Re: The Problem of Hell

This is a response to The Taoist Atheist’s post The Problem of Hell. In his post, he starts out by seeking to establish that “If God exists, then there will be souls in hell for all eternity.” I am perfectly happy to grant that, since I believe it is true.

TTA is a former Catholic, and he presupposes the truth of Catholicism and a traditionalist view of the Bible in making his case. I believe both Catholicism and traditionalism are in error; I am a Protestant and I endorse modern liberal criticism of the Bible. That being the case, there are some points of disagreement between my position and the one he is arguing from, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll skip over those.

His first argument is laid out as follows:

Confusing General with Universal Statements

This except from Dr. Norman L. Geisler’s article Bible, Alleged Errors in, from his Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, explains the difference between general and universal statements:

 

Confusing General with Universal Statements. Critics often jump to the conclusion that unqualified statements admit no exceptions. They seize upon verses that offer general truths and then point with glee to obvious exceptions. Such statements are only intended to be generalizations.