From Death To Life - afterlife.co.nz · Archpriest George Florovsky ... “And the Word was made...

www.afterlife.co.nz1

From DeathTo Life

The Official Magazine of the ConditionalImmortality Association of New Zealand

Bible Teaching • Life • Death • Resurrection • Eternal Destiny

Issue 32 • December 2006

www.afterlife.co.nz 2

Mission


Editorial ContentsIssue 32 December

2006

Editorial 3David Burge

Twisted Scripture 4David Burge

The ABCs of BiblicalAnthropology 6David Burge

This Is My Story 11Graeme Campbell

From Off Of The ShelfDavid Burge 15

Eternal Punishment 18Edward Fudge

Bits And Pieces 20David Burge

From Kenya 22Simeon

Faith of Our FathersDavid Burge 23

Carey Park ReportWarren Stubbs 27

Info / Adverts

ACMissions 2Death To Life CD Vol. 1 10Conference 2007 14Subscription notice 14

Editor: David Burge e:[email protected]

CHRISTMAS ANDCONDITIONALISM

In an article entitled, The“Immortality” of the Soul ,Archpriest George Florovsky(found on-line at http://www.fatheralexander.org/book-lets/english/immortality_soul.htm#n1) made the followingremarks:

“W. H. V. Reade, in ... TheChristian Challenge toPhilosophy, very aptly confrontstwo quotations: “And the Wordwas made flesh and dweltamong us” (John 1:14) and“Plotinus, the philosopher of ourtime, was like one ashamed ofbeing in the flesh” (Porphyry,Life of Plotinus, I). Reade thenproceeds: “When the messageof Christmas Day and Porphyry’sbrief summary of his master’screed are thus brought intodirect comparison, it should beplain enough that they aretotally incompatible: that noChristian can possibly be aPlatonist, nor any Platonist aChristian; and of this elementaryfact the Platonists, to do themjustice, were perfectly aware.”Florovsky adds this telling re-mark: “unfortunately, Christiansdid not seem to be aware ‘ofthis elementary fact’.”(Continued on page 26)


Twisted

Scripture

SPIRIT, SOUL ANDBODY: THREE PARTS

OR ONE?In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul

prays, "May God himself, theGod of peace, sanctify youthrough and through. Mayyour whole spirit, soul andbody be kept blameless at thecoming of our Lord JesusChrist." The threefold mentionof spirit, souland body leadsmany people tobelieve thatbody, soul andspirit (the moreusual order)are in factseparable anddistinct partswithin everyhuman being.Hebrews 4:12is likewise saidto distinguishbetween souland spirit. Butis this really what theScriptures teach?

While 1 Thessalonians 5:23does distinguish spirit, souland body other Scripturesmake different distinctions. InMark 12:30, we are urged to"Love the Lord your God withall your heart and with all

your soul and with all your mindand with all your strength." Hereheart and soul and mind andstrength are distinguished one fromthe other. Are we to conclude thatevery human being is made up offour separable parts: the heart, thesoul, the mind and the body? Mostcertainly not!

Hebrews 4:12 does indeeddistinguish "soul and spirit". But it

also distinguishes"joints andmarrow"; and hintsat a distinctionbetween "thoughts"of the mind and"attitudes of theheart." If on thebasis of this verseone wants to dividehuman beings intoseparable anddistinct parts whystop at three? Whynot have six: souland spirit, jointsand marrow, mind

and heart? No one has everseriously proposed such a system.

Actually, what is happening in allthese instances is that terms arebeing piled up, one upon another,to stand for the person as a whole,in all of his or her material andimmaterial aspects. In no way arewe meant to take from these


verses that any of these aspects ofthe human person, whethermaterial or immaterial, is in anyreal sense "separable" from theperson as a whole, any more thanthe "heart" (emotions) can existapart from the "mind" or the body.

One verse often overlooked insuch discussions is 1 Corinthians15:44: "It [the body] is sown anatural body, it is raised a spiritualbody. If there is a natural body,there is also aspiritual body."The word"natural" isliterally"soulish". Thusthe body is herecalled both"soulical” and"spiritual". Inthis context it iseasily seen thatthese terms -body soul andspirit - are mostappropriatelyapplied to the human being as awhole person, rather than to anygenuinely separate “part” of thehuman being.

It is also worth noting that whilethe Bible teaches that God is spirit(John 4:24), it is also said of Godthat he has or perhaps is a soul(Isa. 42:1, Jer. 9:9, Amos 6:8). Aretheir “parts” within God? (We are

not talking of the “Trinity” here!).

Much confusion is done awaywith when we note that the terms"soul" and "spirit", as used in theBible, are not used exclusively ofhuman beings. Genesis 2:7 speaksof “the breath [or the spirit] of life”as being within a human being. Yetthe same is also said of the animals(Gen. 6:17, 7:21-22). Genesis 2:7speaks of the human being as “aliving soul”, yet four times

previously (Gen.1:20, 21, 24 and30) the term“soul” is used ofvarious creatureswithin the animalkingdom, beforeit is ever used ofAdam. In everyinstance the“living soul” isclearly a “livingbeing” as awhole, not amere part of thatbeing.

