Archives

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

• Japan Relief Donations –

savethechildren.org/japanquake, 800-728-3843, text JAPAN or 20222 to donate.

redcross.org, text REDCROSS or 90999 to make $10 donation.

donate.salvationarmyusa.org, 800-SAL-ARMY, text QUAKE or 80888 to donate $10.

internationalmedicalcorps.org, text MED or 80888 to donate $10.

worldvision.org, 888-56-CHILD, Text 4JAPAN to 20222 to donate $10.

• The Dr. Billy G. Ingram memorial service will be this Friday, March 18th, at 11:00 a.m. at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ located at 3600 Crenshaw Blvd.   The family is asking in lieu of flowers, please make donations to "The Billy G. Ingram Legacy Educational Fund" online at maranathala.org.

400-408 – Scott Rae, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Talbot School of Theology (talbot.edu), and author of seven books including his latest with co-author Kenman Wong entitled Business for the Common Good: A Christian Vision for the Marketplace.

413-423 – Scott Rae

428-437 – Scott Rae

443-452 – Scott Rae

458-508 – Ken Schlenker, Founder and President of the National Center for Chaplain Development (nccdat.org) and a founding member of Legacy Force (legacyforce.org), an organization committed to providing wellness-training and stress-inoculation for our nation's heroes.  There's an upcoming Practical Chaplain Course for firefighters, law enforcement, teachers, pastors, etc., at Horizon College May 7, 14, 21, 28, June 4 ($350), and the public is invited to the May 14th session on domestic violence and child abuse with special guest, Erin Runnion, the mother of Samantha Runnion, and founder of The Joyful Child Foundation, the fee is $75.00.  Register by calling 866-949-6223, or at nccdat.org/pages/training/upcomingtraining.htm.

512-523 – Ken Schlenker,

528-539 – John Wurts, owner of John Wurts Financial, has been a KKLA supporter since 1991, and in his 30 years as a Certified Tax Preparer, he's earned his reputation as "The Deduction Finder."  No client is too big or too small for John.  Call him at (818) 223-8288.

544-554 – • (2:45) Bell- Love Wins Full. (Rob Bell, pastor of the 10,000-member Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, talks about his forthcoming book coming out March 15th with Harper Collins entitled, "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived" YouTube here.)

558-608 – Views on Hell –

Universalism – the "everybody's in because all religions worship the same God" view.

Christian universalism – the "everybody's in because Jesus died for the whole world even if they don't know it" view.

Evangelical universalism – the "everybody in hell will get a do-over and then hell will be empty" view.  Only Christ-followers are initially "in", and those who are "out" are those who have rejected Christ or have never heard of Him, BUT, hell is only temporary – once you've paid off your sin debt, Jesus somehow will extend another invitation to "get in," of course, everyone will say yes, and so eventually, hell is empty.

Annihilationism – the "God would rather annihilate you than punish you forever" view.  Only Christ-followers are "in", and those who are "out" are those who have rejected Christ or have never heard of Him, BUT, hell is only temporary – once you've paid off your sin debt, Jesus just annihilates you.  Consequently, there's no everlasting punishment of your finite sins, there's just the eternal consequences of your sin, i.e., God just pops you out of existence.

Inclusivism – the "God grades on a curve" view.  Only Christ-followers are "in", and those who are "out" are those who have rejected Christ, BUT God will also allow "in" those who have positively responded to whatever message they got.

Traditionalism – only Christ-followers are "in", and those who are "out" are those who have rejected Christ or who would have rejected Christ had they been given the opportunity to hear via God's Middle Knowledge.

• God's Four Alternatives For Dealing With Evil:  Reform, Second Chance, Annihilate, or Quarantine.

1.  God could reform people.  However, if man is truly free, then God could not cause a person to reform against his will since this would violate human freedom.  Given human freedom, even God cannot guarantee that everyone is reformable.  Skinnerian behavior modification is inhumane in that it is dehumanizing to force a person to change against his will.

