Steven Colborne's Blog, page 50

A Reflection on John 3:16

Greetings, friends. Quite often, when I’m reading Scripture, I have a ‘wow’ moment when a passage speaks to me in a way it didn’t previously. Today I’d like to share a new understanding I came to of perhaps the most quoted verse in the Christian Bible, John 3:16.

The ESV translation says this:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

There are other translations that say ‘everlasting life’, ‘only begotten Son’, ‘whosoever believeth’ and other slight variations, but the meaning tends to be the same.

However! There’s a footnote in the ESV version (my favourite translation) which says that the first phrase, ‘For God so loved the world‘ can just as well be translated from the Greek as ‘For this is how God loved the world‘.

The difference may seem minor, but this blew my mind! You see, my whole blogging life I have written about the absolute sovereignty of God, and the understanding of Christianity that I have come to embrace depicts God as the author of creation, who is animating and unfolding all events (hence the title of my book, God’s Grand Game).

The alternative translation of the Greek, quoted above, perfectly aligns with my worldview. The difference is significant; instead of the meaning being ‘God loved the world to such an extent that he gave his only Son…‘, the meaning becomes ‘God chose to express his love for the world by giving his only Son…‘. I feel this is a significant difference because it puts God more firmly in the creatorial driving seat.

If any scholars of Greek would like to shed further light on the verse in a way that my limited education does not allow, please feel free to leave a comment below. God bless you all and thank you for reading.

An Alphabet of God’s Attributes

I’m not sure why, but today I felt like simply publishing an alphabet of words which point to some of God’s attributes. Maybe this is an exercise a parent or teacher could do with a child.

Coincidentally, today I have been studying Psalm 37, which is an acrostic poem in the original Hebrew, meaning each stanza begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet (it’s a wonderful psalm of David; please read it if you need encouragement today!)

Right, here we go.

God is an…

Architect
Builder
Creator
Developer
Entertainer
Father
Grandfather
Healer
Intelligence
Justifier
King
Light
Master
Ninja
Overseer
Planter
Quieter
Restorer
Supplier
Trinity
Usurper
Voice
Wordsmith
Xample
Youngster
Zillionaire

Okay so I was struggling with the last two letters! I went for ‘youngster’ because I had already described God as a Father and a Grandfather and I wanted to encapsulate the idea that God is both infinitely old and infinitely young; I hope that makes some kind of sense as an indication of God’s eternality.

My choice for Z is supposed to reflect the endless riches of all of God’s attributes, rather than depicting Him as wealthy in a financial sense! ‘Ninja’ is a bit of a cheeky one, I hope God will forgive the cheekiness, I’m just trying to say He is incredibly skillful

This is All I Long For

Greetings, friends. I’m writing this post to share some scriptures and a song through which God has been ministering to me recently, with the hope of encouraging someone who’s reading. As you will see, the scriptures that I’m sharing actually include an admonishment to use these words to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ, and I hope you will be encouraged as you read this post.

I’ve been studying the prophetic writings in the Bible and attempting to get my head around the order of events that are to take place in the end times. I have read a book on the subject by the American Bible teacher David Jeremiah, as well as reading and rereading the prophetic books of the Bible for myself. If you know of any particularly good books about Christian eschatology please leave a comment with your recommendations, I’d be grateful.

I cannot help but feel we are going through unusually dark and strange times which seem to line up with what’s taught in Scripture about the second coming of Christ and the end times. It would, of course, be foolish to make a statement indicating that I believe we are undoubtedly close to Christ’s return, as no one knows the day nor hour (Matthew 24:36). But I believe there are signs.

The first scripture I would like to share for your encouragement concerns the event known as the Rapture:

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV)

I wait with longing for the event described in the above passage, and that portion of Scripture is like an anchor for me when I’m feeling depressed and despairing at the evil I see happening in the world. Come, Lord Jesus.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

Someone I know commented recently saying they felt God is using the lockdown to give people an opportunity to centre themselves on Christ, to study the Scriptures, and to prepare for Jesus’ return. Perhaps. The imposition of lockdown has certainly had that effect on me.

Finally, I wanted to share these simple yet powerful words from a song I fell in love with recently:

Hide me deep inside your heart, Lord
Cover me with Your wings, bring me into safety
Bring me into fellowship with who You are, Lord
Father, Son, and Spirit, this is all I long for

These words are from the chorus of a song entitled ‘In Your Midst’ by Allie Paige. If you’d like to listen to the song, this link will take you to the song on YouTube. God bless you and I hope you are encouraged, I’m praying for every person who reads this blog.

