Sunday, February 26, 2012

It's a matter of opinion

I do think that either there is a hell or there isn't. The term "matter of opinion" is inherently ambiguous, since the phrase is used for things that are neither true nor false (McDonald's burgers are better than Burger King's) and about which evidence is irrelevant, and about things where it is either true or false, where evidence is relevant, and but where there is no overwhelming evidence either way. The question of whether or not there is a God, or a hell, is, in my view, a matter of opinion in the latter sense.

1 comment:

unkleE said...

"things where it is either true or false, where evidence is relevant, and but where there is no overwhelming evidence either way. The question of whether or not there is a God, or a hell, is, in my view, a matter of opinion in the latter sense"

I disagree slightly. It is not a binary situation of overwhelming evidence vs matter of opinion. There are various levels of evidence leading to various levels of probability between those two extremes.

Thus I think there is good Biblical evidence that the traditional view of hell (everlasting punishment) is a horrible mistake (see Hell - what does the Bible say?), but this view is not without its problems. I think something like "annihilationism" - horrible word, I'd prefer something like "limited life") is therefore probably true - neither just a matter of opinion, nor overwhelmingly true..