Is Hell An Eternal Restraining Order?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, Christianity, Cross, Hell, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Making sense of the existence of a place like Hell is a common struggle for the Christian apologist. Almost immediately, we are placed on the defensive, being asked to justify how a “loving” God could condemn any of his creation to a place of constant, and eternal, torment. I’ve often heard the challenge brought like this: “Isn’t God’s love for us like that of a parent? Can you imagine any loving parent ever wishing, or wanting, such extreme punishment for their own child?” The answer, of course, is no. No parent would delight in tormenting his children. And neither does God. But just as human parents must sometimes resort to court orders to keep their children away, so too does God employ the equivalent of an eternal…
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Wordsworth: Disciples at Home and Abroad

Bible, Christianity, cosmogony, Culture & Ethics, Das Heilige, earth, Faith & Science, Heaven, Hell, hierophany, Matthew Arnold, Mircea Eliade, poetry, Ralph Waldo Emerson, romanticism, Rudolf Otto, subconscious, The Idea of the Holy, The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James, William Wordsworth, Wordsworth versus Darwin (series)
In 1848 Ralph Waldo Emerson is on record as having paid a return visit to the then aged Wordsworth. Source
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Jesus and Elon Musk

AFR, Apologetics, app, Babilon Bee, Christmas, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Elon Musk, faith, Frank Turek, God, google play, Hell, iTunes, Jesus Christ, New Testament reliability, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, truth, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS Can you get an interview with the richest man in the world and then talk about Jesus? Our friends at the Babylon Bee did—the hilarious Christian news satire site. Elon Musk, who is a fan of the Bee, sat for a wide-ranging interview last month that lasted nearly two hours. How did that happen? How did they decide what to ask him—including asking him if Jesus is his Lord and Savior? What happened behind the scenes? Frank is joined by Seth Dillon, CEO of the Babylon Bee, to answer those questions and more. Seth is a student of apologetics who is eager to engage the culture with the truth…
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The Top Ten Questions to Ask Skeptical Friends

AFR, Apologetics, app, Christmas, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, faith, Frank Turek, God, google play, Hell, iTunes, Jesus Christ, New Testament reliability, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, truth, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS How do you get a spiritual conversation started? Can you do it without appearing awkward? Should your goal be to bring someone to the foot of the cross in every conversation you have? Join Frank as he reveals the Top Ten questions that will help you have effective evangelism conversations with friends and even people you meet for the first time. As you’ll see, your goal should not be to bring everyone to the foot of the cross in every conversation. Just moving people closer to Christ incrementally should be your goal in most instances. This takes the pressure off of you by acknowledging that other people and the Holy…
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How the Chain of Custody Affirms the Biblical Jesus

AFR, Apologetics, app, Christmas, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, faith, Frank Turek, God, google play, Hell, iTunes, J. Warner Wallace, Jesus Christ, New Testament reliability, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, truth, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS We don’t possess the original New Testament papyrus scrolls. They deteriorate too quickly to have survived this long. So how do we know that the manuscripts we have now are accurate representations of the originals? Is it reasonable to believe that they have been corrupted and embellished to falsely say that Jesus rose from the dead? Detective J. Warner Wallace joins Frank to answer those questions. He cites a technique that law enforcement uses to ensure that evidence from murder or any crime isn’t corrupted. It’s called the Chain of Custody. Is there a chain of custody that secures the evidence about the identity of Jesus from the time…
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Why Grace is the True Meaning of Christmas

AFR, Apologetics, app, Bill Federer, cancel culture, Chip Bennett, Christmas, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Erik Metaxas, Ethan Nicolle, Evolution, faith, Frank Turek, freedom, God, google play, Greg Koukl, Hell, Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Islam, iTunes, J. Warner Wallace, Jesus Christ, John Dickson, John Lennox, John McCray, Jorge Gil, Justin Brierley, Lee Strobel, Lucas Miles, Meyer, Michael Brown, New Testament reliability, Pam Pryor, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Richard Bauckham, science, sexuality, Spotify, Stephen Meyer, stitcher, Stonestreet, truth, Unbelieavable?, US Army, Weekly Podcast, Woke
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS What is the true meaning of Christmas? As Christians, we know it has little to do with trees, presents, and reindeer. But what is it really about? Why is there a Christmas at all? Frank goes to an unlikely place to highlight why Christmas exists — the book of Galatians. There, the Apostle Paul fights for the truth of the gospel — the “good news”— the news that Christ has come to take our sin upon Himself and offer us forgiveness and righteousness for free. The greatest news in the history of the world is that God saves us by grace. Christianity would not be unique if it was…
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Finding God’s Will for Your Life