Knowing What to Pray

Hello, friends. Have you ever had anxiety around your prayer life, wondering whether you are praying in a way that is ‘correct’ or ‘effective’? In this article, I would like to share how I recently overcame a kind of blockage in my prayer life which was making me feel very frustrated.

In recent years, I have always prayed a short prayer each morning, prayed throughout the day when I felt troubled or thankful, and then had an extended session of what I refer to as ‘quality prayer time’ every Sunday. This always worked well for me. I always found my Sunday prayer time helped me to feel focused and at peace. It was a time when I could share all my troubles with God, releasing them and asking for His help. It also prepared me psychologically to go into a new week.

Recently, however, I have been struggling in my prayer life. Here’s something I wrote in my journal which expresses how I’ve been feeling:

I am weighed down by the darkness and evil of the world, I can do nothing right, I feel like I am angering the God who I love and who I want to please. All of my thoughts are confused, I am angry and frustrated. Will God ever bring me to the rest He keeps promising me? Mixed signals and pulls in different directions are all I experience each day. One minute I am assured and secure, the next minute I feel pathetic and like I am letting God down. After all my years as a Christian, how is it that I can still feel so conflicted?

Why does God not show me the path He would have me take? Or has He done so in His Word and I am too afraid to obey and follow? But the Lord speaks to me, orders me to rest, and tells me my work is done, yet each day I wake up again feeling frustrated to not be at peace. I watch Christian TV, I read the Bible, I pray the Lord’s prayer. I try to be pure in my actions and behaviour. Every preacher is teaching something different, yet I need to understand more of God’s Word. Or maybe I don’t?

I prostrate myself before God and as soon as I open my mouth to pray He brings a heaviness over me, like He doesn’t want me to speak. So I stay quiet for fear of His wrath and stand up again. What am I doing wrong? Jesus, help me! I am sorry if I am sinning. But does God want me to be more assertive and pray with more confidence? He used to let me speak my mind in prayer, and it was such a dear blessing. Now I don’t know what to say. So I will pray in the way the Lord Jesus commanded me. I will say the Lord’s prayer each day and that only. But is that really enough? God, help me. Amen.

Not long after writing this in my journal, I was watching some YouTube videos, and someone was talking about prayer and how to keep things simple. I often feel a responsibility and a burden to step out into situations that frighten me in order to obey certain teachings of Jesus (e.g. to pick up my cross daily and follow Him), and this means that my prayers are often filled with anxious petitioning, as I seek comfort from God and strength to step out in faith.

In this time of lockdown, I often feel like I should be making more of an effort to establish a small group and discuss the End Times (a subject which feels very important right now) and Scripture in general. I almost feel like I should be stepping into situations where I could potentially be persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, as fearful as that is. I think that what fuels this mindset is a desire to give everything for God, so I can feel I am obeying Him and His Word wholeheartedly, and therefore be in right standing with Him and a doer of the Word rather than simply a hearer.

However, this attitude is rather like carrying the weight of the world on one’s shoulders, and sometimes God’s plans for one’s life aren’t necessarily about stepping into fearful situations (though they can be sometimes). We mustn’t forget that someone’s life can be transformed by a simple gesture — a smile or a ‘how are you?’, for instance.

I decided, after watching the video I mentioned, that I’m going to take a new approach to prayer. Every day, I’m going to do two things:

Say the Lord’s Prayer.Each morning, ask the Lord what He would like me to do today.

As soon as I resolved to do this, an amazing peace came over me, and all of the angst and stress I was feeling melted away. I set up recurring daily reminders in my ‘Things To Do’ app to say these two prayers each day.

Today when I asked God what He would like me to do today, He said “watch some YouTube videos” (I have recently been watching a lot of videos about the End Times and also the debate about dispensationalism and covenant theology, which is fairly new to me) and “do some Bible reading”. These two things are what God wants me to do today, and now I know that’s His will, I can relax and obey.

Incidentally, I expect God will ask me to do different things on different days, and I expect some days to be more challenging than others. One day it might be visiting a friend, another day it might be studying a certain area of Biblical theology. Maybe some days I will have to step into frightening situations. But asking God to tell me what to do each day will help me to pace myself in my journey with Christ, as well as give me the peace of mind that comes with knowing I am doing God’s will each day, whatever that involves.