No one has ever suggested thatan animal is divisible into two orthree parts - one of which isimmortal. Neither have we anyground, as far as the Bible isconcerned, for dividing the humanbeing into two or more parts, muchless for attributing immortality toany of those parts.

David Burge.


Julie Andrews is not renownedas a theologian, but in her hitmusical, “The Sound of Music”,she does have at least one pieceof good advice for budding Biblescholars.

“Let’s start at the verybeginning. A very good place tostart. When you read you beginwith A-B-C. Whenyou sing youbegin with do-re-mi”. And, may Isuggest, whenyou discussBiblicalanthropology andthe meaning ofthe terms, body,spirit, and soul,you begin withGenesis 1:26-29and Genesis 2:7.

MADE IN HIS IMAGEAccording to Genesis 1:26-29,

what separates a human beingfrom the animals is that wealone are made in [or perhaps“as”] the image of God. Thereare three main ways in which"the image of God" has beenunderstood: as substantive,relational or functional.

The substantive view holds thatthere is some substantialcharacteristic of humanity whichis Godlike, be it our physicalmake-up, or more commonlysome "spiritual" attribute suchas free will or reason. Therelational view argues it is ourability to enter into relationships

that makes us likeGod. The functionalview (by far themost exegeticallyrobust) argues thatthe "image of God"consists in our beingappointed by God torepresent himbefore Creation andto rule over theearth on his behalf(Gen. 1:26-29).

It is this highcalling that sets us apart fromthe animals. It may be that Godequipped us for this task withreason and free will and thatthese capacities mean we areable to enter into relationshipsthat other animals cannot. Butnowhere is it ever suggestedthat an "immortal soul" is partof the image of God. In factquite the opposite.

The ABCs of BiblicalThe ABCs of BiblicalThe ABCs of BiblicalThe ABCs of BiblicalThe ABCs of BiblicalAnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropologyAnthropology


Some say that since God isimmortal and humanity is madein the image of God, some partof the human being must alsobe immortal. Our creation in theimage of God did not give usomniscience, omnipotence oromnipresence, however. Whatground is there for asserting itgives us immortality. Scripture isclear: God alone hasimmortality!(1Tim. 6:16).

BODYNow, according

to Genesis 2:7,Adam wasmoulded out ofthe groundaround him.Before thisfigure is everliving, he iscalled “man”.Thus, Adam isnot dust plussomething else,be it “soul” or“spirit”. He is literally dust madealive by the breath of God.

All subsequent Scriptures givethe same idea as this first text:“For dust you are ...”, says God(Gen. 3:19). “I am nothing butdust and ashes,” agreesAbraham (Gen. 18:27). “… Heremembers that we are dust”,says the Psalmist (Psa. 103:14).

Indeed it is not just “the body”that is dust but the wholeperson: “Dust you are” (not“Dust your body is”), “I amnothing but dust and ashes”(not “My body is nothing butdust and ashes”)!

There is nothing in all theScriptures that would encourageus to look to anything in or ofourselves for eternal life.

SPIRITBut what about

our spirit?Doesn’t the Biblesay we have animmortal Spirit?Not at all!

Scripture doessays that thespirit of Godinbreathed iswhat gives us life(Gen. 2:7) but italso says that theoutgoing of thespirit returning to

God who gave it, is death (Eccl.12:7) – and that this is true forboth human beings and animalsalike (Eccl. 3:18-21).

In announcing the Flood Godsaid, “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroyall life under the heavens, everycreature that has the breath oflife in it. Everything on earth will


perish.” (Gen. 6:17 cf.. 7:15, 22,see also Gen. 1:30). Other“creatures” apart from humanbeings have within them thebreath of life!

Job says, “The Spirit of Godhas made me;” he goes on tosay, “the breath of the Almightygives me life.” (Job 33:4). Spiritand breath are here parallel!

Elihu notes that, “If… he [God]withdrew hisspirit and breath… man wouldreturn to thedust.” (Job34:14-15). ThePsalmist says thesame of theanimal creation.He says, “Whenyou hide yourface they areterrified; whenyou take awaytheir breath,they die andreturn to the dust. When yousend your Spirit, they arecreated and you renew the faceof the earth.” (Psa. 104:29f).

Indeed Solomon says, “I alsothought, ‘As for men, God teststhem so that they may see thatthey are like the animals. Man’sfate is like that of the animals;the same fate awaits them both:As one dies, so dies the other.

All have the same breath [ orspirit]; man has no advantageover the animal. Everything ismeaningless. All go to the sameplace; all come from dust, andto dust all return. Who knows ifthe spirit of man rises upwardand if the spirit of the animalgoes down into the earth?’”(Eccl. 3:18-21).

This explains his crypticremark: “… thedust returns tothe ground itcame from andthe spirit returnsto God whogave it.” (Eccl.12:7). Death is areversal of thecreation process.Life enteredAdam by theinbreathing ofthe spirit of lifeinto his nostrils.This spirit of life

returning to God who gave it isdeath. It is not the personalityor the “real you” that returns toGod, however, otherwise wewould be required to believethat our “souls” preexisted, thatis, that we were with Godbefore we were ever born. No.The spirit here is the impersonallife force returning to God whogave it.


