him there then we can't find him anywhere. What does he mean that the Hebrew Scriptures point to him? I've read the Old Testament many times and you sure could have fooled me. It is this type of fandangling with the Bible that gets many Christians into trouble. He eventually paid for this misinterpretation. Every good Christian must have a correct understanding of the Bible. Jesus didn't.

4. Jesus disrespected his mother and family...even in public.

Once when Jesus was preaching somewhere his family, like any good family, wanted to visit him and give him support. But when they got there and ask to see him, he said to the entire crowd, "Mother who? What family?"...as if he didnt know them at all and you know that Mary's heart must have stung (Matt 12:46-50) and probably tears welled up in her eyes. He could just as easily pulled them aside quietly and told them that he would explain everything later...but he didnt.

That wasn't the first time that Jesus ignored his family either. When he was a precocious 12 year old they all visited Jerusalem but it was three days into the return home before they realized that Jesus was missing. They frantically retraced every step back with their hearts in their throats until they found Little J discussing theology in the temple (Lk 2:41-47).

Even then Mary his mother couldn't understand why Jesus was being so petulant. Why didn't he tell them? Why did he let them travel for three whole days? Jerusalem is a dangerous city and he could have been killed. He had everyone worried sick and he should have done something out of simple respect. He was too busy discussing theology with the grownups while dismissing the fact that the Bible says a child should honor their Mother and Father. It's right there in the Ten Commandments!

5. Jesus lost his patience quite a bit.

Over and over again Jesus lost his patience, not only with the Pharisees, but with the disciples too. Let's face it...anyone can lose his cool with the people who hate you and your message and want you dead. That kind of thing can wear a person out and it would have taken the patience of Job to continually endure their attacks.

But the disciples too?  Really? Come on! These were the good guys. These were Jesus' handpicked friends and you don't treat friends that way. Sure they were slow to understand sometimes (Mk 4:13)...again (Mk 6:37)...and again (Mk 6:52)...and again (Mk 8:17)...But does a misunderstanding warrant demonizing someone as Jesus did to Peter (Mt 16:21-23), especially when (just before) Jesus commended him for recognizing that he was the Messiah and then praised him like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread?

It really wasn't necessary to call Peter the Devil. No good thing can come from name calling. It is certainly not something I would want my child to do...If I had one.

6. Jesus resorted to violence.

When Jesus walked into the temple and found that people had turned it into a Walmart he got really mad and started yelling. It is understandable that Jesus did not like thieving money changers in the same place where he worshipped. That makes sense. But getting so angry that you lose control and destroy other people's property can never lead to anything good (Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 15:18, Ecc 7:9). I know this personally because I have lost my temper before and felt terrible about it afterwards. At least I asked for forgiveness. There is no evidence that Jesus did.

The anger of course is the least of it. It is the violence that takes it over the edge. Jesus apparently made a really big scene at the temple and tried to scare the hell out of people but it didn't work so well since he repeated it again sometime later. And that's the point. Violence is never effective. God is a God of love and not wrath. Jesus' behavior is at the very least, embarrassing, and at the very worst, totally unchristian. The only thing I can think of is that he must not have read the New Testament.

Why There Is No Truth Without Love

Most people it appears believe, in regards to love and truth, that truth is the content of the message while love is the motive. But Jesus negates that idea in Mark 12: 30-31 and reverses it by saying but the entire truth of the Old Testament is in loving God and loving others. (The Apostle Paul goes further by saying that the scriptures are summarized in simply loving others Gal 5:14). The point seems to be that love is both the content and the motive.

Let me explain further. In saying that the Hebrew Scriptures are summarized in the one word love, Jesus radicalizes ancient Judaism and therefore puts truth in love's service. In seeking love one finds truth but not vice versa. The entire purpose of scripture is love; just as the entire purpose of scripture is Christ. They are synonymous. Therefore,  the communication of the gospel is less about Bible facts and all about Bible love.

The point is that too many Christians mistake facts for truth. It may be a fact that Memphis, Tennessee had 150 killings in 2013, but that is not truth. It may be a fact that Jesus was crucified, but that is not what Jesus was referring to when he called himself the Truth. Truth is not acknowledgement of the fact of Jesus Christ but rather is surrender to the person of Jesus Christ. This type of truth, like love, can only be grasped existentially or, more accurately, truth and love must grasp us existentially. This is what the Apostle Paul implies when he says that the love of God compels him.

When Jesus called himself the Truth, he removed truth from the realm of propositional statements and ideas and into the realm of personal relations. Truth can no longer be about correct thoughts, but rather about loving actions in relation to God and others. In other words, the Bible was not given in order to find truth, it was given in order to find love.

