by jimwalton » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:34 am
Yes, and no, respectively. First of all, hell was created for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25.41), not for people. The fire isn't prepared for the cursed, so to speak, but for Satan and his minions.
Having said that, the cursed are going to a destiny that was not meant to be theirs. It would include anyone who knows about God but willfully turns against Him (Rom. 1.18-22ff.). The fate of the rebellious is that they don't have to spend eternity in a love relationship with a God they don't love. He allows them, by their own choice, to be separated from his love and life.
As far as worshipers of other religions that have not heard of Christianity, that's a different matter. We should establish that justice requires that people be treated fairly, taking into account all the surrounding circumstances of their situation (motives, resources, decisions, etc.) We learn from Romans 5.13 that "sin is not taken into account when there is not law." Although God sees that it's sin, and it is sin, there is no moral or spiritual accountability where there was no spiritual input. They will be judged according to the information they had, what they did with it, and their motives behind it. Every judgment will be fair based on what information people had, what they knew, what their motives were, and how they behaved given what they had access to. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair. So if someone hasn't heard of Christianity, they can't be held accountable for Christianity. But they will be held accountable for what they do know. As C.S. Lewis said, "We do know that no person can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him."
Yes, and no, respectively. First of all, hell was created for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25.41), not for people. The fire isn't prepared for the cursed, so to speak, but for Satan and his minions.
Having said that, the cursed are going to a destiny that was not meant to be theirs. It would include anyone who knows about God but willfully turns against Him (Rom. 1.18-22ff.). The fate of the rebellious is that they don't have to spend eternity in a love relationship with a God they don't love. He allows them, by their own choice, to be separated from his love and life.
As far as worshipers of other religions that have not heard of Christianity, that's a different matter. We should establish that justice requires that people be treated fairly, taking into account all the surrounding circumstances of their situation (motives, resources, decisions, etc.) We learn from Romans 5.13 that "sin is not taken into account when there is not law." Although God sees that it's sin, and it is sin, there is no moral or spiritual accountability where there was no spiritual input. They will be judged according to the information they had, what they did with it, and their motives behind it. Every judgment will be fair based on what information people had, what they knew, what their motives were, and how they behaved given what they had access to. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair. So if someone hasn't heard of Christianity, they can't be held accountable for Christianity. But they will be held accountable for what they do know. As C.S. Lewis said, "We do know that no person can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him."