SOULWe are now in a position to

take a closer look at the “soul”.According to Genesis 2:7, Adamwas not given a “soul” hebecame “a living soul”. A humanbeing does not have a soul, ahuman being is a “living soul”,literally a breather. And this incommon with the animals.

The Hebrew for “living soul” isused four times in the Crea-tion narra-tives – ofthe “livingcreatures”with whichthe watersteam(Gen.1:20, cf..Rev 16:3);of the“greatcreatures of the sea” (21); of“the livestock, creatures thatmove along the ground, andwild animals” (24); and of everyanimal in creation (30) – thisbefore it is ever used of humanbeings. Adam later gave namesto “every living soul” (2:19).

Nothing here suggests that thesoul of a human is immortal anymore than the soul of the beast.In fact, after the Fall, God ex-pelled Adam and Eve from theGarden precisely because he did

not want them to eat from thetree of life and live forever (Gen.3:22-24). God would not allowsinners to live forever!

CONCLUSIONA handful of texts taken out of

context may suggest that somepart of every human being - beit soul or spirit - is intrinsicallyimmortal. The Bible’s view of ahuman being is more humbling:

It is onlyby God’sgrace wehave thehighcalling torule overthe earthas hisimage &repre-sentatives.

Despite this calling, we arecreatures of dust, totallydependent on him. A properunderstanding of biblicalanthropology forces us to lookoutside of ourselves to him. “Noman has power over his spirit toretain it; so no one has powerover the day of his death.” (Eccl.8:8, NIV footnote). “Stoptrusting in man, who has but abreath in his nostrils. Of whataccount is he?” (Isa. 2:22).

David Burge.


From Death To Life (Volume 1)Issues 1 – 30 (1993 – 2006) of From Death To Life is now available onCD ROM, mostly in black and white, as pdfs. Over 50 articles, 40 editorials,11 book reviews, 3 testimonies plus Carey Park and Advent ChristianMission reports for those interested in the history of CI works in NewZealand.

Including ...A Brief History of Conditional immortality andAnswers to Critics (Part 1&2), DaveGreenA Loving Challenge, Edward FudgeA Reformation Crisis ConcerningThe Soul: Immortal or Mortal, (Part1&2), W. KilgoreA Review of The Passion of TheChrist, Glenn PeoplesConditional Immortality: Does ItMatter? Should I Care? (Conference2006), D. BurgeConference 2000 (Editorial), C.JosephsonFire and Flood: How The NewTestament Uses The FirstTestament To Teach on FinalPunishment (Parts 1 to 4), G. A.PeoplesHebrews 12:23 (Twisted Scripture),D BurgeHell – A hot Topic (Part 1 to 3), Edward FudgeHell, Emotion and the Christian Attitude To Others, G. A. PeoplesHinduism & Conditional Immortality (Conference 1996), B. J. Hollis (Ching)How Orthodox Are We? D. BurgeIn The Image of God He Created Them: The Call To Be Human, Joel GreenIs Death Better By Far? (Twisted Scripture on Phil. 1:20-24), D. BurgeJesus is Coming, D. BurgeJust A Reminder: Why Is Conditional Immortality Important? C. JosephsonMatthew 10:28 (Twisted Scripture), D. BurgeOn Being Filled With Hope (Conference 1988), D. DicksonRaised Immortal, D. BurgeReclaiming The Gospel (Parts 1&2) (Conference 1997), W. PrestigeSaul and The Witch of Endor, W. RundleThe History of Hell (Parts 1&2), D. BurgeThe Intermediate State in Paul (in 14 Parts), C. JosephsonThe Life and The Advent (Conference 2005), C. PrestidgeThe Resurrection of the Dead (Conference Address 2003), W. PrestidgeThree Pioneers of CI in New Zealand (Conference 2003), D. DicksonAnd much more ... See page 14 for address to order!


This Is My StoryMy Story So Far

I grew up in an Open Brethrenfamily and came to a personalfaith in Jesus Christ at a youngage. On leaving school I trainedas a Motor Mechanic but wentfarming soon after gettingmarried. I am currentlyretraining as a Radiographer asmy body isno longer upto the rigoursof farm life.My wife,Janet, and Ihave fourchildren, whohave all goneon to followChrist asadults. Overthe years ourfaith hasbeen testedbut the onein whom ourfaith was placed has provedtrustworthy. I have served myGod wherever I could and untilrecently was an Elder at mylocal Open Brethren assembly.

Several years ago I waschallenged by a friend as to myunderstanding of several key

doctrines that he had beenre-examining, one being whathappens when we die(heaven or hell versus deathor life in the Kingdom of God).

