ANNIHILATIONISM VS ETERNAL TORMENT ??

by Raphael 3 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Raphael

  A question aimed at those of you who have become Christians , after your JW experiences...

  How many still believe that the soul of those not saved will cease to exist at death...

  Personaly I believe we are multi dimensional beings - we are Spirit/Soul and body...

  I would suggest that God can destroy body/soul and spirit and that the references to eternal torment are figurative and not literal...

  A very well known Christian writer " John Stott", who is an evangelical christian shares these views...

  I'm intersted in how others who still believe feel about this ??
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  FairMind

  I still believe a person is a soul as opposed to having an immortal soul. I sincerely believe this is what the Bible teaches. An example is that accoridng to scripture, Jesus was the first to put on immortality so that pretty well excludes anyone prior to Jesus having an immortal soul.
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  Shazard

  Well Jesus shared different view :) Coz you don't believe something it does not stops existing. Jesus talks about real spiritual place where wicked damned people and deamons are placed. Ethernal life is ethernal life with God. Ethernal death is ethernal life without God. It is modernism invention that "death" = "destruction and nothing", no any nation nor christians teached that death = end of everything. Jesus made to undestand very clearly that there is a place where bad people (bad in God's eyes) goes. And also there is ethernal Gehanna, which is ethernal place where people put them by their own will. It is existence without God.
  When God creates something he creates it to exist, not to be destroyed. But if creation chooses life without God and refuses God's grace, forigiviness, love and gifts, then there will come time, when God will say "enough", and those who rejected God will exist without God - imagine it - remove everything (every single thing) which is GOOD in your life, and see what lefts and that is even not close to hell.
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  onesong

  I've begun to think about the idea that MOST of what we are as humans is invisible or spirit. Our thoughts, emotions, memories , ideas are what make us who we are. The physical body we inhabit seems to me to be a tool of sorts. So I'm leaning toward the idea of an immortal soul.

  I've also talked with people recently who've had near death experiences and their stories are intriguing and the way they then approach life. It seems they have no fear of death and know that something better awaits.

  Ultimately it's all unknown and a matter of faith and I'm sure there's good reason for that.