I like to get back to 2 items.
Terminology found in Before You Dismiss Rob Bell, Let’s Learn Some Terminology.
This short video
As I watch universalists debate, along with folks like Gaz and STP on the other extreme, I come to this conclusion. We are trying to solve everything at once. Instead, we need a hierarchy of things to solve. So let me propose this formula:
Let’s start with the video of the Anglican new testament scholar. And let’s answer these questions. Is the experiences of those undergoing what is described as hell (whether purgatorial, eternal, or temporary) literal or metaphorical? And whether heaven and earth will come together, in the new creation?
Do we limit salvation in the here and now, just to those who profess a belief in Christ? Or do we broaden the scope - based on scripture and other factors - as the inclusivists argue?
Is there a possibility - based upon scripture - that God will open the opportunity for all to possibility be saved - post mortem?
If someone should not chose salvation (i.e. perhaps like the Batman’s Joker villain), will they lose the Imago Dei or image of God in them? And would they lose immortality, as the conditionalists believe? And could this immortality include individual consciousness? Is lose of the image of God and immortality, one and the same thing? Or would God keep trying to save them, even if it it takes “forever and a day”? And what will their experiences be like - during the process?
After the loss in the prior point, what happens to them? Are they zombies in the philosophical sense (i.e. Philosophical zombie)? Do they get destroyed, like Annihilationism believes? Or perhaps their energy becomes part of the new earth, as the visions of the Catholic mystic and stigmata bearer show? Or do they continue to exist - as philosophical zombies?
And what about the devil and the evil angels? Do they suffer the same fate, as the humans not making the right choices?
So let me sum my view to all these questions:
I agree with the Bishop in the video. The Biblical hell experiences are metaphorical. And heaven and earth will finally come together. But I also agree with the Eastern Orthodox clergy, in the video - regarding their position. Heaven and hell are states - not places. When God becomes All in All, how we experience God’s love becomes our heaven and hell.
I agree with the inclusivists, that the scope of salvation is opened up to more - in the here and now. There are Protestant theologians that can argue this from scripture (I.e. An ‘evangelical inclusivist’ defends evangelical inclusivism and Why inclusivism makes sense) . A majority of Eastern Orthodox scholars agree with this (i.e. An Orthodox Christian View of Non-Christian Religions). And Roman Catholicism made this a tenet of their theology since Vatican II.
I would agree that a port mortem offer of salvation - is a strong possibility. There’s an interest article by Bob Thiel, Ph.D., entitled:Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the True Doctrine of Apocatastasis -
God will offer salvation to each and every person who has ever lived; Anyway, a Japanese Christian clergy member has an interesting article at Salvation for the Dead -Hades is not Hell- Biblical Second Chance Theology for Dead People in Hades
I don’t believe all will chose the conditions of salvation. They will lose the image of God in them and their immortality (as defined by Biblical heavenly standards). They will become philosophical zombies, without individual consciousness. But I don’t think they will hang around with us. There are two possible outcomes.
[list]There is a possibility, their energy will become part of the new earth (i.e. this is my belief - see Armageddon - Who What Where When Why How). In other words, they will exist as energy in the new earth - not anything resembling a human or philosophical zombie. And not having individual consciousness, Any experiences during the process of purification, will be like that in the movie What Dreams May Come (film) (according to what Lakota visionaries have shared with me, regarding people who have transitioned.) I side with this view.
They will be annihilated
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The devil and evil angels will suffer the same fate, as the philosophical zombies