Comments on: why is there a hell? http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/ living Ephesians 2:1-4 in Lexington KY Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:58:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Ben H. http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-155 Ben H. Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:33:16 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-155 It is also incredible to think that God gave man free will, and prepared for it's abuse in advance. The lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. It is also incredible to think that God gave man free will, and prepared for it’s abuse in advance. The lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.

]]> By: Cody http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-154 Cody Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:10:20 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-154 wow so hitting up this post a little late, but i was scanning the site and felt compelled to add to the discussion... when answering a similar question one time, i was confronted with an even more frightening one, "why would a loving God have placed the tree of knowledge in the garden of eden and then tell man he could not eat from it, effectively creating temptation, didn't God know they would do it?" that bothered for an incredibly long time and finally, after praying about it, i came to a better understanding of the nature of all creation being: What good is a good thing without a bad thing to compare it to? if as humans we cannot appreciate something until we no longer have it, how else could we have ever learned to appreciate the glory of God? man was placed in a perfect environment, but it was all he ever knew. so in this way we are able to seek the kingdom of heaven, knowing that it is better than anything we have ever experienced... also a note on the Omniscient God, if you think of God as the creater of all things, including time, then he is able to exist outside of that restraint, therefore able to view all creation from begining to end, in the manner of a timeline, and in that sense God knows all. wow so hitting up this post a little late, but i was scanning the site and felt compelled to add to the discussion… when answering a similar question one time, i was confronted with an even more frightening one, “why would a loving God have placed the tree of knowledge in the garden of eden and then tell man he could not eat from it, effectively creating temptation, didn’t God know they would do it?” that bothered for an incredibly long time and finally, after praying about it, i came to a better understanding of the nature of all creation being: What good is a good thing without a bad thing to compare it to? if as humans we cannot appreciate something until we no longer have it, how else could we have ever learned to appreciate the glory of God? man was placed in a perfect environment, but it was all he ever knew. so in this way we are able to seek the kingdom of heaven, knowing that it is better than anything we have ever experienced… also a note on the Omniscient God, if you think of God as the creater of all things, including time, then he is able to exist outside of that restraint, therefore able to view all creation from begining to end, in the manner of a timeline, and in that sense God knows all.

]]> By: Emily http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-16 Emily Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:02:08 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-16 Ha! Well done. In the blurry version it looks like you're conversing over a mailbox. I understand now. By the way, I put a link to this website on my facebook profile, so however mindless my comments, I am still helping you. Ha! Well done. In the blurry version it looks like you’re conversing over a mailbox. I understand now. By the way, I put a link to this website on my facebook profile, so however mindless my comments, I am still helping you.

]]> By: dan http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-10 dan Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:24:15 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-10 Actually it is a cutout filter of me and Jarrod Owens. The original picture is <a href="http://utk.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32097817&op=4&o=all&view=all&subj=12914069&id=12914604" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Actually it is a cutout filter of me and Jarrod Owens. The original picture is here.

]]> By: Emily http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-7 Emily Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:43:45 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-7 Hey, that's a blurry picture of Jason and Jarrod Owens! Hey, that’s a blurry picture of Jason and Jarrod Owens!

]]> By: dan http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-6 dan Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:49:31 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-6 It is also worth mentioning that many Christians reject some of the basic claims like "God is all powerful" or "God is omniscient". I'm not ready to completely sign on to this view, but I'm fairly sympathetic towards it. If you are interested in some reading on that particular subject, I recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FOpenness-God-Challenge-Traditional-Understanding%2Fdp%2F0830818529%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1182260832%26sr%3D8-1&tag=exicarus-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" rel="nofollow">The Openness of God</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=exicarus-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />. You can also read the Wikipedia article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_theism" rel="nofollow">Open Theism</a>. It is also worth mentioning that many Christians reject some of the basic claims like “God is all powerful” or “God is omniscient”. I’m not ready to completely sign on to this view, but I’m fairly sympathetic towards it. If you are interested in some reading on that particular subject, I recommend The Openness of God. You can also read the Wikipedia article on Open Theism.

]]> By: dan http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-5 dan Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:20:35 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-5 <p>I'm glad you asked, Bjorn. Your question wasn't really within the scope of the above post, but I would be glad to address it. This gets into the stickier parts of the problem of evil. How is it that an all good, all powerful and all knowing God allows evil in the universe? </p> <p>Here is the quick answer: The very nature of "love" is such that it requires a free moral agent. The nature of "love" is also such that it is a greater good than any evil which could be caused by the wrong exercises of said freewill. Therefore, God gives us freewill. Clearly we can debate about those two necessary premises I just gave, but that is my basic position.</p> <p>For a longer explanation, I wrote a somewhat related <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcf2bq3p_6hc48nh" rel="nofollow">paper</a> on the subject. This was written for Philosophy 545, the Philosophy of Religion, with Dr. Bradshaw. It was written in response to an article by JL Mackie called "Evil and Omnipotence". You can find it on JSTOR if you have access. My positions have changed somewhat since I wrote that paper; however, it addresses the question from a mainline Christian perspective.</p> <p>Some more recommended reading can be found at the <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/" rel="nofollow">Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</a>.</p> I’m glad you asked, Bjorn. Your question wasn’t really within the scope of the above post, but I would be glad to address it. This gets into the stickier parts of the problem of evil. How is it that an all good, all powerful and all knowing God allows evil in the universe?

Here is the quick answer: The very nature of “love” is such that it requires a free moral agent. The nature of “love” is also such that it is a greater good than any evil which could be caused by the wrong exercises of said freewill. Therefore, God gives us freewill. Clearly we can debate about those two necessary premises I just gave, but that is my basic position.

For a longer explanation, I wrote a somewhat related paper on the subject. This was written for Philosophy 545, the Philosophy of Religion, with Dr. Bradshaw. It was written in response to an article by JL Mackie called “Evil and Omnipotence”. You can find it on JSTOR if you have access. My positions have changed somewhat since I wrote that paper; however, it addresses the question from a mainline Christian perspective.

Some more recommended reading can be found at the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

]]> By: Bjorn http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-4 Bjorn Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:45:26 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-4 To clarify,god, having determined the nature of all things, surely determined the nature of man. If sin is part of the nature of man, what explanation does the Bible provide for this "decision" on god's part. To clarify,god, having determined the nature of all things, surely determined the nature of man. If sin is part of the nature of man, what explanation does the Bible provide for this “decision” on god’s part.

]]> By: Bjorn http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-3 Bjorn Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:41:14 +0000 http://www.exicarus.com/2007/06/18/why-is-there-a-hell/#comment-3 So, assuming for a moment that omnipotence (in god) is not contradictory with free will (in man), why did god give man the choice to sin? So, assuming for a moment that omnipotence (in god) is not contradictory with free will (in man), why did god give man the choice to sin?

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