This is something that Pacifist stated on the Church Shooting Thread so I was asked to start a new one here with my reply/thoughts:
I have learned that ECT is the "youngest" understanding of afterlife in the history of the church and that Universalism or Annihilationism were the views for centuries of the early church. I am open to all three being possible but I hope in Universalism for the exact understanding you mentioned here. The fire is God's refinement for his entire creation. Even the word "eternal" was not an accurate translation of the greek. The word was Aion which can be more accurately translated as 'Age' or 'Eon'. This word throughout scripture is translated as forever and ever but the root of those words revolve around the concept of AGES not eternity.
I am no expert of course and was raised in the SBC with ECT as my belief and I participated in Hell Houses etc. But now I just can't square that view of God and ECT. I'm not saying no one goes through a fire but along with Pacifist believe that it is a refining fire meant to purify all of us (maybe differing levels...I don't know, just conjecture at this point).
P.S. What if God's wrath, as mentioned in the Bible, is not an active punishment (ala Zeus and his thunderbolts) but a giving over to? Something that he allows/gives people to their own desires apart from his love and kingdom and we miss the beauty of communion with God by pursuing our own desires, even twisting them (like Adam and Even in the Garden). I have been reconsidering many of these "foundational beliefs" that simply aren't as foundational throughout the history of the church as I have been told to believe.
This is a bit off topic from the beginning of the church shooting thread but your post topic is something I have specifically been reading and reconsidering the past couple of years.Quote:
Wow. Okay. Well, I believe ECT is the least likely of the 3 major views (Universalism, Annihilationism, and ECT). My views are rooted in Scripture. I don't believe it's a literal lake of fire. I believe it's what is alluded to when Paul and the author of Proverbs tell us that loving your enemy is like heaping burning coals on his head. If our flawed, human love is like heaping burning coals, imagine what being in the presence of Love will be like. Love that is a "consuming fire". We will pass through the consuming fire, but I believe all will be in the presence of God. To some, it will be like being in a lake of fire. Much like impure metals are passed through a refiner's fire to burn away the impurities, so will we. The difference is that the "fire" is God's love. This is much more consistent with who Christ revealed the triune God to be, imo. But we will all be reconciled to Him. That's a promise He made and one I truly believe in. This is why the gates of Heaven will be eternally open. The "lake of fire" those who reject Him are in is His love, not a place He uses to eternally torture us. It's to refine us, and reconcile His image bearer to Himself.
Could I be wrong? Absolutely. We're talking about ancient texts and trying to understand them. But at the end of the day, I look to Jesus Christ. He is the exact representation of the nature of the Father. If it doesn't look like Jesus, it isn't God. Eternal torture doesn't look like Jesus. Love so great that it's like a lake of fire (or heaping burning coals) does.
I have learned that ECT is the "youngest" understanding of afterlife in the history of the church and that Universalism or Annihilationism were the views for centuries of the early church. I am open to all three being possible but I hope in Universalism for the exact understanding you mentioned here. The fire is God's refinement for his entire creation. Even the word "eternal" was not an accurate translation of the greek. The word was Aion which can be more accurately translated as 'Age' or 'Eon'. This word throughout scripture is translated as forever and ever but the root of those words revolve around the concept of AGES not eternity.
I am no expert of course and was raised in the SBC with ECT as my belief and I participated in Hell Houses etc. But now I just can't square that view of God and ECT. I'm not saying no one goes through a fire but along with Pacifist believe that it is a refining fire meant to purify all of us (maybe differing levels...I don't know, just conjecture at this point).
P.S. What if God's wrath, as mentioned in the Bible, is not an active punishment (ala Zeus and his thunderbolts) but a giving over to? Something that he allows/gives people to their own desires apart from his love and kingdom and we miss the beauty of communion with God by pursuing our own desires, even twisting them (like Adam and Even in the Garden). I have been reconsidering many of these "foundational beliefs" that simply aren't as foundational throughout the history of the church as I have been told to believe.