With my strong backgroundin Bible study anddispensational teaching, and acertain spiritual pride in my

heritage, I had a few shocksin store. As I began to look atthe whole topic of life afterdeath and at what the Bibleactually teaches about lifebeyond the grave, I foundthat much of what I believedwas based on innuendo and


supposition. I supposed that thestory of Lazarus and the richman was a true account butsoon realized that nowhere elsein scripture does this idea of aplace of eternal torment that isvisible from Heaven occur.Instead I found that Greek

mythology is full of such ideas. Ihad missed the whole point ofthe story and instead layeredmy doctrinal beliefs on a veryshaky foundation. Even thewords of Jesus on the cross tothe repentant thief (“I tell youthe truth, today you will be with

me in paradise”) took on newmeaning as I realized that thecomma was added bytranslators who flavoured it withtheir own preconceived beliefs.When read as “I tell you thetruth today, you will be with mein paradise” it gave a whole new

and more scripturallyconsistent meaning tothese words. ‘I tellyou the truth today’was a commonphrase that Jesusused at other times. Ibegan to realize thatthe Old Testamentsaints never spoke ofbeing immediately inGod’s presence atdeath but of simply“resting with theirFathers”. They had agreat expectation ofresurrection to God’spresence at the ‘lastday’.

The more I studied,the more I realized that theNew Testament believers alsogloried in the comingresurrection – something thatwe hear almost nothing of inour churches today. It is anunnecessary doctrine for thosewho teach that we are alreadywith Jesus at the point of death.


If in fact we never really die theresurrection is obsolete. I slowlycame to realize that this alsomeant the unrepentant deadwould not have eternal life at all(albeit in pain and torment) butthat eternal life was promisedonly to those who come to Godcovered bythe shedblood ofMessiah Jesus– God’sprovision forour lack ofrighteousness.

As I readscripture withthis newperspective Ifound that Icould takeverses likeJohn 3:16 andRomans 3:23at face value.Death meantdeath and notsome miserable life inperpetuity. Eternal life really is agift, not something we have asan inherent right that is oursjust because we were bornhuman. I found that I had tochange my thinking from‘Heaven or hell’ to ‘life or death’.

This change in focus has

I realized that theNew Testamentbelievers alsogloried in the

coming resurrection– something thatwe hear almost

nothing of in ourchurches today.

bought me much joy and alsolifted my view of God’s justiceand compassion. It is God whoput the sense of right andwrong in us and the abhorrenceof injustice that we all feel whenwe see it in everyday life. TrulyGod is a just God who will do

away withtheunrighteousin a fair andjust way andnot in a waythat causesus to cringeat the crueltyof perpetualtorture. Ifonly peoplecould seewhat anamazingprovisionGod hascome upwith that heshould ask

his own Son to take our deathso that we can live forever. Wehumans have the opportunity tolive forever instead of deathbeing the end of everything forus. What truly brilliant news thisis.

My continuing voyage ofdiscovery has put me at odds


Conference2007!

When? Saturday, May 5thWhere? At the Barrycourt

Conference Centre,10-20 Gladstone Rd, Parnell.

Who? Glenn Peoples, PhDCandidate (and our webmaster)

What? "Atonement,Athanasius, and Annihilation."How Much? To Be AdvisedSimilar to 2006 $25 (wage-earners) $20 (non-waged).

Resurrection PublishingPO Box 75612

ManurewaManukau 2243New Zealand

Subscriptions may be sent tothe above address in the

amount of NZ $15 for fourissues.

with many of my church friends. Ihave recently stood down as anElder as I can no longer endorseour traditional ‘statement of faith’.However, I continue to live for myGod and His Messiah with a newjoy and appreciation of His real lovefor us and His desire for my eternalcompany. I wonder withanticipation at our comingprospects – what will the earth belike under Messiah Jesus’ rule andwhat will be my role in it? Thefuture is bright and exciting! I lookforward to the resurrection now,knowing that without it, all is lost,and we are “of all men mostmiserable”.

Graeme Campbell


From Off Of TheShelf

The Death of Ivan Illyichand Master and Man, LeoTolstoy, Read By SimonVance (HovelAudio 2005)

C.S. Lewis wrote,“It is a good rule,after reading a newbook, never to allowyourself anothernew one till youhave read an oldone in between. Ifthat is too much foryou, you should atleast read one oldone to every threenew ones.” (Athanasius On TheIncarnation, Introduction by C.S. Lewis). In the spirit of C. S.Lewis, having reviewed two newbooks, I now turn to an oldbook(s). These old books,however, are presented in anew format, as audio booksdownloaded onto my computer!

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) isconsidered by those in the knowto be among the greatestnovelists in Western Literature.Several “classics” have come

from his pen, including War andPeace and Anna Karenina.

In these two famous shortnovels, The Deathof Ivan Illyich(1886) and Masterand Man, Tolstoyconsiders thesubject of deathand mortality toawaken in us theconviction that alife lived in pursuitof worldly ambitionwill, in the end,offer no consolationto the spirituallyempty soul. My

review focuses on the first ofthese novels.

IVAN ILYICHDuring an interval in a trial,

several legal people areconversing in a private room.Peter Ivánovich, reads in thepaper that their colleague IvánIlych (the title character) hasdied. The men presentimmediately think, each tohimself, of how his death mayresult in promotion for them all.


Each is grateful that Ilych isdead and not he. They all dreadthe fact that they will be forcedto go through the tediousbusiness of visiting and payingtheir respects to the family.

