Do we want a president who doesn’t believe in punishment?
Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson has recently come out and stated that he does not believe in Hell. This was no major surprise coming from Carson, who is Seventh-Day-Adventist; we already know their doctrines on this point. I’m not here to talk about religions, denominations, or politics, I’m here to talk about people: the people of the United States of America.
Among other statements on this point, Dr. Ben Carson said this: “God wouldn’t send people to Hell”. What Dr. Carson fails to see is that God is not a human, therefore He does not suffer the weakness of compassion in the face a justice, and mercy to the resilient enemies of His existence and Love. God will never stop loving the haters of the Cross, even unto eternal death. It’s not an act of hatred, condemning people to eternal torment, it is an act of justice on an eternal and infinite level.
The big question is: If Dr. Ben Carson doesn’t believe in the ultimate punishment, from the ultimate authority, for the ultimate crime, how can we expect him to punish lesser crimes? What Dr. Carson has said that he believes is that God would not condemn a person to everlasting torment after having only done evil for 80 years or so.
Obviously, we see that this man, who is well versed in scripture is turning a blind eye to the fact that the wages of sin is death. In that passage, it does not mean a physical death, but a spiritual and everlasting death. Whereas Dr. Carson says that people who die without Christ will simply be annihilated, God says otherwise.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
-Revelation 20:15
Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
-Matthew 25:41
Those are great illustrations, but this next one blows Dr. Carson’s whole argument to worthless shreds.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died and was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
-Luke 16:22-29
This is one of the saddest passages in the entire Bible, in my opinion. Notice how many times the word, “torment”, is used to describe Hell. Even the word “Hell”, itself is used in this passage as a literal place. You’ve heard of “Heaven is For Real”, I would like to submit that Hell is for real also, maybe even more importantly. Christ does not save people to Heaven, He saves them from their sins and the penalty for their sins: Hell.
In the passage above, we see a rich man and a beggar. The rich man did not believe in Christ and had no love in his heart for the poor, the least of these. Inasmuch as he did not regard or care for the beggar Lazarus, he did not regard or care for Christ Himself. Both the rich and the poor die, death is no respecter of persons, and the poor man gets taken up by angels to Heaven, whereas the rich man is condemned to Hell for what he did not do in his life on earth.
The rich man is not annihilated, he is able to see, (…and seeth Abraham afar off…), he is able to speak, (…And he cried, Father Abraham, have mercy on me…), and he is able to feel, (…for I am tormented in this flame…). What are the five senses that are necessary to recognize existence? Taste, touch, smell, hear, see, right? Well, you cannot taste a place, and you cannot smell location: what is left is touch, hear, and see. It is made absolutely certain that this rich man can see, hear, and feel from Hell, proving that it does exist.
Not only that, he is conscious of his former life and the fact that he has five brothers still living. Death without Christ is not annihilation, it is eternal separation in an everlasting, living torment. If death without Christ was simply annihilation, we would see less people coming to Christ than we do already. If life without Christ equals death without Him in everlasting nothingness, why would anyone who hates Christ agree to follow Him? If it’s a choice between death into nothingness, and an afterlife with a God you didn’t like anyway, why would they choose Christ?
Bottom line, humans began perfect, then broke God’s one rule and are now condemned to everlasting Hell, regardless of what we do in life whether good or evil. However, and thank God for it, Jesus Christ died for our sins. If we accept His free gift of salvation, He saves us from the penalty of our sins: death. If a person goes to Hell, it is not God who sent them there, it is their own doing.
Hell is real, and even though Dr. Ben Carson doesn’t believe that, I don’t think it will hurt our nation should he become president. But, I do think that it is Hypocritical at best to say that you don’t believe in Hell, and that you do believe in Justice and in the truth of God’s Holy, inerrant Word.
As always, thanks for reading. I want to encourage you to think for yourselves when it comes to politics and government affairs. Compare candidates opinions with the truth of Scripture because God cannot lie. Let God be true, and every man a liar. Until next time.
Facebook: @JaredAllen
Twitter: @EJaredAllen
Instagram: @ejaredallen
–the anonymous novelist
the anonymous novelist 