The struggle I was having came not so much from being anxious about certain activities, but from being anxious about not doing enough, or not doing the right things. I know that if I am doing God’s will each day, He will give me the grace to perform whatever tasks He wants me to do. That’s why I now feel more at peace and why I think this new prayer strategy will help me a lot.

Statement of Faith

In this post, I’d like to present a condensed (though still rather lengthy) description of my faith journey and how it has culminated in a Statement of Faith, which you can download for free at the end of the article if you would like to.

In this article I won’t be describing the long and difficult spiritual journey I went through before I became interested in Christianity, but that is something I have done in my book The Philosophy of a Mad Man (reissued in 2019) which you can find, along with all my other published works, on the Books page.

In my first years as a Christian, I explored a number of different Christian denominations. I began going to a Catholic church which was associated with the psychiatric hospital in which I first became a Christian after reading the Bible in my hospital room and attending a weekly service held at the hospital. I also attended some services at the church itself (St Anselm’s in Tooting Bec, London), and attended a private introduction to Catholic baptism with a wonderful priest named Gary who also visited me and prayed with me on the hospital ward a number of times. Gary was a very kind soul and I loved him dearly.

The ritualistic side of Catholicism, as well as the very sombre services, didn’t chime with my excitement about being a new Christian, and before long I began to explore other churches. At a live music event I went to at The Bedford pub in Balham, a stranger mentioned Hillsong Church to me, and it sounded like something worth investigating. I checked out the Hillsong Church London website and was amazed that it looked exactly like the kind of worship that I felt I wanted to participate in but that was absent from the Catholic church services I had been attending.

I went along to Hillsong Church London at the Dominion Theatre in central London the next Sunday, and it was my first experience of a large modern church. It really blew my mind (in a positive way). I loved the music, I felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit, and the people were amazingly friendly. I also loved the way the pastor on the stage prayed, and the invitation in the service to repent and accept Jesus. I immediately felt at home and gladly accepted the invitation to receive a phone call from a pastor and get connected into the church.

When a pastor called a few days later (his name was Chris) I was overflowing with ideas concerning how I wanted to make Jesus known in my local community. I had a vision, for instance, of putting on an Ultraviolet Worship Party, where there would be fluorescent scriptures painted on the walls and a DJ playing uplifting worship music for people dancing in neon clothes. Chris was very kind and invited me to some events and before long helped to get me plugged into a house group in my local area.

I’ve always been a deep thinker and before long I was getting immersed in Biblical theology. I had already spent quite a few years exploring different spiritual traditions and I asked Gary the priest and his assistant James at the hospital where the best place in London to study philosophy was, as I felt somehow that philosophy was part of my calling. Gary and James agreed that the best place to study would be Heythrop College, part of the University of London. I remember asking for leave from hospital so I could attend an Open Day at the college, and before long I was interviewed and then enrolled to study an MA in Philosophy and Religion.

Heythrop College, where I studied, was a Jesuit Catholic college, and in all honesty the atmosphere was far too cerebral, stressful, and joyless for me. It was the kind of college where no one really spoke to each other, but everyone spent the whole time reading dense systematic theology books that were so obscure that no one really understood them, and yet for some strange reason they were held in high esteem. It’s not that I don’t regard myself as academically inclined — during my undergraduate degree I spent most of my time in the library devouring a wide range of books, and I loved it, because the atmosphere in the place was friendly and warm. By contrast, I found Heythrop to be cold and lifeless, although I did make some friends and went for the occasional drink with them.

Before finishing the course, I became mentally unwell and ended up being admitted to psychiatric hospital again (this was my third admission). I was unable to complete the MA because of this, although I did manage to graduate with a Postgraduate Certificate as I had successfully completed half the modules in the curriculum. The course did provide a really interesting introduction to Ancient Greek philosophy, and I loved the Contemporary Christian Thought module which introduced me to some theologians and theological ideas that I hadn’t encountered before.

A couple of years later, I was admitted to hospital again and my friend Chris from Hillsong came to support me and pray with me regularly. I had also made a number of other friends at Hillsong who were very supportive and either visited me or passed on gifts. I was, however, struggling with some areas of theology which my Christian friends were unable to help with, and this was when the theological predicament concerning the incompatibility of divine sovereignty and human free will started to become really important to me. I strongly believed God is sovereign over all events, due to both some spiritual experiences I had gone through and rationally reflecting on the nature of the God/world relationship. I felt unable to reconcile my understanding of God’s sovereign control of everything that happens with Biblical theology as I understood it at the time.