The narrative then followsPeter Ivánovich as later that dayhe goes to Ilych's house. On hisway out,IvánovichcommentstoGerásim,Ilych'sservant,"It's a sadaffair, isn'tit?" "It'sGod will.We shall allcome to itsome day,"says Gerasim. Peter Ivánovichthen goes off to play bridge.

Tolstoy now turns to tell of thelife of Ivan Ilych, a high courtjudge in St. Petersburg, whodied at the age of 45 afterhaving lived a life "most simpleand most ordinary and thereforemost terrible".

One day, after a fall hangingcurtains, he begins to sufferfrom a mysterious pain in hisleft side. The pain becomesmore and more excruciating. He

is forced to visit doctors, whocannot pinpoint the source ofhis trouble, though it soonbecomes clear his condition isfatal. Ilych is brought face toface with his mortality, andrealizes that although he knowsof it, he does not understand it.

THE DENIAL OF DEATHThis is

Tolstoy’spoint.Ilychencountersseveralpointers tohis ownmortalitybutreinterpretsthem. Heis called

"the phoenix of the family", asthe most promising of threesons. But the phoenix is acreature of death as much asrebirth. Young Ilych carries amedal on his watch chain. Itreads (in Latin): "look to theend." Ilych interprets the endas his goal, "success", but itmay also refer to death, theultimate end of us all. Thewatch itself is symbolic of thepassing of time. Every secondbrings Ilych - and every otherhuman being - closer to death.


Ilyich, like humanity in general,is however, unwilling to face thereality of death. The problem isthat because of this denial wemiss the point of life.

A LIFE WORTH LIVINGFinally, as the end approaches,

at his wife's behest, Ilych takescommunion. Though throughoutthe last three days Iván Ilychscreams in agony,on the third day, hehas a revelation. Hisson touches hishand, and Ilychfinally recognizesthat he has lived alife that has beenhypocritical andempty. He realisesthat loving andserving others is theway to really live alife that matters. Hetries to ask his wife’sforgiveness. He sheds his hatredfor others and in its place feelspity. Though outwardly he is inagony, for the first time sincechildhood Iván Ilych is at peaceas he dies.

The only character who seemsat ease with death is thepeasant - servant Gerásim. Hewill not pretend his master ismerely ill. When others insistthat Ilych is not dying they doso, not for Ilych's comfort, but

for their own. Gerásim, on theother hand, knows we must alldie. Paradoxically, his attitude todeath sets him free to reallylive. Gerásim glows with healthand vitality. He is kind. He ismore than willing to serve. Ineffect he spends what he knowsis but a short life doing whatreally matters.

CONCLUSIONSGerásim reflects

Tolstoy’s somewhatideal view of thefaith of the Russianpeasant. Tolstoy’s“Christianity”however, wassomewhatrationalistic. I doubthe believed in thepossibility ofpersonal immortality.

The fear of deathprevents many from pursuingreal life. But Christ died to freepeople from this tyranny (Heb.2:15). Christians would do wellto consider the issues raised inthis work. God may reveal tothem afresh the reality of therisen Jesus, who died for themthat they might be freed fromthe fear of death. It is in beingfreed from this fear we are setfree to live for God and othersand so to really live.

David Burge.


ETERNALPUNISHMENT

After I had mentioned mybook, THE FIRE THATCONSUMES, an agitatedpreacher responded: “Jesusmade a pronouncement abouthell and I suggest that you andthis growingnumber of ‘scholars’you mentionfamiliarizeyourselves with it.It’s found inMatthew 25:31-46in the NewTestament, a bookwritten by God.What is it about theword ‘aionios’[eternal] that youdon’t understand?”

* * *The purpose of THE FIRE THAT

CONSUMES (the name comesfrom Hebrews 12:29 andDeuteronomy 4:24) is to searchthe Scriptures, so it examinesabout 1,000 verses fromGenesis to Revelation. Thelongest chapter in this massivebook looks at the teaching ofJesus himself, including theMatthew text mentioned above.As Christians, we must accept

without question anything Jesussays, but we must not imposemeanings on his words whichhe never intended to convey.That is done, I fear, by themajority tradition which says

that God will keepthe wicked alivethroughout eternityonly to torture themwithout end.Indeed our Lordwarns of “eternalpunishment.” But“punishment” is avery general wordwhose contentmust be suppliedfrom outside itself.While “punishment”clearly speaks of

retribution imposed by someonein authority (in this case, Godhimself), that word alone doesnot tell us of what thatretribution consists. In our ownlegal system, for example,“punishment” covers quite aspectrum — from a monetaryfine, to probation, to jail orprison (for a short or extendedterm), to the death penalty —which we regard as the ultimate“punishment.”


