Search This Blog

Tuesday 29 May 2018

On the apostle(s):The Watchtower society's commentary.

APOSTLE

The Greek word a·poʹsto·los is derived from the common verb a·po·stelʹlo, meaning simply “send forth (or off).” (Mt 10:5; Mr 11:3) Its basic sense is clearly illustrated in Jesus’ statement: “A slave is not greater than his master, nor is one that is sent forth [a·poʹsto·los] greater than the one that sent him.” (Joh 13:16) In this sense the word also applies to Christ Jesus as “the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” (Heb 3:1; compare Mt 10:40; 15:24; Lu 4:18, 43; 9:48; 10:16; Joh 3:17; 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3, 8, 18, 21-25; 20:21.) Jesus was sent forth by God as his appointed and commissioned representative.

The term is principally applied, however, to those disciples whom Jesus personally selected as a body of 12 appointed representatives. The names of the original 12 selected are given at Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:13-16. One of the original 12, Judas Iscariot, proved to be a traitor, thereby fulfilling earlier prophecies. (Ps 41:9; 109:8) The remaining 11 faithful apostles are again listed at Acts 1:13.

Some of the apostles had been disciples of John the Baptizer before becoming Jesus’ disciples. (Joh 1:35-42) Eleven of them were evidently Galileans (Ac 2:7), Judas Iscariot being considered the sole Judean. They were from the working class; four were definitely fishermen by trade; one had been a tax collector. (Mt 4:18-21; 9:9-13) At least two of them appear to have been cousins of Jesus (James and John, the sons of Zebedee). They were men who were viewed by the religious leaders as “unlettered and ordinary,” indicating that their education was elementary and not from the schools of higher learning. A number of them, including Peter (Cephas), were married men.​—Ac 4:13; 1Co 9:5.

Of the 12, Peter, James, and John seem to have enjoyed the closest relationship with Jesus. They alone witnessed the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter (Mr 5:35-43) and the transfiguration of Jesus (Mt 17:1, 2), and they accompanied him farther into the garden of Gethsemane than the other apostles on the night of his arrest. (Mr 14:32, 33) A special affinity appears to have existed between Jesus and John, and John is accepted as being the one referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus used to love.”​—Joh 21:20-24; 13:23.

Selection and Early Ministry. The 12 were selected out of a larger group of disciples and were designated “apostles” by Jesus, “that they might continue with him and that he might send them out [a·po·stelʹlei] to preach and to have authority to expel the demons.” (Mr 3:13-15) Thereafter they did “continue with him” in very close association during the remainder of his earthly ministry, receiving extensive personal instruction and ministerial training. (Mt 10:1-42; Lu 8:1) Since they continued to be Jesus’ pupils, they were still called “disciples,” particularly in accounts of events prior to Pentecost. (Mt 11:1; 14:26; 20:17; Joh 20:2) Thereafter they are consistently called “apostles.” At the time of their appointment, Jesus gave them miraculous powers to heal, as well as to expel demons, and they used these powers to some extent during Jesus’ ministry. (Mr 3:14, 15; 6:13; Mt 10:1-8; Lu 9:6; compare Mt 17:16.) This activity, however, is shown to be always subordinate to their principal work of preaching. Though forming an inner circle of followers, their instruction and training included no mysterious rituals or ceremonies.

Human Weaknesses. Though greatly favored as apostles of God’s Son, they manifested normal human failings and weaknesses. Peter was inclined to be rash and impetuous (Mt 16:22, 23; Joh 21:7, 8); Thomas was slow to be convinced (Joh 20:24, 25); James and John manifested youthful impatience (Lu 9:49, 54). They quarreled over the issue of their future greatness in the earthly kingdom that they expected Jesus to establish. (Mt 20:20-28; Mr 10:35-45; compare Ac 1:6; Lu 24:21.) They acknowledged their need for greater faith. (Lu 17:5; compare Mt 17:20.) Despite their years of intimate association with Jesus and though knowing him to be the Messiah, they all abandoned him at the time of his arrest (Mt 26:56); the matter of his burial was handled by others. The apostles were slow at first to accept the testimony of the women who first saw Jesus after his resurrection. (Lu 24:10, 11) Because of fear they met behind locked doors. (Joh 20:19, 26) The resurrected Jesus gave them further enlightenment, and following his ascension to heaven on the 40th day from his resurrection, they manifested great joy and “were continually in the temple blessing God.”​—Lu 24:44-53.

Activity in Christian Congregation. The outpouring of God’s spirit upon them at Pentecost greatly strengthened the apostles. The first five chapters of the Acts of Apostles testify to the great fearlessness of the apostles and their boldness in declaring the good news and the resurrection of Jesus in spite of jailing, beatings, and threats of death from their rulers. During those early days after Pentecost, the dynamic leadership of the apostles, under the power of the holy spirit, resulted in amazing expansion in the Christian congregation. (Ac 2:41; 4:4) Their ministry was at first concentrated in Jerusalem, then extended to Samaria, and in time, throughout the known world.​—Ac 5:42; 6:7; 8:5-17, 25; 1:8.