The problems I was unable to resolve in relation to Christian theology led me to withdraw from the faith somewhat, and I began to see myself more as a philosopher than a theologian. When I was discharged from hospital for the fourth time (this was in 2013) I had stopped regularly attending church, and because I was living for the first time in housing within the mental health system, interpersonal problems somewhat overshadowed my spiritual journey for a while, though I would take the bus to Westminster Cathedral to pray a couple of times each week. I didn’t feel as though I could identify as a Christian during this time, and I lost touch with many of my Hillsong friends. There was a local Anglican church near the shared house where I was living and I attended services there from time to time.

Not far from where I was then living (in Wandsworth in South London) there were a group of Christians who met every Saturday to do outreach. I enjoyed sitting and chatting with them and buying them the odd coffee, though I was battling with theological issues that I didn’t feel they really understood, so the conversations we had were pretty lighthearted. I was finding my struggle with Christian theology really difficult, and on one occasion I was in tears talking to the pastor as I was feeling so frustrated that I desperately wanted to be a Christian but my understanding of theology wouldn’t allow it.

I continued to pray about everything, and I’m quite sure there were lots of people praying for me as well, and despite still being theologically unhappy, there was an occasion when I decided to read the book of Revelation in one sitting, and I found the book utterly enthralling in the way it described the future of the planet and the End Times. I remember sitting in bed one evening after reading Revelation and just feeling like this book, with all it’s grandiose imagery and frightening prophecy, couldn’t be ignored. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said I was going to get baptised and I was going to take communion. I had been considering baptism and praying about it for quite some time, but at Hillsong I hadn’t felt confident that I understood the Bible well enough to get baptised; I regarded baptism as a big commitment and wanted to fully understand the implications first.

The other thing that prompted me to get baptised was that I was suffering from a heart condition, which was giving me severe palpitations on a regular basis. I felt as though I could die at any time, and I was so fearful of dying outside of the Christian faith that I wanted to make a commitment to God through baptism as quickly as possible. As soon as I could, I went to visit the Christians in their outreach location and shared the news that I would like to get baptised. We discussed the situation and I felt I would like to get baptised in their church, East Hill Baptist Church.

When I got baptised in 2015, this was something that I did while still unconvinced about some areas of Christian theology. It was out of obedience to the person of Jesus, and a fear of the wrath of God, that I took the decision, despite still having many unanswered questions. My blog was very important to me during this time, and I published many articles exploring philosophical and theological matters related to Christianity in depth.

Not long before my baptism in water I had moved to Balham, a neighbouring town. I continued to go to East Hill Baptist Church for some time, but once again the theological struggles came to the surface of my mind repeatedly and I didn’t have any conversations that made me feel better about them. I was still convinced that God unfolds every aspect of creation, and I still couldn’t reconcile this understanding with ideas like sin and judgement, which seemed to be inescapably bound up with the idea of free will, which I knew human beings don’t have.

My Christian journey took an unexpected twist when I discovered the Last Reformation movement while browsing online. I found the teaching of Torben Sondergaard utterly compelling, and it convicted me in a profound way. I felt I had to get involved with this community, and be brave and join in with street evangelism and praying for miraculous healing. I made some new friends through the Last Reformation community, and participated in some street healing evangelism. It was also through this movement that I experienced Holy Spirit baptism, which was a striking experience, and made me feel more confident of being chosen and accepted by God.

But still, my theological predicament in relation to God’s sovereignty and free will remained unsolved! After very many more blog posts written, books read, books written, and videos watched, I finally landed upon a way that I felt the predicament could be resolved. If double predestination was truly taught in the Bible, this was a way that I could finally reconcile God’s absolute sovereignty with Biblical theology. I wrote a book entitled The Only Question You Ever Need Ask which focused entirely on double predestination, including a discussion of several views of hell.

The conclusion that I came to in the book was that I could only embrace Biblical Christianity if double predestination were true. But I doubted the doctrine of double predestination because, I argued, how could God be so cruel as to condemn millions of human beings to everlasting torment before they are even born and not because of anything they have done freely (because there is no free will)?