Jesus says there will be“punishment” which is “eternal,”and Paul amplifies what Jesusleft ambiguous. When Christreturns, says the Apostle, he will“punish” the lost with eternaldestruction (2 Thes.1:9). Thispunishment is “eternal” in atleast two senses. It is “eternal”in quality because it belongs tothe Age to Come. It is also“eternal” in quantity, so tospeak, because those whosuffer it will remain deadforever. From this death there isno recovery, resurrection orescape.”The wages of sin is death”(Rom. 6:23). Not the first,earthly death, but the “seconddeath” (Rev. 21:8) when Goddestroys both body and soul inhell” (Matt. 10:28). The wickedwill become ashes under thesoles of the feet (Mal. 4:3). Thefinal choices are eternal life ordeath (Rom. 6:23). To put itanother way, those who believewill enjoy eternal life; those whorefuse to believe will perish(John 3:16). THE FIRE THATCONSUMES gives you athorough study of everythingthe Bible says about finalpunishment, plus a historicalsurvey of the origin and rise toprominence of the traditionaldoctrine of unending conscioustorment. To order the original

The above article appeared aspart of Edward’s daily (Mondayto Friday) ministry of“gracEmail” and is used withEdward’s generous permission.You may visit Edward’s websiteat www.edwardfudge.com tosign up to receive “gracEmail” orto order his book, THE FIRETHAT CONSUMES direct fromthe publisher.We stock TWO VIEWS OF

HELL: A BIBLICALTHEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE alsoby Edward Fudge and Robert A.Peterson (see insert with thismagazine) where Fudge arguesthe Conditional view andPeterson argues the “traditional”view.

David Burge.

500-page edition (which has1,600 footnotes, features aforeword by the late F. F. Bruceand was a selection ofEvangelical Book Club), seeEdward’s website.


Bits And Pieces“Bits and Pieces” is just that.Bits and pieces gathered fromrecent (and sometimes not sorecent) books and articles thathave something to say aboutlife, death and eternal destiniesthat may be of interest toConditionalist readers.

LIFE AFTER DEATH: NOT ARED HERRING

C. S. Lewis

"KARENARMSTRONG, theauthor of TheGreatTransformation(2005), A ShortHistory of Myth(2005), SpiralStaircase (2004),The Battle for God(2000) and AHistory of God(1994), amongother books, hasreferred to the issue ofan afterlife as a red herring —something that distractsattention from more importantquestions."

In reply, Stafford Betty quotesC. S. Lewis: “If you read historyyou will find that the Christianswho did most for the presentworld were precisely those who

thought most of the next. It issince Christians have largelyceased to think of the otherworld that they have become soineffective in this” (Life AfterDeath Is Not a Red Herring,Stafford Betty, America; 9/11/2006, Vol. 195 Issue 6, p25-26).

IN DEFENCE OFIMMORTALITY

Carol Zaleskispeaking indefence ofthe notion ofpersonalimmortality says,"The specificobjections toimmortality ... canbe briefly stated.Belief inimmortality iscriticized on moralgrounds as self-

aggrandizing, onpsychological grounds as self-deceiving, and on philosophicalgrounds as dualistic. Concernfor the soul is faulted formaking us disregard the body,neglect our responsibilities tothe Earth, and deny our kinshipwith other life forms. We share90 percent of our genes with


mice. Even the lowliestbacterium is our cousin. Whydo we persist in imaginingthat there is some fifth es-sence in us that sets usapart?"

To the first objection, Zaleskisays, “we cansay that there isno correlationbetweennarcissism [loveof self] andbelief inpersonalimmortality.” Inresponse to thethird objectionshe says, almostin passing, “[I]fdualism troublesyou—as it sometimestroubles me—there are non-dualistic ways of thinkingabout life after death." (InDefense of Immortality, byCarol Zaleski, in First Things:A Monthly Journal of Religion& Public Life; Aug/Sep2000Issue 105, p36-42).

Conditional Immortality isjust the answer Zaleski islooking for. It does notdisregard the body, nor doesit neglect earthly realities infavour of a phantom “soul”. Itdoes not deny our essentialkinship with other life forms

Mark Twain

which are equally called “livingsouls”, nor does it require of usthat we imagine there is somefifth essence in us that sets usapart from the animal kingdom.Lastly, our hope of a future lifeis based on Jesus’ resurrectionnot our own wishful thinking.

TWAIN ONIMMORTALITY“One of the proofs

of the immortalityof the soul” says,Mark Twain, “is thatmyriads havebelieved in it. Theyhave also believedthe world was flat.”(Notebook, 1900).Twain also said, “Ihave never seen

what to me seemed anatom of proof that there is afuture life. And yet — I aminclined to expect one.” (MarkTwain, a Biography).

I wonder, was Twain looking forevidence of a future life of the“soul” instead of looking to theone who said “I am theResurrection and the Life” - andproved it by his own rising fromthe dead! In looking to theresurrection Twain might havehad the assurance he waslooking for.

David Burge.


Greetings to you from yourbrothers and sisters in Kenya ...We thank our God always in everyremembrance of you. It is ourGod who makes it possible for us,an isolated church here at KisiiKenya, to be acquainted with youbrethren in many countries, andfor us truly to be one in the bloodof Jesus Christ which hascleansed us from all our sins!

The period of our sojourn here isbrief. Solomon was moved by theHoly Spirit to draw our attentionto our duty: “Whatsoever thyhand findeth to do, do it with allthy might; for there is no work,nor device, nor knowledge, norwisdom, in the grave, wither thougoest” (Eccl. 9:10).

It is obvious from this Scripturethat we are all travellers on ajourney to a certain destination:the grave! Job called it “the houseappointed for all the living”. Whyis this? The answer is given: Byone man sin entered into theworld, and death by sin; and sodeath passed upon all men, forall have sinned”.