Their primary function as apostles was to be witnesses as to Jesus’ fulfillment of Jehovah God’s purposes and prophecies, particularly of his resurrection and exaltation, and to do a discipling work among all nations; and this commission was emphasized to them by Jesus just before his ascension to heaven. (Mt 28:19, 20; Ac 1:8, 22; 2:32-36; 3:15-26) Their testimony concerning the resurrection was that of eyewitnesses.​—Ac 13:30-34.

Miraculous powers. Additionally, to fortify their testimony, the apostles continued to exercise the miraculous powers previously granted them by Jesus, and also other gifts of the spirit received from Pentecost forward. (Ac 5:12; 9:36-40; see GIFTS FROM GOD [Gifts of the Spirit].) While others, too, received such miraculous gifts of the spirit, the account shows that such was the case only when one or more of the apostles were present, or by the laying on of the hands of the apostles. Paul, though not one of the 12, also served in this way as an apostle personally appointed by Jesus Christ. (Ac 2:1, 4, 14; 8:14-18; 10:44; 19:6) Thus the power to transmit such gifts was unique with these apostles. Such miraculous gifts would therefore pass away with the passing away of these apostles and of those who had received these gifts through the apostles (1Co 13:2, 8-11), and thus we read that these powers were “missing in the 2nd-century church, the writers of those days speaking of them as a thing in the past​—in the apostolic age, in fact.”​—The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas, 1980, Vol. 1, p. 79.

Administrative position. In the formation, organization, and subsequent direction of the Christian congregation, the apostles occupied a primary position. (1Co 12:28; Eph 4:11) Although they were joined by others of the “older men” in such supervision, they formed a principal part of the governing body of the expanding Christian congregation, and this body was recognized by the early Christians everywhere as the channel of communication used by God to render decisions and direct the affairs of the congregation throughout the earth. (Ac 2:42; 8:14-17; 11:22; 15:1, 2, 6-31; 16:4, 5) This was possible for these men only because of the fulfillment of the promises about guidance by God’s holy spirit. (Joh 15:26, 27) Such help enabled them to recall Jesus’ instructions and teachings, to clarify points of doctrine, and to be progressively guided “into all the truth” revealed through them at that apostolic period. (Joh 14:26; 16:13-15; compare Joh 2:22; 12:16.) They made appointments to positions of service within the congregation and also designated areas in which certain ones would engage in missionary activity.​—Ac 6:2, 3; Ga 2:8, 9.

The apostles, therefore, served as a foundation, resting on Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone, for the building up of the “holy temple for Jehovah.” (Eph 2:20-22; 1Pe 2:4-6) There is no evidence of the primacy of any one apostle in the established Christian congregation. (See PETER.) Peter and John appear to have been especially prominent at Pentecost and immediately thereafter, with Peter acting as the principal spokesman. (Ac 2:14, 37, 38; 3:1, 4, 11; 4:1, 13, 19; 5:3, 8, 15, 29) However, in the decisions made at that time neither of these appears to have had a superiority over the others of the governing body, and when news arrived of the baptisms taking place in Samaria, the apostles in Jerusalem “dispatched [a·peʹstei·lan] Peter and John to them,” so that these two served, in effect, as apostles of the apostles. (Ac 6:2-6; 8:14, 15) Following the death of the apostle James, the disciple of the same name, James the half brother of Jesus, appears to have presided in the governing body. Paul speaks of this James and also Peter (Cephas) and John as “the ones who seemed to be pillars.” (Ac 12:1, 2, 16, 17; Ga 1:18, 19; 2:9, 11-14) It was James who announced the final decision on the important issue of circumcision as involving the Gentile believers, at which meeting Peter and Paul both presented testimony.​—Ac 15:1, 2, 6-21.

Who replaced Judas Iscariot as a twelfth apostle?

Because of the defection of Judas Iscariot, who died unfaithful, there were only 11 apostles remaining, and during the 40 days from Jesus’ resurrection until his ascension to heaven he made no appointment of a replacement. Sometime during the ten days between Jesus’ ascension and the day of Pentecost it was viewed as necessary that another be selected to fill the vacancy left by Judas, not simply on the basis of his death but, rather, on the basis of his wicked defection, as the Scriptures quoted by Peter indicate. (Ac 1:15-22; Ps 69:25; 109:8; compare Re 3:11.) Thus, by contrast, when the faithful apostle James was put to death, there is no record of any concern to appoint anyone to succeed him in his position of apostle.​—Ac 12:2.