AFR, Apologetics, app, Bill Federer, cancel culture, Chip Bennett, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Erik Metaxas, Ethan Nicolle, Evolution, faith, Frank Turek, freedom, God, google play, Greg Koukl, Hell, Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Islam, iTunes, J. Warner Wallace, Jesus Christ, John Dickson, John Lennox, John McCray, Jorge Gil, Justin Brierley, Lee Strobel, Lucas Miles, Meyer, Michael Brown, New Testament reliability, Pam Pryor, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Richard Bauckham, science, sexuality, Spotify, Stephen Meyer, stitcher, Stonestreet, truth, Unbelieavable?, US Army, Weekly Podcast, Woke
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS How do you find God’s will for your life? God sends you hints and nudges so you know what school to go to, what job to take, and who to marry. After all, God’s sheep “hear his voice”, we are “led by the Spirit”, and God gives us “peace” when we discover his will through “a still, small voice”. That’s the traditional Christian view. But is that view biblical? Sorry, but the answer is no! Greg Koukl, president of Stand to Reason and CIA instructor, joins Frank to show us why this view is wrong, and to offer us the true biblical view of finding God’s will for your life.…
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Chesterton’s Gateway

AFR, Apologetics, app, Bill Federer, cancel culture, Chip Bennett, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Erik Metaxas, Ethan Nicolle, Evolution, faith, Frank Turek, freedom, God, google play, Hell, Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Islam, iTunes, J. Warner Wallace, Jesus Christ, John Dickson, John Lennox, John McCray, Jorge Gil, Justin Brierley, Lee Strobel, Lucas Miles, Meyer, Michael Brown, New Testament reliability, Pam Pryor, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Richard Bauckham, science, sexuality, Spotify, Stephen Meyer, stitcher, Stonestreet, truth, Unbelieavable?, US Army, Weekly Podcast, Woke
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS About a century ago the editor of the London Times asked his readers to write in to answer the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” G.K. Chesterton wrote back two words: “I am.” Chesterton was a Christian writer, poet, illustrator, and debater who went on to write more than 80 books and thousands of essays. One of his books had a profound impact on C.S. Lewis. You’ve probably heard several of Chesterton’s quotes even if you don’t recognize the name. Ethan Nicolle, who is also one of the brilliant minds behind the Babylon Bee, has made it easy to read 14 of Chesterton’s best essays in his new book called Chesterton’s Gateway. He…
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Infinite Punishment for Finite Crimes?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Bible, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Finite Crimes, Gospel, Hell, Punishment, Sin, Sinner, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Trying to explain how a good God created Hell can be a daunting task for the Christian apologist. In my last post, I considered the challenge that God could not be “good” if he created a place of “torture.” I tried to make the case that there is a difference between torture – which implies intentional infliction of punishment for the pleasure of doing so – and torment, which is the necessary byproduct of God’s legitimate act of separating Himself from those who have rejected Him, who died while still in rebellion against Him. A related challenge often encountered when discussing the doctrine of Hell is the seeming unfairness in endless punishment for what appears to be brief – in some cases, extremely brief – temporal actions.…
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Is Hell Torment or Torture and Is there a Difference?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, Hell, Jesus, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Making a case for Christianity can be challenging in this secular culture. And what can be more challenging than explaining –no, than defending – the existence of a place of eternal punishment? It’s easy to be placed on the defensive, with an aggressive challenger deriding how a good and loving God could be so vindictive or petty as to subject his children to eternal torture simply because they didn’t “believe” the right things. But Jesus himself repeatedly spoke of Hell, so however difficult a conversation, it is one we cannot evade. Indeed, in some passages, Jesus likened Hell to the perpetual fires burning in the garbage dump outside Jerusalem, in the place called Gehenna. The Book of Revelation leaves us with the jarring image of the lake…
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