The conclusion I came to, which troubled me greatly, was that double predestination was very unlikely to be true, because I couldn’t imagine God would be as cruel as the doctrine seemed to suggest. So I concluded that a perspective of religious pluralism, and the understanding that God has created all human beings (including non-Christians) with a meaningful purpose, was the most satisfactory theological position I could arrive at.

However, not long after publishing the book, I was studying the Bible and the book of Revelation again, and I was thinking about all the suffering I have experienced in my life, and also all of the very many horrific wars that have taken place throughout history. I realised that my argument for dismissing Biblical theology on the grounds that God is unlikely to be ‘cruel’ was a weak argument, because the testimony of both history and Scripture inescapably shows that God does cause people to suffer terribly at times. It’s an unavoidable fact. I was also conscious of the passage in Romans where Paul questions what right the clay (human beings) has to say to the potter (God) that He is doing something wrong. I believe God is infinitely wise.

I revisited the conclusion I had written in my book The Only Question You Ever Need Ask and added an epilogue saying that I had come to a new conclusion, which is that because I had no reason to doubt the severity of God, double predestination did actually make sense, and so I could finally reconcile God’s absolute sovereignty over all events with the Christian faith, and therefore embrace Christianity.

But there is one final afterword to the epilogue that I must now add, and it relates to the doctrine of hell. Despite being convinced that the argument for Biblical Christianity was theologically compelling in light of the doctrine of double predestination, I couldn’t bear the severity of the God it depicted. Even though (as I stated above) I knew that God is very severe, I felt that the everlasting torment of the damned was too cruel an idea for me to embrace. I would embrace it, I felt, if the Bible demanded it, but I struggled to understand how I could truly love God and evangelise with my whole heart if I had to tell people God is a God who tortures people for eternity. Having tasted a little suffering myself, and being a sensitive person, the idea that any sentient being would be made to suffer eternal conscious torment troubled me greatly, and seemed to be a punishment too severe for even the worst crime.

After much prayer and reflection on the subject, I discovered through some online research that a significant minority of Christians embrace the idea of annihilationism, which says that after death those human beings who are not of the elect are made to suffer for their sins, but then their bodies and souls are annihilated. Actually, for quite a few days God was repeatedly bringing the word ‘annihilation’ to my mind, and exploring this theological position was like the icing on the theological cake when it came to my finally finding I could embrace Biblical Christianity. I read the arguments of a theologian who advocated for this position, and I became convinced that there are valid arguments that can be made from Scripture in defence of this position. This was so important to me because it meant I could actually understand God to be just in His punishment, making it much easier to love Him, as Jesus commands that I do.

I cannot guarantee that further obstacles in my spiritual journey won’t arise, but I can say that I have finally come to an understanding of Biblical theology that allows me to embrace the Christian faith wholeheartedly, and in doing so to pursue a fully committed Christian life, with a genuine hope for salvation and a genuine gospel that I can preach to others. If the good news really is good news, then to my mind this is a truly wonderful thing, and I thank God if He has been glorified in any way through my spiritual journey and the many books and blog posts I have written along the way, as well as the many helpful discussions I’ve had with readers from around the world in the comments sections of this blog.

I have written a five-point statement of faith, with supporting notes and Scripture citations, which encapsulates the understanding of Christianity that I have arrived at and embraced. You can download it below if you would like to.

Read Steven’s Statement of Faith



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I hope you have enjoyed reading about the journey I have gone through while exploring the Christian faith. Please note that there is much that I haven’t covered in this article, and I invite you to explore my books page to view all of my philosophical and theological publications to date. You’re welcome to leave a comment below with your reactions to this post, but please be polite and respectful. Thank you for reading and God bless you!

Eternal Conscious Torment?

Greetings, friends. This article is an update on my theological explorations, and my attempt to fully understand whether I can reconcile my belief in God’s sovereign control over the unfolding of all events with the Christian gospel.

When Christians discuss the doctrine of hell, they usually take one of three positions: traditionalism, conditionalism, or universalism. Some time ago I wrote this post which introduces the differences between these three positions.

There are scriptures that could be cited to support all three of these positions, but the position I find most persausive is conditionalism, with the associated doctrine of annihilationism. Annihilationism says that following death, the wicked will be punished for some time, but then their consciousness will cease (they will be annihilated).