It is evident from Peter’s statements that it was then considered that any individual filling the position of an apostle of Jesus Christ must have the qualifications of having been personally conversant with him, having been an eyewitness of his works, his miracles, and particularly his resurrection. In view of this it can be seen that any apostolic succession would in course of time become an impossibility, unless there were divine action to supply these requirements in each individual case. At that particular time before Pentecost, however, there were men meeting these requirements, and two were put forth as suitable for replacing unfaithful Judas. Doubtless having in mind Proverbs 16:33, lots were cast, and Matthias was selected and was thereafter “reckoned along with the eleven apostles.” (Ac 1:23-26) He is thus included among “the twelve” who settled the problem concerning the Greek-speaking disciples (Ac 6:1, 2), and evidently Paul includes him in referring to “the twelve” when speaking of Jesus’ postresurrection appearances at 1 Corinthians 15:4-8. Thus, when Pentecost arrived, there were 12 apostolic foundations on which the spiritual Israel then formed could rest.

Congregational Apostleships. Matthias was not a mere apostle of the Jerusalem congregation, any more than the remaining 11 apostles were. His case is different from that of the Levite Joseph Barnabas who became an apostle of the congregation of Antioch, Syria. (Ac 13:1-4; 14:4, 14; 1Co 9:4-6) Other men also are referred to as “apostles of congregations” in the sense that they were sent forth by such congregations to represent them. (2Co 8:23) And, in writing to the Philippians, Paul speaks of Epaphroditus as “your envoy [a·poʹsto·lon] and private servant for my need.” (Php 2:25) The apostleship of these men was clearly not by virtue of any apostolic succession, nor did they form part of “the twelve” as did Matthias.

The correct understanding of the wider application of the term “apostle” can help to clear away any apparent discrepancy between Acts 9:26, 27 and Galatians 1:17-19, when applied to the same occasion. The first account states that Paul, on arriving in Jerusalem, was led “to the apostles” by Barnabas. In the account in Galatians, however, Paul states that he visited with Peter and adds: “But I saw no one else of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord.” James (not the original apostle James the son of Zebedee nor James the son of Alphaeus, but the half brother of Jesus) was evidently viewed as an “apostle” in the wider sense, namely, as “one sent forth” by the Jerusalem congregation. This would allow for the Acts account to use the title in the plural in saying that Paul was led “to the apostles” (that is, Peter and James).​—Compare 1Co 15:5-7; Ga 2:9.

The Selection of Paul. Probably about the year 34 C.E., Saul of Tarsus was converted and is later referred to as Paul. He did become a true apostle of Jesus Christ and was the direct choice of the resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ. (Ac 9:1-22; 22:6-21; 26:12-23; 13:9) He argued on behalf of his apostleship and presented as his qualification the fact that he had seen the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, that he had performed miracles, and that he had served as a channel for imparting the holy spirit to baptized believers. (1Co 9:1, 2; 15:9, 10; 2Co 12:12; 2Ti 1:1, 11; Ro 1:1; 11:13; Ac 19:5, 6) Since the apostle James (the brother of John) was not killed until about the year 44 C.E., “the twelve” were yet alive at the time of Paul’s becoming an apostle. He nowhere includes himself among such “twelve,” while at the same time he acknowledges no inferiority in his apostleship compared with that of such ones.​—Ga 2:6-9.

Matthias’ and Paul’s apostleships were both valid for the purpose for which those men were “sent forth,” yet when the apostle John saw the vision of the heavenly New Jerusalem in the Revelation (given about 96 C.E.) he saw only 12 foundation stones and on them inscribed “the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Re 21:14) The testimony of the Holy Scriptures is clear that the apostle Paul was never referred to as one of “the twelve.” Therefore, it logically follows that one of “the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” inscribed on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem is that of Matthias and not that of Paul. This means that the vision of the apostle John reflects the situation that existed at the start of the Christian congregation on the day of Pentecost in the year 33 C.E.​—See PAUL.

End of the Apostolic Period. Though the Bible does not relate the death of the 12 apostles, aside from that of James, the evidence available indicates that they maintained their faithfulness until death and therefore needed no replacement. Concerning history in the following centuries, the observation is made that “whenever it [the term “apostle”] is applied to individuals in later Christian literature, the use of the term is metaphorical. The church has never had apostles in the N[ew] T[estament] sense since the first century.”​—The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by G. A. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 1, p. 172.

During their lifetime the apostles’ presence served as a restraint upon the influences of apostasy, holding back the forces of false worship within the Christian congregation. It is evidently to this “restraint” that the apostle Paul referred at 2 Thessalonians 2:7: “True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way.” (Compare Mt 13:24, 25; Ac 20:29, 30.) This apostolic influence, including the authority and powers unique with them, continued until the death of John about 100 C.E. (1Jo 2:26; 3Jo 9, 10) The rapid influx of apostasy and false doctrine and practices after the death of the apostles shows that any pretended apostolic successors had none of the restraining influence of the apostles.

The reference to Andronicus and Junias at Romans 16:7 as “men of note among the apostles” indicates, not that they were apostles, but, rather, that they were held in high repute by the apostles. That some made false pretenses of being “apostles of Christ” is shown at 2 Corinthians 11:5, 13; 12:11, 12; Revelation 2:2.

