BTZ Blog

Upholders of the eternal hell fire theory state that, "hell is a doctrine of the Bible, a doctrine that Jesus preached and taught about more than He did heaven, so..."the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it...settles it in their mind. The question is: Did Jesus really talk about the torture chamber of hell as the Bible seems to say He does? Does the word translated as hell in the KJV and other translations mean everlasting punishment in the torture chamber of fire and brimstone? Did Jesus really talk about hell more than He did heaven? According to one computer search calculation there are 1,944 verses in the four gospels that contain Jesus’ words. There are about 60 of those verses comprising about 3%...that could be construed as either directly or indirectly referring to hell. On the other hand, there is better than three times as many verses in the gospels in which Jesus references heaven, eternal life, or His coming kingdom: 192 verses in all, comprising abo

Hell...Defended or D efused in the Old Testament! If Hell demanded a verdict based on evidence for its existence, it would be...NONEXISTENT! The reason it is accepted as a major doctrine in Christendom, is the fact that people accept the torture chamber of hell fire as a given...water is wet, snow is white, grace is green, people die, and hell is real...without doing research of evidence for or against the hellish doctrine. It is accepted as truth on the premise..."the bible says it...I believe it...that settles it...evidence mentality. I am reminded of one individual using this evidence mentality saying, "if the bible said that the moon was made of green cheese, I would believe it". Of course based on reality, even if the bible said it, it would not be truth. If a man stood before a judge to be sentenced based on as much evidence as can be found for the existence of hell, the judge would declare the man NOT GUILTY as he banged his gavel. Ohhh...I know that the word

I guess I should start with a simple definition of both. Calvinism theology is the belief that those who get to go to heaven are pre - ordained by God and chosen ahead of time to spend eternity enjoying the bliss of the chosen few. Basically they believe that no person God has pre-chosen will miss out on a free pass by hell ticket, even if they are not witnessed to about the Gospel by another get-out-of-hell ticket holder. God will ensure that those few He has chosen will hear the Gospel and receive their get-out-of-hell ticket before they die. Armenian theology is the school of thought that I previously supported...It is the belief that a person's “free will” determines if heaven or hell is their eternal abode. This theology elevates the will-of-man to be more powerful than the will-of-God, who "wills that ALL people be saved". T he question begging to be asked is: H ow can  people who have never heard the gospel or never heard about Jesus exercise a “free will” t

What really happened on the cross? W riters have documented the ordeal that Jesus went through just prior to and as He hung between heaven and earth on the cross. It has been documented on film, such as “The Passion of Christ” portraying the suffering Jesus went through. Script ure makes us aware of Jesus’ inquisition before the religious leaders in Jerusalem, His trial and H is scourging and the physical torture and humiliation and His death by crucifixion. But I still w onder... is there something about Jesus and the cross that we have failed to grasp and understand?  The appeasement-based view of the cross is well known to most people , and it goes something like this. Because Jesus was without sin He did not deserve to die. However He submitted Himself to His Father’s will , and as a sacrifice He accepted the guilt and punishment of our sins. God’s punitive action was to punish Jesus to satisfy the justice and punishment our sins deserved. By enduring God’s sentence, Jesus

Let’s look at the words of Jesus, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me”. From these words that Jesus uttered on the cross people are told that God forsook Jesus at the hour in His greatest time of loneliness and utter despair. What was happening between our loving Father and the Son at that precise moment? Was the faithful One unfaithful to His Son in His darkest moment? Jesus said to His disciples that they would all leave Him alone...then, did He not say that He would not be alone for the Father was with Him. If Jesus were speaking the truth, which He was, how could His loving Father forsake Him? I don’t believe for a moment that Father God forsook His Son. Could it be that there is a difference here in what God the Father did and what Jesus perceived Him as doing? Did Jesus feel forsaken? Yes...but though feeling forsaken doesn’t mean that He actually was forsaken. When Jesus became sin for us, He entered into the full shame, darkness and bondage of that sin. It is pos

I conclude that any theology that regards the hell-factor as a reality, and believing the Bible is Literal, sets people...without them realizing it...up to be religious terrorist bombers, to whom the Bible is the terrorist's manual and God is the big terrorist boss who sets off the hell-bomb to explode in the "sinner's" face at death because the poor "sinner" did not repeat the "sinner's prayer" before death to escape the big terrorist boss's hell-hole that he knowingly created them to be cast into.  Of course, those people would not agree with my assessment because of being Bible Literalists, but their doctrine on eternal suffering in the torture chamber of hell fire...I believe...substantiates my conclusion. Those who insist the Bible proves that hell is “literally true” have all but destroyed the very Bible they want everyone to take seriously, destroys the God whom the Bible says is LOVE and reduces Him to a sadis

Expectations within social and spiritual relationships seems to be most the predominate feature in most relationships today. Without expectations as a measuring stick of success, many people feel dissatisfaction and experience discontent with social and spiritual living and is a reason the rule and regulation keepers value law keeping...it is a way for them to measure success. They are blessing-seekers and believe that blessings come to those who follow the rules of the Law and accomplish what is expected. This philosophical behavior leads to a blessing expectation oriented doctrinal theology, rewarded by performance standards that is predominate within the "religious world" today. However, believers need to embrace the freedom of a "Grace Living Relationship" discovering the embrace of God without the pressure performance theology. We need to break free of religious philosophy and shake of the heavy bands of bondage. Far more important than blessings is the need

