How to be Free From Sin...

Martin Zender, a friend of mine from the US, has put out his latest book, How to be Free From Sin While Smoking a Cigarette, and I just can't recommend it enough. This is the book for people with weaknesses on what God thinks about our sin.

Here are a few excerpts from the book:

"The Pharisees of Jesus’ day tried hard to stamp sin from their lives. The result? They sinned like crazy people. What a paradox. But you’ve proven it in your own life: the more you try not to do the thing you hate, the more you think about the thing you hate, and the more you do it. God is quite aware of this principle and—if you can believe it—He invented it."

* * *

"Your church assumes that the kind of freedom we’re uncovering here—even if they did believe it—will inspire more sin. Christian leaders don’t trust grace, and they certainly don’t trust you with it. So they prop up grace with law, make themselves the administrators of it, and send you on a guilt trip every time you miss church or break one of their rules."

* * *

"Are we warring with our flesh? Then we are miserable, for this is captivity. To be constantly worrying about, wrestling against, and warring with the flesh is the worst kind of bondage. So many people assume that a vast moral struggle must accompany a Christian walk. Christianity itself has taught this. But no. This is horrible bondage. Struggling against flesh is the essence of religion and it’s why religion frustrates people and makes them crazy. It’s why religious people become incensed that the rest of the world isn’t as concerned with sin as they are. The truth is that the rest of the world trusts God more with its sin than Christians do with theirs."

Defending Everlasting Torment

The fact that nobody has succeeded in completing my Everlasting Hell Challenge doesn't necessarily prove that it can't be done, but I'm not holding my breath that someone will be able to. In the meantime, however, we may as well take a look at the passages in Scripture that are used to back up the idea of Everlasting Torment (ET).

Let's start with the Old Testament as it must be chock-full of warnings about ET:

"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." - Daniel 12:1-3

What's that? This is the only passage in the entire Old Testament that hints at the idea of ET? That can't be right. There were about 2,000 more years between Creation and the Incarnation than between the Incarnation and today, that's double the amount of time. If ET is true then it seems that God didn't bother to warn even His chosen people, much less the rest of the world, about it until many thousands of years after the fall. If we're to take the concept of ET seriously, it seems that God decided the only people worth saving are those who came after the Incarnation since He didn't even bother to tell anyone how to avoid this horrible fate in this passage beyond "being wise" and having your name written in some book. Still, nothing about "non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) in this passage so I'm going to have to write it off as a good defence of ET for non-believers until someone can demonstrate a good exegesis of this passage that does defend the idea of non-believers in Christ going to hell forever.

Well, that was it for the Old Testament, but surely the New Testament must be full of passages that tell us that non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) go to hell forever. After all, it's such an important part of our Protestant theology. Let's take a look:

"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." - Matthew 12:31-32

"I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." - Mark 3:28-29

"And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." - Luke 12:10

That's the first statement, repeated in the three Synoptic Gospels, that a traditionalist could use from the New Testament to try to back up their belief in ET. Taken at face value it seems to say that every sin will be forgiven except the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" (which is, literally, to say that a work of the Holy Spirit was actually done by the devil, something that very few people have ever done or will do). Matthew also seems to tell us that after the age to come ends this sin will be forgiven, so those few people who have committed this sin might just be in luck once the next age ends, presumably after the 1,000 year Millennial Reign concludes. Since that warning only applies to those who say that the work of the Holy Spirit was actually done by the devil most of us don't need to worry too much about it, so time to move on.

If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." - Matthew 18:8-9

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" - Mark 9:43-48

This is the second statement that Jesus made that might be interpreted as a warning about ET. However, if someone can interpret "non-believer in Christ (apart from any works)" out of not mutilating one's body they're a better exegete (or should I say eisegete?) than I am. This passage seems to tell us that those who go to hell are those who let parts of their body cause them to sin without amputating those parts, but it sure doesn't seem to tell us that non-believers go to hell forever. So I guess we'll have to move on to the many more warnings Jesus gave about ET:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."" - Matthew 25:31-46

