@royal What does the "burn the evil out of you" part mean?
@golemwire Check out the rest of the thread.
@royal Interesting, I'm only seeing this reply, my question, and your original post....
Same, and I'm on the same instance.
@CharismaticBatman @golemwire Ah, my mistake. Non public scope.
@CharismaticBatman @golemwire Here's my guess.
I think MacDonald sees hell as a process, not as a destination.
What if God saw sin less as actions we do that offend him because he has high standards, and more as an affliction that ruins our lives that he wants us to be free from? Have you ever known a sin like that, something you knew was bad for you and for others that seemed beyond your power (or theirs) to overcome?
God might use any means necessary, even very unpleasant ones, to remove and even destroy sin and its hold on us.
If we trust God, that sounds like salvation.
If we cling tight to the sin, preferring it to God, that might feel like torment.
Either way, God will have his way. Much better to agree with him from the start.
@CharismaticBatman @golemwire Here's my guess.
I think MacDonald sees hell as a process, not as a destination.
What if God saw sin less as actions we do that offend him because he has high standards, and more as an affliction that ruins our lives that he wants us to be free from? Have you ever known a sin like that, something you knew was bad for you and for others that seemed beyond your power (or theirs) to overcome?
God might use any means necessary, even very unpleasant ones, to remove and even destroy sin and its hold on us.
If we trust God, that sounds like salvation.
If we cling tight to the sin, preferring it to God, that might feel like torment.
Either way, God will have his way. Much better to agree with him from the start.
I have a hard time coming up with a concrete understanding of hell, because the only times it's mentioned directly (mainly in the Gospels, IIRC), it's a fairly nebulous concept, and seems to be more of a cultural symbol or a cautionary tale than anything terribly literal.
But in contrast, the Lake of Fire (into which death and hell gets thrown (?!?)) seems a much more vivid and definite image.
I dunno!
I think in terms of a process that purges sin... I believe that's best referred to as grace and sanctification, and not really hell.
I don't think the bible gives us a picture of any place of eternal punishment being purifying or redemptive, sadly.
@CharismaticBatman @royal Well to be clear it is the teaching of Christianity that those who reject Jesus go to the place Hell (or maybe technically the "Lake of Fire" I guess, I don't know the exact theology), and a place of no exit.
That's what's throwing me off with this MacDonald quote here.
I wonder what the context was.
@royal @CharismaticBatman I don't know what MacDonald would be trying to say if he meant the place Hell when he said "HELL" in that quote. Since the unsaved "go away into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46) I doubt it is to "burn the evil out of you".
@golemwire @CharismaticBatman I think it would be interesting to ask: if this is what MacDonald is saying, what might his biblical basis be?