Sunday 27 May 2018

Yet More on doubting the trinity.

And still yet more commonsense re:eternal torment

Matthew 25:46 Does Not Prove Eternal Torment – Part 1
by Joseph Dear


Matthew 25:46 is one of the most commonly used texts to prove that hell is a place of eternal torment. The text reads, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”1 It is this reference to “eternal punishment” that is seen as a slam dunk, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that hell is a place of eternal conscious suffering.

Of course, it proves no such thing, and this passage has come up numerous times in the Rethinking Hell universe. It came up in a response to Tom Ascol’s “4 Truths About Hell.” It is addressed by Chris Date in Episode 7 of the Rethinking Hell podcast. Chris Date also addressed some specific grammatical elements of the passage in response to the blogger Turretinfan and a follow-up response.

However, there has yet to be a single, (relatively) succinct post (or series of posts) specifically about this text that can be referred to when the question comes up about how evangelical conditionalists might address the fact that the unsaved are condemned to “eternal punishment.” My goal here is to give such a response.


I want to be clear; my ultimate goal is not to make an affirmative case that Matthew 25:46 is evidence for annihilationism (though I will draw attention to an oft-overlooked aspect of the passage that does weigh in our favor some). All that I am ultimately arguing is that this verse does not prove the traditional doctrine, and that annihilation is at least logically consistent with its warning of “eternal punishment.”

“Eternal Punishment” Does Not Necessarily Mean An Ongoing Act of Punishing

I do agree with most traditionalists that, in this passage, “eternal” speaks of something lasting for eternity. It lasts for ever and ever. It is everlasting. So then, please ignore all objections you may have heard or read that attempt to refute annihilationism by saying that we make “eternal” not mean eternal (which is most of them). The meaning of eternal is not the key assumption that I am refuting here.

The assumption is made that “eternal punishment” means that the act of punishing the unsaved is what continues on for eternity. Most traditionalists take that for granted. This would include me when I was a traditionalist. This likely includes most conditionalists who were once traditionalists. This assumption is the underpinning of the whole argument from this verse.

However, this assumption is unwarranted, and despite the fact that we have to talk about grammar, the reason for this is actually quite simple. In a nutshell, when other nouns of action are qualified as eternal, it is often the results of the act, and not the act itself, that lasts for eternity. If this is even a reasonable possibility with Matthew 25:46, then we can no longer say that this proves the wicked always consciously exist; the one-time act of destroying them as punishment would yield the eternal result of them no longer being around.

Now, many will quickly object, reasoning like Alan Gomes of Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology: “One could argue that annihilation might be the result of punishment. But the Scriptures say that it is the punishment itself which is eternal, not merely its result.”2 But this rebuttal is insufficient, and later on, you will see why this reasoning completely fails to account for similar instances in the Bible, none of which say “the results of” but instead read just like “eternal punishment.”

Nouns of Action (Like “Punishment”)

You see, nouns of action, in English and in Greek and just in general, can often be taken in more than one way. This is not complex linguistic gymnastics that Jesus’ listeners would not have understood. This is a basic rule of language that a small child understands, at least in practice. In a previous post, Chris Date used “translation” as an example; “translation” may refer to the act of translating (“the translation of the book took ten years”), or to the result of translating (“the translation has been published recently”).3

The word “punishment” is no different. So before we even get into biblical examples, it must be pointed out that Gomes and others give us a false dilemma. They frame it as punishment vs. the results of punishment. In reality, it is about one meaning of punishment vs. another. The question is, what meaning of “punishment” was intended? Was Jesus referring to the act of punishing (like “the translation of the book took ten years”), or was he referring to the result of the act of punishing (like “the translation has been published recently”)? Either one would be “punishment.”

With this in mind, annihilation is eternal punishment. God punishes the wicked at one time, by destroying them, while they are alive and punishable. The result, the punishment that results from the act of punishing, is that they are destroyed and will never ever come back to life.

If this sounds like I am twisting language, you will see below why I am doing no such thing. The Bible treats language the same way.

Biblical Examples

“Eternal Judgment” – Hebrews 6:2

What does “eternal judgment” mean? It’s pretty simple; God judges, and the result is everlasting. Few traditionalists, if any, argue that this verse teaches that God is continually judging for eternity, banging his gavel and repeatedly declaring saved or unsaved the same finite number of existent people.

But wait a minute; it doesn’t say “the eternal results of judgment.” It says “eternal judgment.” Following the reasoning applied to Matthew 25:46, this verse must teach that God is continually in the act of judging! Following Gomes’ reasoning, “One could argue that [a universe in which God is not longer in the act of judging but the effects remain] might be the result of [judgment]. But the Scriptures say that it is the [judgment] itself which is eternal, not merely its result.” However, we all know that that would be absurd, so no one believes it.

Regarding Hebrews 6:2 and “eternal judgment,” what is eternal is the outcome; God judges, and the judgment is the result. Likewise, it at least could be the case that God punishes the unsaved by destroying them, and the punishment is the results, results that last for eternity.