Many Christians treat the scriptures as if their primary purpose is to form doctrine rather than the creation and promotion of loving communities. They treat the Bible as the end in itself. Jesus addresses this issue in John 5:39 when he tells his hearers that they study the scriptures in order to find eternal life while missing the point entirely that the scriptures are about him.

However sincere Jesus hearer's may have been, they had their noses face down in the map because they mistook the map for the destination. It is like mistaking breadcrumbs on the path for the sumptuous feast to which they lead. The written word leads us to the Living Word.

Biblically love precedes truth, to the degree that truth is related to factual data. The Scriptures tell us that the entire inner life of the Triune God, the very essence of God is love (1 John 4: 8)...love within the Trinity. I John 4:8 also states that "whoever does not know love does not know God...and not the other way around. (John is always pushing the envelope).

To the degree that love and truth in the scriptures are are relational and interpersonal terms to that same degree they are interrelated and inseparable. Biblical truth is likewise relational and only has meaning as it refers to emotional and psychological honesty...the complete integration of one's entire being into love. In other words, integrity. That is why Jesus is "the" Truth and not "a" truth.

Marshall McLuhan said many years ago that the medium is the message. I say that their is no truth without love.

Is The Bible Inerrant?

This question has been asked and answered countless times over the years and, quite frankly, it is only an issue in certain evangelical circles. I don't have anything to add to the formal discussion here but, since I consider myself evangelical and liberal and, since this was once  a big issue for me (and I believe still is for some others) I want to addess it now.

The word inerrancy, in regards to the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, has at least two meanings. The first is what I was taught from my church and from my Bible College days. Essentially, it means that every word, in fact every jot and tittle in the Bible, is exactly what God wanted said while working through the individual personalities of each author. God did not dictate the words, although the end result is the same.

Every word of Scripture is literal unless expressly stated otherwise (as when Paul says in Galatians 4 that he is speaking allegorically) or unless the context or part of speech clearly demonstrates that the words are not literal (as when Jesus says hyperbolically in Mark 19:47, if your eye causes you to stumble it is better to gouge it out). Therefore, when the Bible touches up on any subject it is always factual and without error historically, scientifically, philosophically, etc.

Closely associated with this view of inerrancy is the belief in the "domino effect" of a single mistake. If the Bible is wrong in one place, in one verse or in one word, then the whole of Scripture must be discarded because it can no longer be trusted. Adherents to this view believe with deep conviction that any apparent errors can be satisfactorily reconciled.

Over the years I began to find this theory of the scriptures less and less plausible because I continued to find many mistakes, discrepancies and errors. I will use one brief example to illustrate the point.

Peter's denial of Jesus is mentioned in all four of the Gospels and they all agree that Peter denied Jesus three times, but they don't all agree on when this happened. Matthew, Luke and John say that Peter denied Jesus three times BEFORE the rooster crowed ONCE. While Mark says it happened BEFORE the rooster crowed TWO TIMES. Each prediction has a correspondingly appropriate fulfillment in each gospel.

One evangelical scholar, Harold Lindsell, admitted that in order to reconcile the accounts one must believe that Peter actually denied Jesus six times. Three times before the rooster crowed once, and then three more times before the rooster crowed a second time. If you accept that then, in a way, all the Gospels got it wrong since each one says that there were only three denials.

Examples like this can be multiplied over and over again but it is not in the scope of this article to try and prove or disprove any one theory of how to view the Bible. The above is simply one of the many problems I faced concerning the plausibility of the view of inerrancy that I had been taught. Further study in seminary only confirmed my fears and eventually I discarded the entire Bible and with it my understanding of the Christian faith. After all, I had been taught the domino effect of Scripture, which was an all or nothing approach. And even though I knew that a handful of other evengelical leaders had a different interpretation of inerrancy, the die had been cast, and I, in great despair, walked away.

This brings me to the other view of inerrancy I mentioned previously and this one allows for a more common sense approach. In essence, it says that the Bible is inerrant, not in all ways, but only when it regards faith and practice. In other words the Bible is sufficient for all that Christians need concerning those two areas but there is plenty of room for human error historically, scientifically, anthropologically, and so on. Since this view was not an option for me given my Bible College education and my overall black and white temperament and since I don't know many Christians personally who struggle with this view, I will not discuss it in detail for now.

So is the Bible inerrant or not? After many years of doubt, thought and study I no longer think that is a relevant question. First if all it presupposes that the Bible was written by individual authors whom God inspired to write God's exact words, instead of being compiled, edited and re-edited by many people from many known and unknown sources. It also presupposes that the Bible has authority only if it records the exact words of God and correspondingly, also presuposses that absolute truth can be completely captured in propositional statements. It seems to ignore the reality that these so called perfect words have countless interpretations.