Adam the first man arrived atthis destination. He was told:“Dust thou art, and unto dustshalt thou return.” And so it was.But the gospel tells us of “thesecond man, the Lord fromheaven.” It is He who “was made

a little lower than the angels” tosuffer death.

In dying the accursed death ofthe cross, He, on behalf of amultitude which no one cannumber, removed the sting fromdeath and obtained victory overthe grave.

He was the profitable servantwho finished the work that wasgiven Him to do. We have to doour utmost to spread this greatnews abroad and draw attentionto Him as “the only Redeemer ofMankind, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope this message finds youwell, both physically andspiritually. We continue to pray foryou brethren, pray for us.

Warm regards,

Simeon

FFFFFrrrrrom Kom Kom Kom Kom Kenyenyenyenyenyaaaaa


“Christmas and TheHope of Immortality”

FFFFFaith ofaith ofaith ofaith ofaith of Our F Our F Our F Our F Our FaaaaathertherthertherthersssssIn the minds of many the

notion of the immortality of thesoul is inseparable from theChristian hope of immortality.One who thinks this way will besurprised to find that many ofthe second century fathers ofthe churchemphaticallydenied the naturalimmortality of thesoul.

The emphasis inScripture is, ofcourse, on theresurrection of thebody rather thanon the immortalityof the soul.Indeed Scriptureaffirms that Godalone has immortality(1Tim. 6:16). So it should notsurprise us to find that this isso. Many, however, aresurprised!

THE SOUL IS GOD’SCREATION

Justin Martyr, in his Dialoguewith Trypho, contends that weshould not call the soulimmortal. “For, if it were,” hesays, “we would certainly haveto call it unbegotten

[uncreated] also”. This was, ofcourse, the very thing that thedisciples of Plato taught andwhich Justin had learned whenhe studied with them. Now,recognising that God alone is“unbegotten”, and that the worldand all that is in it is “begotten”,Justin concluded that the soul

could not beimmortal. Indeed,the soul, he says,does not have lifeof itself but only“partakes” ofGod’s life. “For thepower to live isnot an attribute ofthe soul, as it is ofGod.” Says Justin,God gives life tosouls “as hepleases.” All

created things“have the nature of decay, andare such as may be blotted outand cease to exist” (Dial. 5&6).

Strictly speaking, Justin did nothold a fully “Conditionalist” view.He, and many others like him,could not shake the convictionthat somehow God mustpreserve the life of the soulthrough death and the so-called“intermediate state”. Thus he

Justin Martyr


says, “I do not say, indeed, thatall souls die.” However, Justindoes allow that the souls of thewicked will eventually die ratherthan be tormented forever.

Theophilus of Antioch arguedalong similar lines. He insistedthat by nature humanity isneither “immortal” nor “mortal,”but rather “capable of both”.“For if God had made him[humanity] immortalfrom the beginning,He would have madehim God.” What hemeant was this: HadAdam chosen fromthe beginning theway of obedience toGod, he would havebeen rewarded withimmortality andwould have become,in his words, “anadoptive God”(Ad Autolycum II,24 and 27). Tatian likewise says:“The soul is not in itselfimmortal, O Greeks, but mortal.Yet it is possible for it not to die”(Oratio ad Graecos, 13).

Irenaeus, writing to refute theGnostic heresy, emphasized thecreaturely status of the soul. Herejected the Platonic postulatethat in order to stay in existencesouls had to be “unbegotten”

otherwise they would die withthe body. Instead hemaintained that souls “endureas long as God wills them toendure”. Much as Justin said, hesays, the soul does not have lifein and of itself; rather it“partakes of life”, by the graceof God. God alone is Life andthe only Giver of Life (AdversusHaereses II, 34).

HELL AND THEMORTALITY OF

THE SOULFar from being a

rare flicker of light inthe darkness ofPlatonist thought,the idea that thesoul is not immortal“by nature” actuallyseems to have beenthe commonconsensus in theearly church. I am

intrigued that so many did notthen and cannot today see theimplications of this rejection forour doctrine of hell.

If the “soul” is naturallyimmortal why then hell is,literally, a necessary evil. Whilethe “souls” of the righteous arefree to enjoy heavenly bliss, the“souls” of the wicked must beconfined somewhere through-

Irenaeus of Lyons


out all eternity – least theywreak havoc upon God’s newheaven and earth. The onlyalternative to hell is universalrestoration. One might almostsay God is forced to confine thesouls of the wicked in hell for alleternity, if they cannot die.

We have already seen,however that this is not the caseif, as has been suggested,neither theBible nor theearly churchtaught thenaturalimmortality ofthe soul thenthose whohold to the“traditionalview” of hellare logicallybound toaccept theutterlyabhorrentnotion thatGod actively sustains the soulsof the wicked in hell for no otherreason than that he might inflictunending pain upon them.Indeed, if he were to withdrawhis life-giving power from themthey would naturally sink intooblivion, but this (according tothe “traditional view”) hechooses never ever to do.

