Lately, a controversy has been erupting in certain parts of the blogosphere, Facebook statuses (stati?), podcasts, etc. regarding the contents of a book that has yet to be released.  Despite the lack of actual content to judge, judgment of the anticipated content has been given out quite liberally by many.

While this two-part episode isn’t so much about Rob Bell or his book or his orthodoxy or lack thereof, the controversy did cause us to once again explore areas of Ultimate Reconciliation vs. Annihilation vs. Eternal Conscious Torment in a lake of fire.

Many view the lack of a belief in Eternal Conscious Torment to be a diminishing of who God is, a disregard for “the clear teaching of Scripture”, and flat-out heresy (apparently worthy of said lake of fire). But Ray and Steve talk about the many verses in scripture that talk about reconciliation, discuss what the word translated as “hell” really was in the words of Jesus and in the ears of his listeners, and talk about whether or not any of the three views of eternity mentioned above can be solidly held to without ignoring other passages.

Watch for part 2 to come out in a few days, but in the meantime, enjoy the first half of the discussion!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:52 — 53.9MB) | Embed