shadowsong123 asked: 1. Why don't you believe in hell?( It seems that Jesus does, when he mentions "weeping and gnashing of teeth.") 2. Is God good and omnipotent? 3. Do we have any real proof that Jesus actually existed? 4. What are your thoughts on the Gnostic gospels? Thank you, and peace and blessings be with you!

1) I never said I don’t believe in Hell, in general. In fact, I’ve mentioned it a couple times as somethings I know to exist. However, I do not believe in an eternal hell, a place of complete and unending suffering, for a few reasons: 

1) Heaven is bliss. Can anyone exist in bliss with the knowledge that potentially trillions of others are suffering, tortured without hope?

2) God is love and God is perfect. If any human being can love and forgive a sinner, who otherwise would be destined to Hell, God’s love and perfection far surpassing that of any human, would anyone actually go to such a Hell? 

3) How is it that God, as the creator of Hell, cannot save those who are within Hell? To suppose that those in Hell are unable to attain salvation is to limit either the power or love of God, making what is God to be less than God. 

I do believe in a temporary state wherein our previous actions cause us to suffer, the fire of which cleanses us, even as fire refines gold. Just as it doesn’t take eternity for fire to refine gold, it cannot take eternity for the soul to be cleansed of sin. Considering that the effects of sin cannot last for eternity, i.e., a person victimized is no longer a victim upon attaining salvation, their pain having ceased, it is not just for the punishment to outweigh the actions for which the punishment has come. 

I firmly believe, based on the Jewish culture and the context of Jesus’ statements regarding Hell, especially now that I more deeply understand Hell as it is understood in the east (Krishna speaks of it exactly as Jesus does), that Jesus understood Hell as I do, to be a temporary place that we all are destined to at some point in our existence, but not as an eternal place to which any soul can be bound. 

2) Regarding God’s goodness and all-powerful nature, yes, he does reflect those attributes in the manifest world, where God can make himself known. Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are often used to reflect the perfection of God. There are immense and extremely exhaustive theologies that explain this in much more definitive terms. For the sake of brevity, I won’t get into that here, unless you would like to know that specifically. I will summarize, however, by stating that God’s qualities are only perceivable by what is not God, i.e., the human creation. Thus, if the human creation, at any time, ceases to be human and becomes God, then these qualities would cease to be known. In fact, the Bible teaches that salvation is being “one spirit with God” and “partaking in the Divine Nature”, or in simpler terms, becoming by grace what God is by nature, and thus in this natural participation, becoming by nature what saved us through grace. Ultimately, beyond any level of creation, where only the Godhead exists, no God has no qualities, as what is divine can only be perceived by contrast with what is not divine. 

3) There is sufficient reason to admit the actual existence of Jesus. Primarily, the Biblical scriptures need not be disregarded simply because they are religious. The New Testament specifically reflects many historical facts, and a good understanding of Old Testament prophesies in relation to the New Testament period reflects a very accurate timeline by which we can actually follow the life of Jesus, from birth to baptism and then to death. The Bible is also among the most reproduced texts in history, with little substantial changes between copies. This supports is potential accuracy. 

Outside of the Bible, the writings of Josephus, a famed first-century Jewish historian mentioned Jesus. While it is true that elements have been added to corroborate who Jesus was, certain phrases in reference to Jesus do fit Josephus’ style of writing and are, quite likely, authentic. Further, Tacitus wrote that “Christus…suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.” Pliny the Younger also recorded the actions of early Christians, reflecting their adoration of a man they truly believed existed. Finally, if you consider the dreadful deaths that many early Christians faced, included Peter and Paul, a man who had no reason to covert to the Christian faith from Judaism apart from the appearance of Christ to him, it is unreasonable to assume that so many would be led to death for a lie. Surely, even the most insane con artists would rather save themselves and lose the lie than save the lie and lose themselves.

4) Regarding the Gnostic gospels, I do believe they were left out of the Bible for a reason. Having read a handful of them, and excepts of dozens more, I can firmly state that I believe their contents to be questionable. Some are more tolerable than others, but the theology reflected in their words is often non-sensical and superstitious. Though it can be argued that elements of the Christian tradition have been such, it cannot be argued with the firm foundation that it can be against the Gnostic texts. 

If you have further questions, feel free to ask!

Be ever blessed in Our Lord,
Your Sinful Servant in Him