Eternal torture and courtesy
Central facets of the debate between Calvinists and non-Calvinists revolve around this question: Would God create multiplied billions of his creatures only to glorify himself by subjecting them to eternal conscious torture? Consistent Calvinists like Pink, Clark, Piper, Owen and Calvin himself insist that God not only would do it—he has done it! Click.
Calvin thought that such a divine decree was “horrible” though he accepted it as God’s decree. Still, realizing just how profoundly shocking it is he effectively argues that since God decreed it, it must be a righteous decree though we have no way of knowing how it can be, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.23.2. Besides, he reminds us, we have no right to question God for we’re merely pots and pans and God’s the potter (quoting Paul in Romans 9, supposing that Paul’s agenda there was the same as his own).
Unlike my speech in this area which is rarely measured—I think the doctrine is degenerate and God-dishonouring—Ben Witherington wrote a good-spirited but plainly worded protest against the doctrine. I judge it was right on target but what struck me was that one of the respondents was hurt by how he saw the tone of the piece and accused Witherington of being discourteous. I’ve read that kind of response more than once and I have to say it astonishes me.
These don’t bat an eye at a God who consigned billions to eternal conscious torture independent of any behaviour on their part (they say this on the basis of their interpretation of scripture) but they’re all exercised at whatthey judge to be discourtesy and lack of respect.
Someone who feels passionately opposed to that Calvinistic caricature of God who has shown himself in and as Jesus Christ must tip-toe around while he expresses his profound objections? Before the face of the world God is made to look worse than the Mephistopheles of Bertrand Russell’s imagination and consistent Calvinists are upset about matters of “courtesy” and “scholarly respect”? The God pictured by consistent Calvinists because it pleases him to do so creates billions of his children for no other destiny than to be hell-fodder so that he might be glorified (3.23.6) and we’re to worry about the niceties of how we talk about it (3.23.1, 3, 4)?
These people tell us that billions of our fellow-creatures, babies included (3.23.7), utterly independent of anything they think or choose or do (3.23) are to burn eternally in conscious torture to please and glorify God and we’re urged to keep a civil tongue in our heads?
Does that not startle you?
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.