tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705460.post116282772976749947..comments2024-01-21T00:21:39.004-06:00Comments on Three Wise Men: Perry: "Some Texans are going to Hell"Alexander Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041808057755360625noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705460.post-1162938870065753332006-11-07T16:34:00.000-06:002006-11-07T16:34:00.000-06:00I don't really think it's all that much of an issu...I don't really think it's all that much of an issue at all, as I tried to imply. And I think it's foolish that anti-Perry bloggers think it's an issue. It's not, except to the extent that they are trying to embarrass him with something that it is well known many Christians believe.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I don't think I misinterpret him at all. All Christians <I>should</I>say the same thing, that they have no personal knowledge of who in particular will or will not go to hell. And yet the bible quite clearly states (so Christians believe) that those who do not accept the salvation of Christ will not be permitted to enter heaven despite their good works. As a result, many Christians assume that those who are of another religion, such as Islam or Buddhism or Judaism, will be consigned to hell for their failure to follow the word of Christ. If I misunderstand the theology, than so do many Christians, as I've heard this straight from the mouths of many of them (of the conservative evangelical bent, at least.) <BR/><BR/>As for your last paragraph; that truly is a theological argument that I cannot engage in.Alexander Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041808057755360625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7705460.post-1162937381486075412006-11-07T16:09:00.000-06:002006-11-07T16:09:00.000-06:00It seems strange to me that this is an issue. Is ...It seems strange to me that this is an issue. Is the possibility of judgment really the least publicly acceptable aspect of Christianity? It's interesting that the possibility that Christians are superstitious fools (for believing in a god) is less of a big deal than that they might be thinking mean thoughts about their neighbors.<BR/><BR/>At any rate, you mis-interpret his caveat: his emphasis is on God's omniscience transcending his "personal ability to make that judgment". In other words, Perry believes some will be saved and some will be going to hell, but he wouldn't presume to know who those people are. That is, in fact, a rather widely-accepted notion in Christianity, and also the official line of the Catholic church. That you interpret his qualification as awkwardness shows that you misunderstand the theology itself.<BR/><BR/>I'm all for being uncomfortable with commonly accepted ideas about hell and judgment due to theological and epistomological concerns (<I>why</I> do we think hell works this way?), nothing seems easier to me than to posit that, if there is an immortal soul, there exist a diety or dieties, and morality has an objective aspect, one's morality in this life will have direct consequences upon any which might follow.Natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12643882243333252787noreply@blogger.com