Date:   1/27/2007 8:52:59 PM ( 17 y ago)
Popularity:   message viewed 2313 times
URL:   http://www.curezone.org/blogs/c/fm.asp?i=1002370

Churchianity is a popular term to describe the "country club" mentality many members have toward Christianity. They "do" church instead of being it. It refers to an outward religiosity that emphasizes appearances, checking off the right "boxes", playing the church game. I have written some blog articles about it here, and there is more on my website.

People who go to church yet don't believe in hell are usually Universalists. They believe that everyone will eventually go to heaven, although most will have to spend time in some kind of hell or purgatory before they'll repent and finally accept Jesus. Some are Annihilationists, who believe that the lost will simply be destroyed. Either way, both groups do not believe in literal, eternal, conscious torment for the lost after this life is over.

But the Bible clearly indicates that there will in fact be eternal conscious torment for the lost, and there are no second chances in the next life. There is some good material about all that here:

http://www.carm.org/universalism.htm


About hell:

There is a lot of disagreement over this, but here's what I think the Bible tells us.

First, be aware that English Bibles do not consistently translate the various Greek and Hebrew words for the abode of the dead. The Hebrew word I can think of offhand is Sheol, and the Greek words include Tartarus, Gehenna, Hades, and the Lake of Fire. Following is my personal view of all this, not anything scholarly or authoritative.

When a person dies, their body goes back to "dust", but where does their spirit go? Jesus gave an illustration of "the rich man and Lazarus" in Luke 16. This section seems to be out of place, if you look at the verses before and after it, and it only appears in Luke. But there is no reputable scholarship that doubts its authenticity, so we can't question it. The main thing to notice is that it is not a parable, but a true story. Jesus never names names in parables, but here he names Lazarus and Abraham.

In this account, which we have determined is factual and not symbolic, he tells us that the abode of the dead was divided into two parts. On one side was the righteous dead (Abraham's side), and on the other was the unrighteous dead. Neither was in heaven, in God's immediate presence, but in this divided place. The "good" side is called Paradise and the "bad" side is called Hell.

It is my opinion that when Jesus returned to heaven after his resurrection, he took the righteous dead with him to heaven, since he had offered his own blood on the altar in the temple in heaven. I think this may be what is meant in Eph. 4:8 by Jesus having "led captives" when he ascended. So since then, Paradise can be considered a synonym for heaven since all its former inhabitants are there. But there is no indication of the unrighteous dead being taken out of hell, so we must assume they are still there, awaiting judgment.

It would take too much space here to explain all the details and give all the references, but I think that believers will be given their rewards in heaven at what is called the Judgment Seat of Christ. The unrighteous will be judged at the Great White Throne judgment. All of the lost will then be thrown into the Lake of Fire, their final eternal destiny.

In my "Go to Heaven" article at my website I explain more about sin, salvation, judgment and rewards, so you might want to check that out. There certainly are consequences for eternity, which is why we preach the gospel. If the lost will just be destroyed or will eventually be "saved" anyway, what's the point? Why should we spoil everyone's fun if they'll wind up in heaven anyway? The fact that we are told to preach the gospel to everyone is enough proof by itself that it matters.

But people don't want to hear that, because it doesn't fit their preconceived notions about God. They only want to accept his love, and not his holiness and justice. God is eternal, and offenses against him are therefore eternal. That's why only Jesus, who is God, could possibly take away sin. And it's why only faith in this Jesus can save anyone.

Hope that helps :-)
 

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