I have experienced great despair when struggling to comprehend the traditionalist perspective, which supports the idea of eternal conscious torment. Christians often argue that eternal punishment for the wicked reflects God’s justice. ‘We all deserve hell’, they say in their evangelism. But I cannot see how, if a person were to commit a sexual sin for instance, this would warrant everlasting conscious torment? In all honesty, can anyone really argue that that’s a punishment appropriate to the crime?

In justice systems on Earth, which God has of course established (He establishes all things), people are given a punishment which is intended to be proportionate to their crime. So, after some time, and perhaps some rehabilitation, they are released. Or if they have been given multiple life sentences, they may die in prison, but even in this scenario the sentence that is dealt is not unlimited. This is a vision of justice that I can understand. But with eternal conscious torment, the punishment would always outweigh the gravity of any crime, at least as I currently understand things.

Of course, I’m aware of Romans 9:14-24, the passage where Paul suggests that it is not for the clay to question the actions of the potter. I fully accept that, and my overarching concern is to understand what Scripture teaches, and then live in accordance with that teaching. If that necessarily meant living with tremendous fear of everlasting conscious torment, then I would have accept that, however difficult it would make my evangelistic activities.

I do have a belief in the goodness of God. But I don’t know how I could ever rejoice in God’s goodness with the thought of eternal conscious torment being inflicted upon any person, or any creature. Is it possible to genuinely love God (which we are commanded to do), when God’s punishments are unbearably extreme?

Fortunately, I believe there is a very strong argument in Scripture for annihilationism. It seems that there are many passages which refer to ‘death’ and ‘destruction’ for the wicked, but very few that seem to indicate eternal conscious torment.

Now I must offer the disclaimer that I have not studied Greek and Hebrew in depth, so I am relying to a large extent on the plain meaning of the text in the ESV Bible which I am currently using for reference. I am also exploring the views of scholarly theologians on the subject, and searching the Internet when necessary.

Some passages that point to annihilationism include Psalm 1:6, Psalm 37:20, Psalm 92:7, Matthew 10:28b, John 3:16, Romans 6:23, Philippians 3:19, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, James 4:12a, and others.

There is an argument which could be made which says that the power of the gospel is weakened if eternal conscious torment is not a reality. But I actually think that one of the main things which puts people off exploring the Christian faith is the severe picture of God that is often painted by evangelists. People simply cannot understand why God would be so cruel.

A belief in annihilationism (supported by Scripture) would not stop me from believing that we will all face judgement and that terrible punishment could result for those who have not repented and submitted to the authority of Jesus Christ. But a belief in annihilation as final punishment would appear to make God a just judge, and if this doctrine is true, it would enable me to more easily love God with my whole heart, as Jesus commands me to do.

I’m intending to read this book to enable me to reflect further on the subject: Two Views of Hell: A Biblical and Theological Dialogue (Robert A. Peterson and Edward William Fudge (InterVarsity Press, 2000). The book presents arguments in favour of both traditionalism and annihilationism, and is available on Amazon. God bless you and thank you for reading.

Encouragement

Dear friends, I’m writing this as a kind of spiritual life update. I hope it is helpful or at least interesting for someone reading. I will just share honestly what’s going on (I have come to believe good writing is simply honest writing, rather than skilled writing, but that’s a subject for another day perhaps).

So much has been going on with me spiritually. I had a few of the hardest days of my life, really unexpectedly. I’ve been wrestling with two issues of Christian theology: predestination, and the fate of those who don’t accept Jesus. I’ve been trying to reconcile a vision of a good God, which I do hold, and want to embrace even more, with scriptural teaching about everlasting punishment, which I find very hard to accept can be just for anyone — even someone who has committed the most awful crimes.

For a few days, God kept bringing to my mind the word ‘annihilation’. I have already written quite a bit about Christian views of the afterlife, including annihilationism, which is the view that the wicked suffer for their sins, but then their consciousness is extinguished. This contrasts with the mainstream Christian view which is that of everlasting conscious torment, and another view (which I believe many Roman Catholics hold) of universal reconciliation — that everyone will eventually be saved.

I just this evening read the book of Revelation in its entirety, and I cannot find support for the doctrine of universal reconciliation. If it is the Truth that God will bring that about, I haven’t yet been able to find it in Revelation (which is a prophetic book describing the End Times, if you weren’t aware).

