The lake of fire and the New Jerusalem as two different perspectives of God
score:3
There is a controversial speech/essay "The river of fire" by Dr. Alexandre Kalomiros along these lines, available online at Glory to God for All Things.
A representative sample:
``Paradise and hell are one and the same River of God, a loving fire which embraces and covers all with the same beneficial will, without any difference or discrimination. The same vivifying water is life eternal for the faithful and death eternal for the infidels; for the first it is their element of life, for the second it is the instrument of their eternal suffocation; paradise for the one is hell for the other. Do not consider this strange. The son who loves his father will feel happy in his father's arms, but if he does not love him, his father's loving embrace will be a torment to him.''
This essay is far from being doctrine, judging from the multitude of online discussions about its orthodoxy. I've heard somewhat similar, less stark comments from Fr. Robert Arida and from Fr. Andrew Damick (and, presumably, one can find hints of it in the ancient fathers, e.g. in the writings of St. Isaac the Syrian). For what it's worth, it made sense to me when I read it, but the commentary/rebuttal by Vladimir Moss (available at Orthodox Christian Books) rings true for me as well.
More post
- 📝 Why not directly confess our sins to God?
- 📝 Did God's moral principles change with the change of OT times to NT times?
- 📝 Was there a "cessation of church fathers" in Catholicism?
- 📝 How do creationists explain the geologic column?
- 📝 How do believers in post-mortal consciousness respond to objections by the Jewish Encyclopedia article on the immortality of the soul?
- 📝 How was God created?
- 📝 Are there any extra-biblical writings that document what the early Christians believed about the second coming of Christ?
- 📝 What are the soteriological implications of Arianism?
- 📝 According to the LDS church, when was the priesthood lost?
- 📝 What was the socioeconomic makeup of early Christian Gnostic sects?
- 📝 Genesis 9:7 fruitful and increase in number
- 📝 To what extent did BC gentiles have access to the Old Testament?
- 📝 Was Jesus' time in the wilderness the only time that He encountered Satan on Earth?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for believing that it is sinful to commit illegal actions?
- 📝 How accurate is King James' Bible?
- 📝 In 1 Corinthians 8:5, what do the "many gods and many lords" refer to?
- 📝 On what basis do some denominations prohibit Christians from drinking alcohol?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis against the omnipresence of Satan?
- 📝 Why did God tell Moses to make a bronze serpent on a stick?
- 📝 Why the resurrection?
- 📝 What is the basis for Topical Preaching?
- 📝 Why do Catholics believe in the immaculate conception?
- 📝 Was Boaz named after the column in the temple?
- 📝 What Bible passage does this $1,000,000 dollar bill reference?
- 📝 Why does St. Thomas Aquinas cite Proverbs 11:14 as Ecclesiastes 4:9?
- 📝 What arguments have been advanced against "Angel Therapy"?
- 📝 Can Catholics receive sacraments via Skype?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholicism, is it a sin to vote for pro-choice politicians?
- 📝 Luther's "Two Kingdoms" Theology
- 📝 Do any young earth creationists believe that a change to the earth's axis tilt was God's way of shortening human lifespans?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 The lake of fire and the New Jerusalem as two different perspectives of God
- 📝 What are the different names of God in the Bible and what do they mean?
- 📝 Why do there appear to be two very different variations of “tongues” in the New Testament?
- 📝 Relationships between God the Father, Mary and the two natures of Jesus Christ
- 📝 What is the New Testament basis for the idea the God is a God of judgment and vengeance?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church deal with the differences between the God described in the old and new Testaments?
- 📝 When were the Hades and the lake of fire created?
- 📝 Are Israel and the Church two different kingdoms?
- 📝 How do Orthodox Christians explain that the Father and the Son are not two different Gods?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile the two different narratives of behavior of the thieves in Calvary as reported in Mtt 27 and Lk 23?
- 📝 Is the tripartite God the judge in the Old Testament, and Jesus the appointed only judge in the New Testament?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for believing God is the same throughout the Old and New Testament?
- 📝 How do Biblical Unitarians understand verses that appear to identify God (the Father) and the Holy Spirit as different beings/entities?
- 📝 The LDS consider God the Father the ultimate creator and they teach that Jesus Christ is the creator. Which of these two Gods is the creator?
- 📝 Is there a Christian sect that believes only The New Testament and only Christ is God and The Whole Trinity exists in Him?
- 📝 Did God change from a wrathful God to a loving God between Old Testament and New Testament?
- 📝 Can somebody summarize the different "branches" of Christianity to me, and explain why they exist in the first place?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for "Love God and do whatever you please"?
- 📝 Who was St. Joseph's Father? The New Testament seems to give two answers
- 📝 What is the argument and Biblical basis that it is possible to know God from nature?
- 📝 The Greatest Commandment - Loving God with all our 1) heart, 2) soul, and 3) strength
- 📝 According to Protestant trinitarians, what is the significance of the father-son relationship between God and Christ?
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 What is the basis for the claim that the entire New Testament can be reconstructed apart from original and copied manuscripts?
- 📝 Why is the Lord's Prayer different in the NIV and KJV?
- 📝 When was the New Testament divided into sentences and paragraphs?
- 📝 Are there two different creation accounts in the bible?
- 📝 God created male and female.... What about those who do not fit in the box?
- 📝 What's the difference between judging God and questioning God?