Some may still be tempted to say “but it doesn’t say the ‘the result of punishment!’” However, unless they are to say that God will forever be continuously in the act of judging, this is really no longer an option.

Hebrews 6:2 would be sufficient to prove my point, but I will point to more examples to show that this is actually not an uncommon occurrence.

“Eternal Sin” – Mark 3:29

The person who commits the “eternal sin” is not doing the act for eternity. How would that even work? If that were the case, they would never actually finish the act! Context clues us in even further. This passage isn’t referring to some vague “unpardonable sin.” The text tells us what is in view: the Pharisees saying that Jesus had an unclean spirit. In other words, after having seen Jesus cast out demons, clearly an act of God, they instead slander him and accuse him of working on behalf of the devil! To do so was to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, by whose power Jesus was working.

It was an act of finite duration that they committed (though probably more than once). They said “he has an unclean spirit,” not “he has an unclean spppppppppppppiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiii…” unto eternity! It is a sin with eternal consequences. Once one has done it, they have no hope ever.45

“Eternal Redemption” – Hebrews 9:12

Jesus obtained “eternal redemption” for us. Certainly Jesus isn’t continually in the act of redeeming us. After all, we gained redemption “through His blood” (Ephesians 1:7). That certainly isn’t going to happen again and again throughout eternity! He died once for all (Hebrews 10:10). It does not say “the results of redemption”; nonetheless, redemption as an act, i.e. the act of redeeming, was done once, not continually for ever and ever. The result of the act of redeeming, the “redemption,” is what lasts for ever and ever.

“Eternal Salvation” – Hebrews 5:9

The same is true as above. The act of saving us will not go on for eternity. Why would it need to? Jesus already died an rose again to save us. Most would take this for granted.6 Jesus will not be continually in the act of saving us, but the result, that we are saved (our “salvation”), lasts for ever and ever.

“Eternal Inheritance” – Hebrews 9:15

Our inheritance, the thing which we inherit, the result of our inheriting the kingdom, is what is eternal. We certainly are not going to be in the act of inheriting for eternity. We inherit, and we forever have what we inherit.

So Then…

It may be hasty to say that Matthew 25:46 must be like these passages. Nevertheless, it certainly is a reasonable possibility that it is. With this in mind, Matthew 25:46 certainly does not prove anything in rebuttal to evangelical conditionalism.

Being Killed/Annihilated/Destroyed Is A Form of Punishment

There is another element to this that is worth discussing, and that is the meaning of punishment. In some senses it is moot, given that in the previous section I showed that “eternal punishment” need not mean that the act of punishing is continuing for eternity in the first place. But I want to cover all of the necessary bases.

A major reason why this passage is believed to prove eternal torment is because it says “punishment,” and punishment, it is argued, must mean pain or some sort of conscious suffering, and therefore must mean that the person is alive and conscious to suffer.

This is partially true, but the part that is not true is what makes all the difference. Let us grant that someone has to exist as a sentient being to be punished, at least in any meaningful sense. It would make little sense, for example, to punish someone by beating their corpse since a corpse can’t feel. However, I am not denying that the hypothetical unsaved person is conscious and alive when God punishes them with destruction. They certainly are. But it is not the case that the punishment, the result of being punished, continues only as long as the person is alive/conscious to feel it and be aware.

Consider capital punishment, what is most often the most severe penalty inflicted on earth for crimes. Yes, the person is alive when the punishment is inflicted, but we don’t simply measure the punishment in terms of their conscious suffering. If that were the case, a short stint in prison or maybe even a fine would be more severe. The punishment is the years of life that were lost. The punishment continues on after the infliction of punishment and the consciousness of it ends.7

Under the evangelical conditionalist scenario, the fate of the wicked is similar. They are alive at judgment, and God inflicts punishment unto them. He punishes them by killing them, body and soul. But just as the judgment of Hebrews 6:2 has not ended the moment that God stops the act of judging, so here the punishment does not end the moment that God stops punishing. Just as Christ redeemed us once and for all and yet the redemption lasts for eternity, so here God punishes the wicked once and for all (by destroying them), and yet the punishment lasts for eternity. They are annihilated. They are killed and dead forever, deprived of the eternity of life they would have otherwise had. And this time, it is at God’s hand, done in body and soul, and there is no escaping it or reversing it. It is “eternal punishment.”

Parallel Between Eternal Life and Eternal Punishment

The parallelism that Jesus makes between “eternal life” and “eternal punishment” is the biggest aspect appealed to. Since at least the time of Augustine,8 it has been argued that since the phrase “eternal” is used twice in this verse, and the other time it describe the life of the saved (which certainly lasts for eternity), it means that the punishment also lasts for ever and ever. However, in light of the above, this is of little relevance. I agree that in both cases, “eternal” means the same thing. So if you should see a polemical writing against annihilationism where the author argues that, in light of “eternal life,” punishment must also last for eternity, you can ignore it, as it does not even address my argument here.