What kind of God would dosuch a thing? For what purposemight he do it? Would it not bebetter (after judgment etc.) tosimply let the wicked suffer thenatural consequences of theirrefusal to accept his graciousoffer of life through his Son?(John 3:16).

A CHRISTMASCONCLUSION

Biblicallyspeaking,human beingsare creaturesof dust. Weowe ourexistence toGod. We liveby the graceof God. Ourexistence iscontingent(we might say,Conditional)upon God’sgrace.

God created each of us in hisimage with an eternal destiny inmind. But this destiny can onlybe achieved in communion withGod who is the source of life.Meanwhile, sin has fractured ourcommunion and frustrates ourattempts to find meaning inhuman existence. Death is the


The Archpriest is, of course,not a Conditionalist, butneither does he advocatethe natural immortality ofthe soul (See Faith of OurFathers, p 22 for more).As we approach Christmas,

the time when we celebrate“the Word of God madeflesh” (John 1:14), let ussee Christmas for what it is.An endorsement of ourmaterial nature. God hasmoved to save us body andsoul, not just soul. In theSon we have, not just thesaving of “souls”, but thebeginning of a whole new(very material) creation(1Cor. 5:17).

David Burge.

ultimate sign of thisestrangement from God.

Praise God, he has notabandoned his creation tomortality. At Christmas “theword became flesh” (John1:14). In Jesus Christ ourcommunion with God isrestored. In Jesus the light oflife is manifested in the shadowof death. He who is theResurrection and the Life hasconquered Death and Hades. Hewho is the First Fruits of themthat now sleep in death hasrisen again to immortal life, afull and embodied life, as oneday shall we. This is themessage of Christmas - amessage of salvation for thewhole person, not just the soul.

Editors note:What I have written concerning

the early church fathers isdrawn from the article, The“Immortality” of the Soul, byArchpriest George Florovsky(on-line at http://www.fatheralexander.org/book-lets/english/immortality_soul.htm#n1). The conclusions Idraw from the facts howeverare very different from those ofthe Archpriest who is not asupporter of ConditionalImmortality.

David Burge.

(Continued from page 3)


Carey Park ReportCarey Park ReportCarey Park ReportCarey Park ReportCarey Park ReportIn September we had another

great Kids Holiday camp. Thewhole camp followed a medievaltheme with games, Kings andQueens, a spit roast and muchmore. The kids had a blast witha dress up night. Everyonereally got into it,even the HeadHonchos. There waslots of fun to be had,and lots of avenuesfor the kids todevelop a greaterknowledge of God.This camp broughtalong a lot of newkids that have neverbefore attended ourcamps. Thiswas reallyexciting tosee.

We alsocontinued todevelop ournew“helpers”programmeat this camp.The “helpers”are there to serve the camp.They do dishes, they clean, theydo washing, they serve dinnerand they have their owndiscipleship training / bibleteaching too. These guys arethere to learn about camp, to

see how it works and to learnfirst-hand that to be a goodleader you first need to learn tobe a servant. The team wentwell and we learnt a lot so it canonly improve. We are excitedabout this ministry within a

ministry and hope itwill continue togrow.

January summercamps are nearlyupon us. All theplanning is runningsmoothly. It isshaping up to be afun time with lots ofwet games, outdooractivities, picnics and

bbq’s.

In Octoberwe saidgoodbye toCameron Dickwho has beenthe Directorfor Carey Parkfor the pastfive years. Hehas added a

lot to the shape anddevelopment of Carey Park andwill be sorely missed.

The Trust Board have beensearching high and low for theright person to fill his shoes. Itappeared that we had searched


far enough when Kelly Burch(pictured right below) fromCalifornia put hisname forward forthe job. He hasrecently comeover to NewZealand to stay atCarey Park, tolook over thefacilities, to tourAuckland and tomake the bigdecision as to whether or not heshould pack up his family andmove half way across the world.

Kelly has decided to accept theoffer. He and his family hope tobe joining us mid January (just intime for kids camp) when he willstart in his role as our newDirector. Everyone isreally excited andcan’t wait to startworking with him.You can really seehe has a passion forChristian Camping.He will be a hugeasset to our alreadyawesome team.

In January we saygoodbye to our Receptionist /Bookings Coordinator. Caitrin(pictured right above) has beenwith us for 2 years and we aresad to see her go. Caitrin will bedoing training at Bible College of

NZ but says she will never trulyleave and will always come back

to Kids and TeenCamps.

This year wehad a newpart-time staffmember join us.Richard Frost hasbeen workinghard as ourpromotions manand has made up

a great brochure advertising ourcamps to schools outside ofAuckland. We are lacking inbookings over our wintermonths for the next couple ofyears and the brochure is outthere to encourage schools tocome here and to see some of

the excitingadventuresAuckland has tooffer. This includes,the Museum, theZoo, Kelly Tarlton’sand more. He is agreat guy with aheart for God anda heart to seeCarey Park grow.

From all the staffat Carey Park we just want tothank all those who havesupported us in any way shapeor form.

Warren Stubbs

From Death To Life - afterlife.co.nz · Archpriest George Florovsky ... “And the Word was made...

Documents

Transcript of From Death To Life - afterlife.co.nz · Archpriest George Florovsky ... “And the Word was made...