I found an article that was based upon an audio James Flanders did several months back that I wanted to share here.
It's hard to read due to the content. It seems a bit sarcastic in places, but I think the sarcasm was necessary to make the point.
Keep in mind as you read it that the term orthodoxy basically refers to accepted or popular thought within religious institutions.
Enjoy!
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Have you
ever been confused by the message of orthodoxy? I have.
Let me share with you in condensed form, the confusing and somewhat
contradictory message which is often presented. Then I will share the response
I heard from a non-orthodox person during a dinner conversation a few years
ago.
The following is the good news as presented by some.
“The majority of mankind is going to burn in hell forever
and ever and ever and only a few will be saved. Every day hundreds of thousands
of people are dying and instantaneously being catapulted into the fiery flames
of hell where they will be eternally tormented with no possibility of even
slight relief much less deliverance. This tormenting and agony will last
forever and ever and ever. God unconditionally loves all mankind. There is nothing
anyone can do to cause God to love them more and nothing they can do to cause
Him to love then less. However, if those poor souls born on the other side of
the world or in some remote jungle somewhere are not reached with this good
news of the love of GOD, and unless they believe God loves them before they
breath their last breath, God has no choice but to cast them into hell to be
tortured relentlessly without end, because He is a just GOD. Torturing them
forever in fire breaks God’s heard because He loves them so much. You must
understand that because of the sin of Adam all of mankind was plunged into the
condition of being born into sin and death, but yet that condition brought upon
them by Adam is the responsibility of each individual. Therefore, the only
righteous thing for God to do (GOD by the way, whose mercy is new every morning
and who is defined by the Apostle John as love) has no choice but to show no
mercy and endlessly torture those who don’t have a chance to hear this good
news, along with those who do hear but failed to make the right decision before
they breathed their last breath. Sadly, their will to not believe God loved
them so much trumps God’s will to redeem them. It breaks God’s heart that he
must torture them forever. Jesus did try really hard with His sacrifice on the
cross. He tried His best with redemption, but in reality it all rests on the
shoulders of humanity to save themselves through an act of their own will. You
see, the hard heartedness of man is the problem. True, the Bible teaches that
it is God who blinds eyes and hardens hearts but the responsibility for it lies
squarely upon the shoulders of each individual. Again, we must repeat that it
was Adam’s fall that placed all of us under death and sin and true the Bible
does say that where sin abounded grace abounded much more, but it apparently only
abounds much more for those who hear the message, respond, and then do all the
right things for the rest of their life. Although grace is defined as unmerited
favor, grace doesn’t cover the sins of the poor slob that we Americans didn’t
reach with this simple and straight forward message of the good news of the
loving GOD whose son bled and died for all the sin of the world. Therefore, their
damnations is also the fault of those who failed to reach them. On a positive
note, there is a loophole for babies who die in the womb as a result of
abortion. They are instantly transported into heaven. There is also a loophole
for children who make it through to delivery, but only up to a certain age (although
no one knows exactly what age). If they reach that age, hear the good news of
the loving GOD, but they are too stupid to respond, or fail to get baptized,
attend regular services, etc. they are doomed. The blood of Christ the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world doesn’t take away their sin. Realize that
regardless of whether the unbeliever lived fifteen years or 100 years, the
justice of God requires that they burn alive in fire without end for all
eternity because that is true justice and the penalty which they deserve for
the sin of Adam and their own unbelief (regardless of whether they have heard
of Christ or not). Yes, God calls us to love our enemies, bless those who
persecute us and to do good to those who spitefully use us. He also tells us
not to be overcome with evil but to overcome evil with good. However, that is
not the way of God. You see, God’s ways are not our ways. In the economy of
GOD, eternal torture is good and just.”
Some within orthodoxy will add another loophole or two for
escaping eternal torment In other words, they add another way of salvation.
Such as…
“There is also a loophole for those who are developmentally
challenged mentally. If they die, they escape hell because of their poor mental
state. However those with physical disabilities do not get the same gracious free
ride. Those who are physically disabled must also do a few things to merit the
unmerited unconditional love of GOD. They need to repent, be baptized, attend
weekly services, etc. in order to receive this absolutely free gift or they
will be cast forever alive into fire, where their nerves will be laid raw and
the indescribable pain will be relentless forever and ever as we rest in joy on
the bosom of Abraham watching them squirm. This is glorious good news! Praise
GOD for HIS mercy and grace. What an indescribable gift! True, the Bible tells
us that the wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life, but when
the Bible speaks of death, it doesn’t mean death. It means to be tortured
forever and ever in fire. True, the Bible speaks of salvation being a free
gift, but there are things you have to do…”
Now let me share with you a paraphrase of the response of a
non-orthodox friend who had just been exposed to the confusion above. The
following statements were made at dinner with a half dozen or so people around
the table.
“What are you saying? You are making no sense! Your message
contradicts itself over and over! You’re placing a lot of conditions on what
you say is unconditional and making up loopholes that I bet you can’t find in
the Bible. On top of that I don’t think you believe what you are saying anyway.
If you really believe all of that, why do you protest abortion? Shouldn’t you
be pro-abortion? After all if a baby is aborted that’s a sure way to guarantee
that the kid will escape the forever and ever fiery flames of hell and be
guaranteed a place on Abrahams chest where he can then watch with glee as his
siblings that were born but were too dumb to take the deal burn forever and
ever on the other side of the chasm.”
He went on…
“Wasn’t there a woman in the news who killed her children so
that they would not reach the so called age of accountability? She really
believed your doctrine and thought it best to place herself in danger of non-stop
eternal hellfire for the sake of being assured her children would never face
it. So she drowned them, believing she would instantaneously send them into the
so called unconditionally loving arms of GOD who WILLS all to be saved and who
sent HIS son to take away the sin of the world but who according to your
doctrine failed miserably and whose act of obedience and its effects pale in
comparison to the far reaching effects of Adam when he ate the fruit in the
garden. What if you are missing something? What if Jesus was actually a
success? What if He really is THE SAVIOR rather than a potential Savior? What
if you really have good news to share with the world? What if God loves people
more than you ever imagined and you are called to love them in the same way
whether they believe yet or not. Doesn’t your Bible say that one day every knee
will bow and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father? Doesn’t it
say something about God becoming all in all? Doesn’t it say something about God
reconciling all things to Himself?
When he finished, everyone sat quietly at the table, not
sure what to say.
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