Far less common arguments that “eternal punishment” must entail an ongoing process since “eternal life” entails people consciously living forever will be addressed in Part 2.

Taking the Passage at “Face Value”

As I have written about previously, some may appeal to the fact that the Bible, when taken at face value, supports their view. After all, God’s word should be accessible to everyone, shouldn’t it? But this argument is problematic because no one side can take the Bible at face value all the time. Admittedly, some may be able to do so more than others (compare the many references to death and destruction for the unsaved compared to the very few references to torment). However, every view will have trouble passages.

With that in mind, consider that to many, this passage sounds more like eternal torment, when taken at face value, and so that is seen as evidence for that view.  But aside from the fact that face value can be misleading, this sword cuts both ways.

This is because this passage doesn’t just reference “eternal punishment.” The passage directly contrasts “eternal punishment” with “eternal life.” Now, some will argue that “eternal life” has nothing to do with having conscious existence and is only about the quality of existence (although in light of the Bible’s descriptions of “life,” as discussed here, that claim is rather tenuous). Be that as it may, we are talking about face value. At face value, “eternal life” sounds like living forever (i.e. being a consciously existent sentient being). At face value, it sounds like life and living in the way that we normally mean it, in the way that even a number of notable traditionalists mean it when speaking of the unsaved living forever in hell (until, of course, a conditionalist points out that the Bible says that the unsaved don’t have life).

Think about it. At face value, the saved get eternal life. They get to live for ever and ever. Since the alternative is eternal punishment, the punishment must be not having life (for eternity, no less). The punishment is not getting eternal life, so it means being eternally like a corpse or a pile of ashes. It is like if someone, on earth, had the option of life or capital punishment. It sounds like the punishment is being put to death.

In a nutshell, this passage says that the unsaved don’t get eternal life, so how can they be alive to be tormented forever? At face value, this flies in the face of the traditional doctrine.

Like I said, this sword cuts both ways. When “eternal life” comes up, suddenly the face value meaning of phrases isn’t so important, and examining the scripture more in-depth is not seen as unnecessarily complicating the matter.

Conclusion

Given how deeply ingrained the doctrine of eternal torment is in Christendom, it is understandable that to the average person, the meaning of “eternal punishment” is eternal torment. But when we compare scripture with scripture, and look into the matter further, we see that it is hardly that simple.

It should be apparent already how evangelical conditionalism is consistent with this passage, though it will be useful to address further issues, lest we leave important stones unturned. In Part 2, we will look at some rebuttals made to what I have put forth here. We will also look at an alternative conditionalist interpretation of Matthew 25:46.

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations I give are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. [↩]
Alan Gomes. “Evangelicals and the Annihilation of Hell: Part One,” Christian Research Journal (Spring, 1991), 14-19, n.d., http://www.bible-researcher.com/hell4.html (accessed on December 16, 2013). [↩]
Chris Date. “‘Punishment’ and the Polysemy of Deverbal Nouns.” Rethinking Hell [blog], posted June 19, 2012, http://www.rethinkinghell.com/2012/06/eternal-punishment-and-the-polysemy-of-deverbal-nouns (accessed January 2, 2014). [↩]
Fortunately, to be in the position as these Pharisees would be rare. Even those who blaspheme God can be forgiven if the person acts in ignorance, as Paul did (1 Timothy 1:13). You have to really know what you are doing (like one who would have just seen Jesus cast out demons). If you think you may have committed the sin of Mark 3:29, and you give a darn about it, then I think it is safe to say that you haven’t committed the eternal sin. [↩]
Some manuscripts vary and do not refer to an “eternal sin,” but even if the alternative rendering is correct and it does not say “eternal sin,” it is still the case that the idea of something like “eternal sin” made perfect sense to the 1st or 2nd-century scribe who copied it wrong. [↩]
For one instance of a traditionalist arguing that Jesus will be eternally in the act of saving us, see Part 2. [↩]
Of course, this is complicated somewhat if there is a conscious intermediate state, especially in the case of someone who is punished with death but has found Christ and therefore enters into his presence upon death. For them, death would actually lead to glory. But this complicates all sides, since surely that is not the intention of those who inflict the punishment. They aren’t going into it with the plan of sending the person to heaven as punishment! Rather, this would be demonstrative of the imperfections of earthly action, since humans can only kill the body. But God can destroy body and soul (Matthew 10:28). [↩]

Augustine of Hippo. City of God ed. Phillip Schaff (Veritatis Splendor, 2012), 21:23, 629. [↩]

A clash of Titans. LXXI

Just enough religion to make them hate?

Exjunk: From brass to gold.

The Un-Junk Industry


In the battle for conservation hunters are the good guys?:Pros and cons.

Friday 25 May 2018

Darwinism's lucky stars?