In other words, if God spoke perfect, literal words then God would also have to guarantee a perfect,  literal understanding of the text. Furthermore, it would also be necessary to have not only the inerrant scriptures and from there an inerrant understanding of those scriptures but, consequently, an inerrant method of communicating those scriptures to others or it is pointless. Finally, it is this understanding of inerrancy that actually states that these perfect scriptures were limited only to the original documents which everyone agrees no longer exist.

Needless to say there are many other ways of looking at the Bible and of accepting its authority other than believing that the majority of it is primarily literal and factual. More on that later.

Larry

If I Started A Church...

         
I have always had a secret dream of starting a church and I want to now more than ever because the world needs more churches that listen...more churches that welcome dialogue over doctrinal or ideological agreement...more churches that speak to be heard rather than speak to simply speak. It is a very difficult task attempting to do this either individually or in community and it calls for continual self-critical analysis and reformation. In fact many, beginning with the Reformation, insist that the church is always being reformed...or should be.

Such self-criticism is deeply rooted in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The most prominent examples are the prophets who were always calling on Israel to change and to have a new self-understanding, not going back to an older self-understanding, but to a newer one based on God's continual revelation of God's Self. The Church must always do the same. It is this reminder of human and communal fallibility that provides the basis of the humility necessary for dialogue. Dialogue is essential for the continual discovery of truth at any level.

Someone asked me the other day (online) why I am a Christian if I don't hold to a certain set of doctrines and all I could answer was because the love of God compels me and God will not let me go. Of course, I do hold to some doctrines but I have learned to hold them very loosely. "Correct" doctrine can never adequately be the basis of one's faith. We are called to believe in the Word of God alone who is Jesus Christ and (right, wrong or otherwise as my father used to say) we must cast ourselves upon him because there is no other Savior.

If I Started A Church (This would be the foundation)...


1. Above all we are united by the self-giving love of the Father...the self-emptying love of the Son...and the self-overflowing love of the Spirit as revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

2. Demonstrating this unconditional love in faith communities, in society and in our individual lives is the sole purpose of the Christian Church. All creation groans together in pain for...salvation, liberation and healing. The church is called to build and to usher in the Kingdom of God.

3. Unity (not uniformity) within diversity is the goal. The church is one body with many members. It is very possible for Christians with both orthodox and unorthodox views of the faith to worship together side by side. Truth is sought and discovered dialogically.

4. Doubt and disagreement are inherent in the Christian faith, consequently questions are natural, inevitable and  welcomed. The Scriptures are full of faithful people who doubted God, including Jesus himself as he cried out in despair on the cross...My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?

5. Our self-understanding as The Church of Jesus Christ is rooted in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, hence, the Bible.

6. We seek to be a church where people can discover for themselves what Christ and Christianity mean to them. All honest seekers are welcome here.


So what do you think...would you join?

(BTW...I go to a church now that is one version of this. Germantown Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Germantown,  Tennessee.  Come visit).

About Me

I came into a conscious faith in Jesus Christ when I was 17 years old and such astounding love transformed my life from that first moment. For better or worse, I have been Christ-ridden ever since and Christ is my passion.

The church I was attending was Evangelical and when I felt called into the ministry I went to a local Bible College and received my B S. in Bible. Needless to say it was ultra-conservative and I left with many unanswered questions still in my head. It must be by nature that I was always seeking to push beyond my own small circle of faith. I just couldn't quit asking questions about the inerrancy of Scripture and about what was necessary for salvation in Christ, among many other things.

After graduating, I did mission work for three years overseas, returned and went to numerous seminaries, from the right to the left, for several years and finally, after too much heartbreak and confusion, I threw my faith away altogether...or so I thought... so I tried. At that time I had been an Evangelical Christian for thirteen years.

Oh yeah... I also began actively drinking and drugging again which is why I finally went to my first AA meeting. But there in big, bold print, in the 12 steps of AA, was the word G-o-d and I was horrified. I was horrified because, as I was taught, affirming God again meant affirming a bunch of detailed doctrine which I could no longer do and if there was a God, I Hated God!

But through the love, patience and wisdom of AA I eventually came to believe that it was never God I hated, it was merely the distorted image of a god who valued doctrine over people...a god who punishes people in hell that had never even heard the name of Jesus Christ, much less know or experience his love...a god who forced people to play the game of life (nobody chose to be born) only to sentence the unbelievers to eternal damnation. That god, I never came back to.

It took years for my faith to slowly resurrect from God...to Christ...to love... to passion again. I eventually went back to seminary (liberal) and completed my M.S. in Religion. I am now able to appreciate the rich heritage that Liberal and Evangelical theology both bring, quite literally, to the Table. Many questions still remain and I hope they always do. The peace of Christ to us all.


Larry