Yesterday an individual asked concerning the post "Is Hell Fire one of the riches in Christ? The question was...Is it (hell) mentioned in the Bible? The premise I used for the title of the piece was Eph. 3:8-12; Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. I then followed it up with the "burning" question... Is the doctrine of eternal burning and suffering in a torture chamber of Hell Fire one of the unsearchable riches of Chri

The purpose of the Community of the Redeemed is given to Paul in Eph. 3:8-12; Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. A burning question...pun intended: Is the doctrine of eternal burning and suffering in a torture chamber of Hell Fire one of the unsearchable riches of Christ or to be known by people as a part of the manifold wisdom of God? If not, why is it such a predominate damning doctrine in Christendom? The Community of the Redee

Some good religious practices have become idols. When religious doing, is doing separate from the substance of Jesus’ work on the cross, it becomes idolatry. Some questions I have asked myself that has helped me to determine if my religious experience has become an idol are; Is my Sunday-go-meeting attendance out of obligation, habitual, for the approval and to gain the approval of others? Do I get satisfaction from your spiritual performance and personal holiness more than satisfaction in what God has already accomplished for me in Christ Jesus. Do I feel spiritual superior about my biblical knowledge and gain satisfaction by shooting Bible verses to back up some man-made doctrine? Do I relish debating theology with others and feel superior when I gain what I consider a win, but get angry and defensive when my theology is challenged? Do I feel that I are on a higher spiritual plateau because a title is attached to my name? Am I more of a word person than a Word person? Am I uncomfo

Is the segregated segregation spawned because of doctrinal differences one of the reasons non-church-people accuse church-people of being a disunited family, not having the will or mind of Christ because of the myriad of different doctrines and segregated denominated buildings, that supposedly, are all biblical? Now, if the people who take the bible literally,  say the bible is true and is the inspired word of God, cannot agree as to what it says, and form different denominations to support the differences in interpretation and doctrinal beliefs...how in the name of all that is holy...can denominated institutions show the people in the Community of Humanity that the Community of the Redeemed are one as Christ and His Father are one? Denominationalism is a mockery to the unity that Jesus prayed for His children and adds to the disunion the Community of the Redeemed. As if it wasn't bad enough that segregation is sanctioned by the different denominations, segregation is also pract

As I reflect back on my spiritual journey I am aware that the evolution of my beliefs have been astronomical. Many things I believed for many, many years along my journey are no longer things I believe now. This has caused a rift that some of my spiritual siblings are unable to span and subsequently has strained our relationship somewhat. So why would I subject myself to such emotional stress? Because when I started to think for myself while reading the bible I was constrained to question the validity of the doctrines and practices I was taught to believe as truth. I learned that much of what I had been taught was misguided or false because of man-made manipulation and contextual disregard nullifying  interpretative integrity therefore, I no longer could subscribed to the deceptions as doctrinal truth. We are all on a spiritual journey seeking “truth,” but what I believed to be the truths of yesteryear do not line up with the truth Jesus the reveal-er of truth reveals. I realize t

The Bible records that God's judgements are such that people will learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). Will a child of God (of which All humans are) learn righteousness by watching God who is LOVE endlessly torture their mother or father, brother sister, spouse, son, daughter grandmother or grandfather friend or even someone they considered their enemy, who did not know there was "sinner's prayer", let alone pray it, in the torture chamber of hell fire forever? James records that “mercy shall triumph over judgment” (James 2:13). Yet according to most (if not all) christian denominations, the vast majority of God's created loved people will NOT receive God’s mercy, but be eternally damned to hell in which there is NO mercy. According to scripture, ALL people were consigned to death because of Adam, but according to religious tradition, only a handful will receive eternal life despite the fact that Paul repeated stated in his writings that ALL mankind would receive

Traditions start when someone’s interpretation of something is accepted by others as truth and passed down through time as truth. People who hold to beliefs solely because they have been passed down to them by their respective leaders are traditionalists? That does not necessarily mean that traditions are wrong, but we should critically evaluate for ourselves the traditions we have accepted as truth? It is scriptural correct to “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thes. 5:21). We should judge for ourselves our traditions, based on proper original contextual meaning “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right” (Lk. 12:57)? We should not haphazardly accept our traditions has truth for Christ strongly warns us about our traditions in Mt. 15:3, 6, 9. Perhaps you have struggled with man-made doctrines and traditions that are contrary the teaching and life of Jesus. Maybe you have questioned the rightness of such doctrine. The Bible has been translated from ancient language

  One of the main scripture verse that most denominations use to keep people corralled in denominated-corrals is 1 Timothy 4:   "The spirit expressly says that in the last days some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." Any time one of the corralled starts to question the status quo, showing independent thinking they are cautioned to be careful because of the above verse. Denominated hierarchies has lifted this verse out of its context and corralled its people into corrals of denominated fear of receiving anything, reading anything, believing anything that is different than the denominated doctrines and teachings of the denomination. That is why there are thousands of segregated denominated corrals today all with different beliefs that they all claim to be biblical. Any time one begins to question or think outside the denominated thinking corral, they are warned  to be careful because outside the "denominated covering&qu