East Point Baptist Church's
Discussion Forum And Message Board

none

East Point Baptist Church's
Discussion Forum And Message Board
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
MY TESTIMONY

MY TESTIMONY
The idea that God lets any creature suffer endlessly has caused me more suffering than all other problems of my life combined. By the time I had reached the mission field I had hoped to have found a satisfactory answer that would justify God allowing this to happen. I didn't find such an answer. Surrounded by thousands of people, dozens of whom were dying every day and beginning an eternity of suffering in hell was too much for me.
In 1966, at age 28, it caused me to have a nervous breakdown. For several weeks I was confined to my bed in a state of terror night and day. The terror was caused by the fear of what a God I could not love or respect would do to me after I died. It took me twelve years to fully recover from the breakdown. I quickly became agnostic, for the Christian gospel and the Bible were no longer any comfort to me at all. Many evangelical friends tried to help me. They meant well, but in the end they all had only words of condemnation towards me. This added more suffering to my already intense suffering.
Gradually I began to learn that there have been, in centuries past, and still are today, a few people in the world that see a different kind of God in the Bible. They see a God who will not let any creature suffer forever. They see a God in the Bible who will change every second of everyone's suffering into something better that it happened, including the sufferings of Satan. I learned that a correctly (literally) translated Bible teaches universal transformation, not endless suffering in hell, or even annihilation. I read dozens of books, and listened to hundreds of tapes by men who believe this way and I gradually became converted to believing this way myself.
Since 1981, through my newspaper ads and my telephone ministry, I have sent out many hundreds of packets of literature explaining why I believe as I do. I have also sent this evidence to hundreds of pastors and Bible school teachers. None of them have told me that they are able to refute it. I have also read eight books that were supposed to refute the evidence in favour of universalism, but none of them do. Because of this evidence, my panic attacks became less frequent until twelve years after my breakdown they ceased altogether. Now nothing gives me greater pleasure than to make this evidence available to others who have suffered because of the same problem I had, and I use a substantial amount of my money and time to this end.
Because of the enormous amount of suffering the idea of "endless hell" causes in this world, I am asking you to consider the possibility that you should stop endorsing the idea that the Bible teaches it. Or, at least, let others know that there are (and have been in centuries past) people who do not think the Bible teaches it.
Many of the responses from pastors and teachers range from a mild: "The majority don't agree with you so you must be wrong", to the vicious "For every week you leave your ad in the papers, God will increase the temperature of the fires of hell for you personally".
Most are somewhere in between these remarks. But none have told me they are able to refute the evidence. And, until they can, they will not be able to stop me from sharing the good news that a correctly (literally) translated Bible teaches universal transformation, not endless suffering in hell, or even annihilation.
My website is http://greater-emmanuel.org/Hope4You/
A website that answers all the arguments that seem to support the idea that the Bible teaches endless suffering in hell is
http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/

It is linked to the tentmaker site http://www.tentmaker.org/
where the “scholar’s corner” in the right hand column under “research” deals with every aspect of the subject. The search engine at the top of this same tentmaker page is very comprehensive regarding this subject.

May God's blessing rest with your spirit!

From Rodger Tutt in Toronto, Canada
“That God may be All in all” 1Cor.15:28

THE DANGER OF PREACHING THE TRUTH

The “danger” in preaching the truth resides only in the imagination of the person who doesn’t understand the truth.

IMHO, "HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE" by James Coram is the most powerful of all of the many writings in existence that show that a correctly, (literally, not interpretively) translated Bible teaches universal salvation, not eternal torment, or even annihilation. In fact, to me it is so powerful that it renders all arguments to the contrary completely irrelevant to the truth that it proves that, sooner or later, universal salvation will most certainly occur.

It can be read in its entirety online at http://concordant.org/expohtml/HisAchievement/index.html

Or, it can be Googled up by typing in HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE

It has seventeen chapters, each chapter having its own highlighted heading followed by a short introduction.
Just click on the highlighted heading and the entire text of that chapter will appear.

Since I have read many writings, the sum total of which contain every argument in existence in support of the idea that the Bible teaches eternal torment, I am confident that if anyone were to read "HIS ACHIEVEMENT ARE WE" in it's entirety, they would change their mind about their belief that the Bible teaches eternal torment or annihilation.

From Rodger Tutt in Toronto, Canada
“That God may be All in all” 1Cor.15:28

http://greater-emmanuel.org/Hope4You/