When Evolving Life, Don’t Forget the Astrophysics
Evolution News @DiscoveryCSC


Much of evolutionary theorizing takes place wearing a sun visor. The eyes of Darwinian biologists look down at what’s happening on the ground or in the water, avoiding the blinding sunlight overhead. But that sunlight, traversing 93 million miles of space, sheds light on realities that must not be ignored when trying to understand how life appeared and changed on the earth. 

Evolution is hard enough just waiting for the right lucky mutations to occur 
(Douglas Axe can tell you all about that).While hoping for mutational luck to add up and actually do something (hear Andrew Jones on that), the Darwinist must get the astrophysics right, too. Evolution will never get off the ground on an inhospitable planet. Some factors for habitability are (as mathematicians like to say) “non-trivial.”

Wild Swings

Many people have heard of “habitable zones” where liquid water can exist. Peter Kelley, however, reminds us that being in the zone is not enough — even if you orbit a lucky star. In news from the University of Washington,he announces, “Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars.” 

Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, according to new research from astronomers at the University of Washington.

The UW astronomers studied just two factors — obliquity and eccentricity. Separately and together, they can cause make-or-break situations on a nice planet trying to evolve life around a gentle star. Too much obliquity, or tilt, causes seasonal changes that can lead to advancing ice sheets, blanketing the planet with snow, even within the habitable zone. This was a surprising finding to those who thought high obliquity would actually warm the planet. 

The other factor, eccentricity, could have the same effect, swinging the planet in and out of the zone. Russell Dietrick, lead author of a forthcoming paper about this, cautioned that “We shouldn’t neglect orbital dynamics in habitability studies.” Fortunately, the earth scores well on both obliquity (23.5 degrees tilt) and eccentricity (0.0167, nearly circular).

Death Rays

Ah, space. So serene, so quiet, so timeless. Not! It’s a battle scene out there. Solar rays and cosmic rays can accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light. If those killer rays hit DNA too often, you’re not going to get evolution; you’re going to get extinction. Fortunately, the earth has three protective measures against the barrage: the ozone layer, which filters UV light; a strong magnetic field, which traps charged particles; and the Van Allen Belts, which shield the surface from the most energetic electrons and ions.

The Van Allen Belts, discovered sxity years ago by America’s first satellites, are quite amazing. Since 2012, two Van Allen Probes have been studying the belts and how they interact with electrons from the solar wind. Some of the electrons become accelerated to near light speed in the outer Van Allen Belt. A few years ago, Baker et al. thought they had inferred a very thin, impenetrable “space shield” through which “killer electrons” could not pass. This was located in a “slot” between the inner and outer lobes. Now, Ozeke et al., writing in Nature Communications, finesse those findings somewhat without changing the conclusions about habitability. They claim there is not an impenetrable layer, but rather a more gradual decline of the energy of the electrons as they traverse the slot between the lobes. The bottom line, though, is that few of the high-energy particles reach the surface of the earth; most are stopped before they can reach the inner lobe. Do we see a Goldilocks situation here?

Here we presented evidence showing that ULF [ultra low frequency] wave radial diffusion can transport the ultra-relativistic electron inward down to L ~ 2.8 [earth radii] consistent with the observed electron flux. Specifically, we show that the rates of ULF wave transport are both: (i) fast enough to rapidly transport electrons inward to the barrier during the period of the duration of a typical magnetic storm; (ii) slow enough once the storm abates to subsequently maintain the observed very steep flux gradient at the inner edge of the apparent barrier and hence effectively prevent any subsequent penetration further Earthward into the slot.

Would other planets need something like Van Allen Belts to enable life? 

Such an apparent barrier to ultra-relativistic radiation flux might also be expected in other astrophysical plasma systems perturbed aperiodically by a bursty stellar wind. If such systems have different characteristics, such an apparent barrier could however be located at a different radial distance from the magnetised body than in the terrestrial case.

To keep the barrier at a safe radial distance, it would appear necessary to finely tune the outflow of the stellar wind, the strength of the magnetic field, the height of the lobes, and their resilience against large bursts from the star. Don’t forget the obliquity and eccentricity, too.

Astrophysical Nudging

Evolutionists sometimes relish destructive events, seeing them as blessings in disguise. Examples include the notion that ultraviolet radiation could have created the building blocks of life, or the idea that asteroid impacts could have delivered prebiotic molecules to the earth. Why not let death rays penetrate the atmosphere? Aren’t those agents of mutation, the celebrated source of genetic variations that Darwin can select? 

There’s a kinder, gentler astrophysical phenomenon that some Darwinians look to for a kind of celestial massage, nudging life to ebb and flow with its soothing fingers. It’s the notion of Milankovitch Cycles. These are long-term variations in celestial mechanics that might affect climate on the earth, giving opportunities for heat-loving and cold-loving organisms to flourish in their own epochs. The idea is controversial. Nobody knows exactly how much the climate could be affected by these very slight cyclic variations which interact and overlap in complex ways. 

A new paper in PNAS by Crampton et al. claims a correlation (but not causation) between “macroevolutionary rates” in certain marine organisms called graptoloids and “Milankovitch grand cycles.” Careful reading, though, reveals a lot of guessing and hoping.