I've read and re-read this passage and the only thing I can get out of it, at least if taken at face value, is that those who help the helpless go to heaven forever and those who don't get punished forever. Just like the passages about bodily mutilation, I just don't get how one reads "non-believer in Christ (apart from any works)" into "those who don't feed the hungry or look after the sick," particularly since I know of many believers who don't and many non-believers who do. In fact, this passage seems to imply that more non-Christians might go to heaven than Christians and more Christians might end up in hell than Atheists. But I'm sure some good theologian out there will fill me in on why I'm reading that wrong. In the meantime let's check out all the other warnings about ET that Jesus gave us:


Wait, that was Jesus' last warning about ET in the Gospels? But I thought He spoke more about everlasting punishment in hell than He did about heaven? That was only three warnings, and none of them mention non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) at all. In fact two thirds of them seem to imply that certain works must be done to avoid everlasting damnation. Okay, well, maybe we confused Jesus with the Apostle Paul, it must have been him who gave all those warnings. Let's check them out:

"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed." - 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10

Finally, a passage that seems to tell us that non-believers will go to hell forever. What? The passage doesn't even mention hell? It says destruction? Well, surely I could be forgiven for reading into that word based on all the other passages that talk about non-believers going to hell forever, a little eisegesis never hurt anyone, right? Oh, that's right, none of the other passages so far actually mentioned non-believers in Christ, they all seemed to refer to those who didn't do certain works. It seems that if we want to take this passage literally we'll have to become believers in Annihilation rather than ET. But I'm sure Paul must have given us lots of other warnings that we can use to defend the position. He didn't? That can't be right. The great evangelist to the Gentiles never once spoke of everlasting torment in hell? Not even in his sermons to the Jews or the Pagans recorded in Acts? Well there must be something else in the Bible that we can use to defend the idea. Ah, here we go:

"A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."" - Revelation 14:9-11

That only tells us that those who worship a certain beast (could this be a metaphor for a particular person?) will be punished forever, not that non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) will be. Of course, one would also have to justify taking the effect (the punishment) literally when we're not taking the cause (the worshipping of a beast) literally. But since this doesn't speak of non-believers we'll have to move on.

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. - Revelation 20:7-10

Well, this passages seems to say that Satan, the beast and the false prophet (and maybe the nations who marched with them against the city God loves depending on how you read the passage) will apparently be thrown into the lake of fire and will be tormented forever, but still nothing about non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) so let's move on to the next passage:


This can't be right, I can't find any more. But that was only 10 passages (7 if you take the fact that three of them were repeats of passages in Matthew into consideration). That was the whole foundation upon which the concept of Everlasting Torment rests? But what about all the passages that are supposed to tell us that non-believers in Christ (apart from any works) will go to hell forever, where are they? Isn't this is one of the most important teachings of the evangelical church? Well, after comparing those passages to the multitude of passages backing up the idea of Universal Reconciliation (UR) that I've referred to previously on this blog I'm going to have to go with the idea that seems to actually be backed by Scripture. If anybody wants to try to defend their beloved doctrine of ET I'd be happy to listen, but until then I'm going to have to stick with UR.

Do You Believe What Jesus Taught?

When discussing or debating Universal Reconciliation with Christians who hold the traditional views of heaven and hell I will often be told that Jesus taught everlasting torment in hell for non-believers so we have to believe it. Whether or not He did (and you all know by now that I don't believe He did), I would like to suggest that this is about the only teaching of Jesus that most Christians take at all literally. Sure, Christians will claim to believe the rest of Jesus' teachings in the four Gospels, but the proof is in the practice so let's take a look at a few of Jesus' teachings and see for ourselves just how much of what He said is actually believed by His so-called followers today:

- We'll begin with Jesus' first recorded big public speech, known as "the Sermon on the Mount." Now I'll admit that He didn't technically give any commands in the "Beatitudes" section, but He does seem to imply that it is a good thing to be merciful or a peacemaker or to be okay with being insulted, persecuted and slandered rather than judging, fighting and suing those who might say things about you that you don't like. However, since He doesn't give a direct command or instruction here I'll let most Christians off on this one with a disclaimer that they shouldn't expect to be blessed if they don't fall into the categories mentioned in Matthew 5:1-12.

