| Christian Life and Doctrine | June 1980 |
Errors Die Hard
“In your radio broadcasts why do you choose to emphasize that ‘eternal torment in hell’ is an erroneous belief? Very few any longer believe in hell; why not spend the time in talking of the glories and beauty of God’s Word of truth?”
THE belief that the majority of the human race will go into a hell of eternal torment at the time of their death is still held by millions of people at home and abroad. It has never been removed from the church creeds. Obsolete views based on obsolete opinions do not die easily, and the fear of being sent to hell to be tortured in fire and brimstone is very real to many people.
No evidence has ever been presented to prove that fear of hell has raised the moral standards of any people. On the other hand, many have declared themselves atheists rather than worship a God who would permit his creatures to be so cruelly dealt with. Our radio programs are dedicated to the teaching of the truth of the Bible, untrammeled by the errors which have become a part of manmade religion.
The doctrine of eternal torment is not truth; it is based upon a lie, a devilish lie indeed, as the following text of Genesis 3:1-4 shows: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” This lie of the serpent was in direct contrast to the true statement of the Lord God, who had said, “Thou shalt surely die.”—Gen. 2:16,17
And this lie “Ye shall not surely die” is the false foundation upon which the immortality of the soul and the eternal torment errors are built. We denounce this error at every opportunity, for we believe that the vile stain can be removed from man’s conception of our Heavenly Father only by telling the truth as the Bible presents it. We have been made glad by many hundreds of letters we have received from our listeners, telling us how this God-dishonoring belief has been discarded because of our message and how peace of mind and heart has come from learning the truth.