There has been long-standing debate about the relative roles of intrinsic biotic interactions vs. extrinsic environmental factors as drivers of biodiversity change. Here, we show that, relatively early in the history of complex life, Milankovitch “grand cycles” associated with astronomical rhythms explain between 9 and 16% of variation in species turnover probability (extinction probability plus speciation probability) in a major Early Paleozoic zooplankton group, the graptoloids. These grand cycles would have modulated climate variability, alternating times of relative stability in the environment with times of maximum volatility, which influenced oceanic circulation and structure and thus, phytoplankton populations at the base of the marine food web

In looking at their Materials and Methods, though, we see only a very restricted time range and a restricted set of organisms. Graptoloids are filter-feeding hemichordates with some diversity, but no real “macroevolution” in terms of new body plans, organs or taxons. We also see that only 9 to 16 percent of variation fits the Milankovitch cycles; what about the other 91 percent to 84 percent that don’t fit? There is so much wiggle room in this theory, it could explain anything. “We cannot say with certainty whether the observed cyclicity in graptoloid species turnover is driven more by speciation or extinction,” they say. The idea that climate change is a “driver” of macroevolution seems silly. It’s like attributing the Cambrian explosion to a rise in oxygen.

Conclusions

Set aside this last idea as weak at best, since they admit in the end, “This may suggest that extinction in the graptoloids was influenced more strongly by these astronomical cycles than speciation, although further testing is required.” 

The observable, testable evidence presented earlier shows that astrophysical factors present more evidence of fine-tuning for habitability. When we observe tuning, we usually infer the actions of a tuner. A tuner had a goal in mind and brought the necessary factors together to achieve it. For life on earth, those factors included biological, geophysical, and astrophysical requirements. Unless you really want to believe in incredible luck, the combination of multiple, disparate, independent factors coming together to permit life speaks powerfully of design.

Sunday 20 May 2018

Why dragonflies remain a problem for Darwinism.

Scientist Names Dragonfly Species after Behe. Gets Roasted. Shrugs.
Evolution News @DiscoveryCSC

On an episode of ID the Future, paleoentomologist Günter Bechly discusses the new dragonfly fossil that he discovered, described, and named after intelligent design theorist Michael Behe – Chrismooreia michaelbehei. Download the podcast or listen to it here.


Bechly describes what’s remarkable about this stunning fossil, explains some problems dragonflies pose for Darwinism, and shares some of the strangely uninformed criticisms he’s received for naming the species after Behe.

Saturday 19 May 2018

Darwin of the gaps logic continues to collapse.

Human Fine Body Hair and the Myth of Junk Body Parts



Why reductionism fails re:abiogenesis.

The Onset of Information on Earth

To a casual reader, the following four paragraphs may seem like a lot to grasp in a single sitting, but it is something that every truly curious person should want to know. Modern biology has revealed a fundamental fact of physical reality: life on earth is the product of information recorded inside the cell.When this information is translated by cellular machinery, it organizes inanimate matter (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc) into all the living things on earth. The mystery of life’s origin is therefore equal to the mystery of information. Where did the information come from that organized the very first living cell on earth? Did this information come together as an incredible chance event in chemical history, or was it the result of a deliberate act of design?
Whichever theory one follows, there is one thing that all people can be certain of. Prior to the organization of the first heterogeneous living cell, unique physical conditions had to arise to make that organization possible. These conditions enable the translation of recorded information into physical effects. They are brought about by the presence of two sets of objects operating in a very special system. To organize the first living cell, one set of objects must encode the information in a series of representations, and the other set of objects mustspecify what is being represented. This is how a "recipe" for the cell can exist in a universe where no object inherently means (represents or specifies) any other object. It requires both a representation and the means to interpret it.
But there is a third requirement. The organization of the system must also preserve the naturaldiscontinuity that exists between the representations and their effects. By doing so, a group of  arbitrary relationships are established that otherwise wouldn't exist. That set of relationships is what we now call The Genetic Code.
The unique physical conditions described here are the universal requirements of translation. Theywere proposed in theory, confirmed by experiment, and are not even controversial. They are also something that the living cell shares with every other instance of translated information ever known to exist. The genetic translation system provides objective physical evidence of the first irreducible organic system on earth, and from it, all other organic systems follow. It is irreducible because without both sets of objects operating in the system, translation cannot occur, and the cell could not be organized. Moreover, this system isnot the product of Darwinian evolution. Instead, it is the source of evolution (i.e. the physical conditions that enable life's capacity to change and adapt over time) and as the first instance ofspecification on earth, it marks the rise of the genome and the starting point of heredity.
And as a final indication of just how profound the appearance of this system was, an almost impossible observation remains – not only must these objects arise from a non-information (inanimate) environment, but the details of their construction must also be simultaneously encoded in the very information that they make possible. Without these things, life on earth would simply not exist.