- Jesus continues the sermon with an interesting statement that some Christians love to quote:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:17-20

Many Christians love to quote this passage to try to prove that various sexual acts are still a sin. That's about as far as they're willing to take it, for the most part, though. Most aren't willing to abstain from pork, or shellfish, or cheeseburgers, and they certainly aren't about to abstain from doing anything that might resemble physical activity on Saturday (the Sabbath). Okay, Seventh-Day Adventists get a pass on this one, but they're the few that do. For the rest of you Christians out there, you're no longer allowed to quote this passage to back up your sexual hang-ups until you've committed to abstaining from pork products and committed to doing nothing but going to church on Saturdays (along with the other 600 or so rules in the Mosaic Law that you're probably ignoring). And before you bring up "moral law" vs. "ceremonial law," a) Jesus didn't differentiate in that passage, and b) the few laws I mentioned above fall under "moral law."

- Shortly thereafter Jesus continued with: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." - Matthew 5:38-42

This whole section is pretty much ignored by Christians. Fighting back seems to be a very common Christian practice, and if someone asks a Christian for all their money I wonder just how many would actually give it to him or her. Jesus did say to give to the one who asks you, not give to one when you feel generous, but I've never seen this command practised.

- Jesus also said: "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:1-4

This isn't necessarily a problem I've seen with anybody, but it's a good reminder to all of us not to go bragging about the good things we've done.

- Jesus then said: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6

So much for big showy prayers at church, eh? That's a fail for pretty much all pastors, and for anyone else who gets up to pray in public as well.

- "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

We all know just how much many Christians love both money and possessions. This is a fail for pretty much every Christian in North America, not counting those who live below the poverty level and can't afford large savings accounts and nice possessions (unless they wish they could, then they fail both this command and the command not to envy).

- "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear." - Matthew 6:25

Fail for pretty much any Christian living in the western world who isn't a hippy.

- "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." - Matthew 7:15

Fail for mostly anyone in the more charismatic circles and anyone who believes Pat Robertson has any credibility at all.

- We now come to one command of Jesus that I'm not aware of any (sane) Christian obeying: "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." - Matthew 18:8-9

This is a passage that traditionalists love to quote to try to prove to me that hell is everlasting, and yet I don't see one traditionalist plucking out their eye or cutting off their hands or feet when these parts "offend them" (whatever that means). If one can find a way to convince oneself that mutilating your body is figuratively referring to become a Christian, well, they've got a more vivid imagination than I do, that's for sure.

- "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17

Growing up I went to many different churches of varying denominations (something that shouldn't exist according to the Apostle Paul, but I'll let that slide since I'm focussing on Jesus' teachings for this entry), and I can't say I ever saw this practised.

- "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."" - Matthew 18:21-22

One of the hardest places to find forgiveness is in a Christian church. Enough said.

- "Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." - Matthew 19:9

Do I really need to point out the divorce rate among Christians or can I let this one speak for itself?

- "Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."" - Matthew 19:16-21

It seems that Jesus wants those of us with money and possessions to become like hippies. If you don't it looks like you may not get eternal life, according to this passage.

- Here's one last passage, one that traditionalists love to throw out there to try to prove that non-believers in Christ will go to hell forever. Read it carefully:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."" - Matthew 25:31-46

If we take this passage at face value it seems to clearly teach that those who don't help the helpless will be punished forever and those who do will get eternal life. Similarly to the "body mutilation" passage, traditionalists like to try to insist that "those who do the good works of helping the helpless" is a figurative code for those who believe in Jesus to save them and that "those who don't help the helpless" is a figurative code for those who don't believe in Jesus to save them. How they get this out of that passage I don't know, particularly since I know of many Christians who don't do these things and many non-Christians who do, but then they insist that while the cause of the punishment and blessing is figurative, the actual punishment and blessing are to be taken literally. Of course nobody can tell me just why we should interpret this passage with such mental gymnastics, but that's traditional Christian theology for you.


That was just a few passages, and only from the Gospel of Matthew at that. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea. As most people are well aware, traditionalist Christians are happy to interpret parts of Scripture quite literally if they believe that it will back up their views, but as soon as a passage seems to contradict one of their pet doctrines they will be the first to shout "metaphor," or "out of context." Yes, many times a statement is a metaphor and not meant to be taken literally or not meant to apply to those outside of a particular group and/or time period (although many of the statements I quoted above seem to be meant to be taken quite literally, yet you won't find many Christians actually following them), but that means that the passages you are taking literally need to be carefully reconsidered as well. Don't expect the rest of us to just blindly assume that you are automatically correct about what is meant to be taken literally and what is to be taken figuratively without first giving us some solid reasons why.