C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock (New York: Inspirational Press, 1996), p. 499.  "To be 'cured' against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level with those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.  But to be punished, however severely, because we have deserved it, because we 'ought to have known better', is to be treated as a human person made in God's image."

2.  God could offer people a second chance after death.  But this assumes that God was lax in extending His first chance.  If it were merely a matter of people having "more time," the goodness and long-suffering of God assure that they will have it.  The danger is that the longer a person is in sin, the less she is able to choose the Good.

3.  God could annihilate people.  John Stott and Clark Pinnock hold that the most just punishment for evil is to pop them out of existence rather than punish them forever.  One of the many problems with annihilationism is pointed out by J.P. Moreland, in that it assumes God prefers the quality of human life over the sanctity of human life.  According to the quality of life view, people are seen as means to an end, rather than as ends in themselves, with the highest end being the elimination of all low qualities of life.  However, to treat people as means to an end is unbiblical, even in those cases in which the end is an actual greater good.  For example, executing an innocent few for the sake of the innocent many is morally wrong.  If God were to annihilate people, this would be to treat them as means to an end, the end being the removal of the lowest quality of life, which is Hell.  The sanctity of human life is rooted in us being God's image-bearers, and as such, we have intrinsic moral worth.  This moral worth trumps any quality of life argument.

4.  Thus, God's only option is to quarantine people.  The four popular purposes of punishment are: retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and the protection of society.  All but the first are forward-looking and actually dehumanize the criminal by attempting to force a change of their free will.  Only retribution presupposes free will and seeks to retain full human dignity and "respect" for the criminal by allowing them to receive what they have freely chosen.  The other views of punishment have a less robust view of moral responsibility.  Thus, in order to preserve the dignity of man, and to honor man as a free being, the greatest good is served in dealing with evil by allowing man the deliverances of his volition and to quarantine him forever away from the presence of God. 

• Notes on Hell

There are many myths about hell.  First, the devil is not in hell, nor is hell a place of eternal flames, rotisseries, and punishing, rather hell is a place of eternal darkness and punishment.  There is no one actively punishing the lost in hell, rather the lost are punished by their own memories of rejecting God's grace and the consequences of such rebellion.  This punishment is never-ending conscious torment without the gift of sleep.  Hell is a place of total separation, separation from physical objects, from light, from other beings, and especially from God.  Think of it is an eternal desensitization tank in which you never sleep.

612-623 – (6:58) Bell on MSNBC 3/16 full. (Rob Bell and Martin Bashir on MSNBC this morning, 3/16/2011.)

(:33) Bell on MSNBC 1. Intro.

(1:07) Bell on MSNBC 2. Japan tragedy.

(:46) Bell on MSNBC 3. Universalist.

(1:05) Bell on MSNBC 4. Responding to Christ.

(:52) Bell on MSNBC 5. Questions Raised.

(:55) Bell on MSNBC 6. Critique.

(:52) Bell on MSNBC 7. Warm Message.

(:43) Bell on MSNBC 8. Childhood Issues.

(:28) Bell's Key Criticism.

628-639 –

644-656 –

(5:28) Bell on GMA 3/15 full. (Rob Bell and George Stephanopoulos on ABC's GMA, Tuesday 3/15/2011.)

(1:10) Bell GMA 1. Intro.

(1:20) Bell GMA 2. God is love.

(1:29) Bell GMA 3. Views on heaven/hell.

(1:26) Bell GMA 4. Choose Hell.

 

• NPR (3/16/2011) NRC: No Water In Spent Fuel Pool Of Japan Plant.

• ABC News (3/16/2011) Nuclear Crisis: Rising Radiation Levels Halt Work at Fukushima Plant, Experts Say Nuclear Emergency Nearing 'Point of no Return'.

• Fox News (3/16/2011) U.S. Nuclear Chief Warns Spent Fuel Rods Could Ultimately Melt.