Slandering Jesus
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It is not surprising to hear our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, slandered by atheists and those from other world religions. However, should such slander be conducted by Christian theologians, preachers and teachers? Should doctrines be embraced that distort the character of our Lord, and which present Him as an unjust, cruel and sadistic tyrant?
We know that the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as being the Creator and Judge. Therefore, Jesus is the one who determines who does or does not qualify for salvation. And, likewise, Jesus is also the one who determines the rewards and punishments for all human beings. It is in His capacity as Creator and Judge that the character of Jesus Christ is being slandered by two unjust, cruel and sadistic doctrines; furthermore, both of these teachings are contradicted by the vast majority of biblical evidence.
What are these doctrines? The Church’s hell doctrine, regarding the eternal torment of human beings, and the doctrine of Calvinism are the slanderous dogmas to which I am referring.
The Church teaches that Jesus, our Judge, will torment human beings throughout the trillions of years of eternity, as supposed just recompense for a seventy-year lifespan on earth. If hell was limited to one trillion years, that would equal 30,000 years of agonizing torment for each and every minute lived on earth. That equals 14 billion “units” of punishment for every single “unit” of disobedience. Is that equitable justice? Such a system of justice would be considered as cruel, sadistic tyranny if it was practiced anywhere on this planet.
However, what is most important is that this sadistic teaching contradicts the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence. The Bible clearly teaches that eternal life is only available for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The wicked have not placed their faith in Jesus, so they have no access to eternal life. Therefore, they cannot live forever in hell. And, there are dozens of scriptures which state that the final fate of the wicked is “death”, not an eternal life of pain and agony. There is not one scripture in the entire Bible that specifically and unequivocally states that people live in hell throughout eternity. There are scriptures which state that the hell fire itself is eternal, which is necessary to punish the devil and his evil angels forever, but not one single scripture specifically and unequivocally states that this is the case for lost people.
When you combine the Calvinist predestination doctrine with the Church’s eternal-torment hell doctrine, the God of Christianity is presented as being far more unjust and cruel than the gods of any other religions. Why? Calvinism teaches that Jesus Christ, because Jesus is presented as the Creator in the New Testament, intentionally creates some people to go to heaven and some to go to hell; moreover, the people themselves have no opportunity to change their predestined fate. The ones who Jesus creates for hell will have no option to avoid their painful, horrid, eternal destiny.
Therefore, according to Calvinism, Jesus intentionally creates people with the sole purpose of being able to torture them forever in the fires of hell. This doctrine becomes even more repulsive when you realize that Jesus said that many more people are going to hell than to heaven, because that means that this one-way ticket to hell will be given to the vast majority of human beings.
Fortunately, the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence also contradicts this sick and sadistic doctrine. Jesus Christ is the epitome of mercy, love and equitable justice; He is not the cruel, unjust, sadistic monster portrayed by Calvinism. The Bible clearly states that God wants “all” men to be saved, and that He does not want any to perish, but that He wants “all” to come to repentance (1st Timothy 2:3-4; 2nd Peter 3:9).
source
It is not surprising to hear our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, slandered by atheists and those from other world religions. However, should such slander be conducted by Christian theologians, preachers and teachers? Should doctrines be embraced that distort the character of our Lord, and which present Him as an unjust, cruel and sadistic tyrant?
We know that the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as being the Creator and Judge. Therefore, Jesus is the one who determines who does or does not qualify for salvation. And, likewise, Jesus is also the one who determines the rewards and punishments for all human beings. It is in His capacity as Creator and Judge that the character of Jesus Christ is being slandered by two unjust, cruel and sadistic doctrines; furthermore, both of these teachings are contradicted by the vast majority of biblical evidence.
What are these doctrines? The Church’s hell doctrine, regarding the eternal torment of human beings, and the doctrine of Calvinism are the slanderous dogmas to which I am referring.
The Church teaches that Jesus, our Judge, will torment human beings throughout the trillions of years of eternity, as supposed just recompense for a seventy-year lifespan on earth. If hell was limited to one trillion years, that would equal 30,000 years of agonizing torment for each and every minute lived on earth. That equals 14 billion “units” of punishment for every single “unit” of disobedience. Is that equitable justice? Such a system of justice would be considered as cruel, sadistic tyranny if it was practiced anywhere on this planet.
However, what is most important is that this sadistic teaching contradicts the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence. The Bible clearly teaches that eternal life is only available for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The wicked have not placed their faith in Jesus, so they have no access to eternal life. Therefore, they cannot live forever in hell. And, there are dozens of scriptures which state that the final fate of the wicked is “death”, not an eternal life of pain and agony. There is not one scripture in the entire Bible that specifically and unequivocally states that people live in hell throughout eternity. There are scriptures which state that the hell fire itself is eternal, which is necessary to punish the devil and his evil angels forever, but not one single scripture specifically and unequivocally states that this is the case for lost people.
When you combine the Calvinist predestination doctrine with the Church’s eternal-torment hell doctrine, the God of Christianity is presented as being far more unjust and cruel than the gods of any other religions. Why? Calvinism teaches that Jesus Christ, because Jesus is presented as the Creator in the New Testament, intentionally creates some people to go to heaven and some to go to hell; moreover, the people themselves have no opportunity to change their predestined fate. The ones who Jesus creates for hell will have no option to avoid their painful, horrid, eternal destiny.
Therefore, according to Calvinism, Jesus intentionally creates people with the sole purpose of being able to torture them forever in the fires of hell. This doctrine becomes even more repulsive when you realize that Jesus said that many more people are going to hell than to heaven, because that means that this one-way ticket to hell will be given to the vast majority of human beings.
Fortunately, the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence also contradicts this sick and sadistic doctrine. Jesus Christ is the epitome of mercy, love and equitable justice; He is not the cruel, unjust, sadistic monster portrayed by Calvinism. The Bible clearly states that God wants “all” men to be saved, and that He does not want any to perish, but that He wants “all” to come to repentance (1st Timothy 2:3-4; 2nd Peter 3:9).