The crux of my investigations rests on trying to establish whether the Bible teaches eternal conscious torment or annihilationism. I have been reading a book by a theologian who argues that there is a strong biblical defence for annihilationism. Although a minority view, it has many supporters. The theologian, if you were curious, is named Edward William Fudge. I’m reading his book ‘Hell: A Final Word’ which is written for a wider audience than his other more academic books on the subject which I may read after this one if I feel I need to.

I have already written about the subject of hell on this blog. My blogging friend Amanda did an in-depth study of references to hell in the Bible, which I shared in an article I wrote a couple of years ago. It is a subject that is open to different interpretations, and Amanda is not an academic (and doesn’t claim to be), but in any case I found her investigations to be helpful and useful for reference.

In all honesty, I find a view that people suffer for the wicked things they have done and then their consciousness is extinguished, to be far more reflective of justice (as I understand it) than everlasting consciousness torment, which seems to me to inescapably be a punishment that outweighs any crime. Though I will of course acknowledge God can do as he pleases, and if this is what he does, I have no authority with which to dispute it, I just (in my present thinking) find it beyond distressing that God could inflict this punishment on even the worst of creatures.

In terms of predestination, I’m believing quite solidly in double predestination, that the fate of all human beings is laid out at the foundation of the world, and then God unfolds his plan for creation accordingly. I believe that double predestination is the only way to reconcile my understanding of a God who is sovereignly in control of all events with the Christian worldview. There are many scriptures that support the idea of double predestination, but there are some scriptures that can be seen to support other views.

In my personal life, I’ve been struggling with my neighbours (yes, still, and again), especially the person in the upper flat who shouts and growls and stomps and is very abusive towards his son who sometimes visits. His son has started responding with aggressive behaviour as well, and the whole thing is very unhealthy. I came across some teaching on YouTube which is really helping me with this situation. There’s a channel by a lady named Ieva who had a difficult relationship with her father (as I have), and I relate to her teaching very much. Her teaching isn’t just focused on parent/child issues; she talks about relationships, marriage, taking captive our thoughts, and much more, from a Christian perspective. You can find her channel here. It’s honestly one of the most helpful channels I’ve ever found.

A pastor from a church I used to go to came to visit me today, and we had a really great chat. One of the greatest chats I have ever had with anyone. I felt it was a talk that both he and I needed, and I was so grateful to God. We were talking a lot about mental health, and emotions, among other things. I love the guy very much.

I’ve been playing my guitar and singing a lot to help me to deal with some of the oppressive thoughts and feelings I have living here. I have felt very confused at times recently. Sometimes I find biblical teaching too severe for me to bear, and feel like I am a failure in so many ways.

I have been reading an English Standard Version (Anglicized Bible) which in some ways I feel is the best Bible translation I have ever read, although some of the word for word translations caused me to look certain things up in the New Living Translation, which is a phrase for phrase translation and always cleared up any confusion I had.

I really want to open comments, but please forgive me if I don’t. I would appreciate prayers if you feel you want to, though. I’m really sorry, once again, for being guarded when it comes to comments, it’s because I have found it very hard to handle some of the comments I have gotten in the past, because there are often very many opposing views that go off in many directions (because everyone is different) and this can sometimes be emotionally difficult for me. Maybe in the future I will be able to feel more confident about dealing with a variety of different energies and perspectives in the comments, but at the moment I feel it could be unsettling.

I wish you all hope at this difficult time in history.

The Severity of God

Is it wise to reject the Christian worldview on the grounds that one doesn’t believe God would be as severe and punishing as the Bible portrays?

Or should one accept that God causes terrible suffering and embrace the Christian worldview, even though it could make it difficult to love God genuinely knowing how severe He is to those who reject Jesus?

There’s no doubt in my mind that God causes cancer and other diseases, wars, depression, etc. Therefore I cannot find a logical argument for believing God would not cause horrendous suffering to those who reject Jesus, even though it is He who decides who is of the elect, and who is not.

In light of these considerations, it seems like the logical thing to do is accept Christianity and follow Jesus, even though it makes life much more difficult, and causes me deep distress accepting the severity of God’s character, if my understanding about this is correct.

I’m worried about becoming a cold and bitter person. But I have to go with the Truth, wherever it leads, even if it makes life harder, and causes me distress. I may be able to find some comfort in Jesus, although I don’t know whether or not I can ever be a truly happy person if the character of God is as severe as my current understanding suggests He is.

Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

(Genesis 15:6)

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

(Romans 11:22)

If you would like to comment, please read this post from earlier this week in its entirety, and respond in the comments below that post. Thank you.

God’s Freedom and Human Suffering

Hello again folks. I know I’ve been posting quite frequently, but there’s a lot that’s been going through my mind and blogging helps me to process it. Also, the discussions in the comments have been really good recently and it’s helpful learning about the way other people see these issues.

I wrote yesterday about the doctrine of double predestination. I would like to share what I’ve been thinking in relation to that doctrine since I published that post.

I will preface my paragraphs with numbers, so if anyone would like to comment, they can refer to the relevant number so it’s obvious which argument or paragraph they are responding to.

1. To recap, the doctrine of double predestination seems to me to be the only way to reconcile God’s absolute sovereignty with the Christian gospel. So I can only accept the Christian worldview if double predestination is true, because I cannot accept any doctrine that compromises God’s sovereign control over the unfolding of all events. It seems to me that either double predestination is a true doctrine, or Christianity must be rejected.

2. The problem I have is understanding suffering in relation to the doctrine of double predestination. If God sends people to hell, He is doing so based not on anything that they have done freely, because there is no free will. He is, in a sense, punishing His own actions.

3. The only solution I am even moderately content with in relation to this issue is a defence of God’s total freedom to do as He wishes. God is responsible to no one. Readers will probably be familiar with the passage in Romans 9 which seems to describe this:

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

(Romans 9:15-24 ESV)

[N.B. I wanted to indent the quoted paragraphs and mark them as quotations but in the Gutenberg editor I cannot find any way to do it. I can’t even select two paragraphs at the same time. I am so frustrated with the Gutenberg editor and it’s making me want to stop using WordPress

Double Predestination

In the early hours of this morning, I picked up a Bible for the first time in a while and read through the book of Revelation. I suspected before I began reading that I would be drawn back into the Christian worldview, as the words of the Bible always communicate in a powerful way.

I felt a great deal of peace as I was reading, although part of my mind was also resisting. As people who read my blog know, there are certain Christian doctrines that I have argued don’t make sense in light of my understanding (dare I say ‘knowledge’) that God is in sovereign control of all events.

A few months ago, I wrote an essay entitled ‘The Only Question You Ever Need Ask’ which dealt with the subject of double predestination. This is the doctrine that says before God created the world, He predestined some to eternal life and others to eternal damnation. My argument in the essay was that because God is in sovereign control of all events, one must either accept the doctrine of double predestination (to make sense of the Bible) or accept God’s absolute sovereignty and reject the Christian worldview. These seemed to be the only two logical options.

I concluded the essay by arguing that because God is sovereignly in control of all events, He is unlikely to experience the kind of wrath in relation to sin which is part of Biblical theology, because wherever so-called sin occurs, God is in control of the ‘sinful’ actions. If God caused these actions, and they are all part of His plan, how could He then be angry about them? By extension, it would be difficult to argue that God has justification for sending people to hell when they have done nothing freely to deserve punishment. This perspective leaves the Christian worldview looking rather nonsensical.

There is a way to make sense of this, though it’s rather unorthodox. God may be angry over sin, but only in the sense that characters acting in a play might be angry with one another. Wrath over sin could be part of a storyline written and directed by God. This makes sense if the whole of creation is a story animated by God, as I have argued it is in my book God’s Grand Game.

The crucial thing that I’m currently reflecting upon is that in the book of Revelation there is a passage which describes people’s names being written in the Book of Life at the foundation of the world (Revelation 17:8). But this passage must be considered in relation to a subsequent passage (Revelation 20:12), which says that the dead will be judged according to what is written in the book.

Let me restate the point. If 1) The Book of Life was written before the foundation of the world, and 2) Our deeds will be judged according to what is written in the book; then isn’t this a clear argument that the Bible describes double predestination?

This is a critical issue for me in terms of my own struggle with the Christian faith because I am certain that God is in control of all events, and that we don’t have free will, for reasons I have explained extensively elsewhere. If double predestination is true, I can happily embrace Christianity (God willing, of course), because the doctrine makes sense of both Biblical theology and God’s sovereignty over all events.

Thank you for reading. If you have any comments specifically related to the book of life, the book of Revelation, and predestination, you’re welcome to leave a comment. I don’t really want to get into the free will debate here because I’m confident I’ve answered that one, so please respect that. Looking forward to your thoughts.