tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post7573451585539423335..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: Counterfactual sinRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-46238764083391052822011-03-24T10:49:05.705-04:002011-03-24T10:49:05.705-04:00Of course, that's a loaded question since your...Of course, that's a loaded question since your question takes for granted a false premise. You may not like it, but in Scripture, original sin is a sufficient ground for condemnation. Actual sin is an aggravating circumstance. <br /><br />Moreover, how is it unjust to punish sinners for their propensity to sin–whether or not their propensities are universally realized? <br /><br />For instance, a criminal's plan to commit a massacre may be thwarted by circumstances. Take a suicide bomber who intends to murder innocent bystanders at a shopping mall, but his explosive jacket denotes before he reaches the scene of the crime, thereby killing himself without harming the target?<br /><br />He's just as guilty for the crime he planned to perpetrate, but failed to execute. Criminal intent is culpable, whether or not he successfully implemented his plan. Likewise, someone can be charged with conspiracy to commit murder even if he didn't commit murder.<br /><br />You have an exceedingly shallow grasp of guilt.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-77461358615172974002011-03-24T09:13:14.033-04:002011-03-24T09:13:14.033-04:00How does any of this help since God, being holy an...How does any of this help since God, being holy and just, can, and will only punish people for their actual sins?Boethiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02218657814683964200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-35948955184885320922011-03-23T19:06:09.017-04:002011-03-23T19:06:09.017-04:00Just to clarify, my post did not involve an implie...Just to clarify, my post did not involve an implied contrast between sinning in this life and not sinning in the afterlife (although that holds true for Christians).<br /><br />Rather, I was making the point that the stock objection to eternal punishment rests on a tautology: By definition, how much we sin *in this life* depends on how long we happen to live. <br /><br />From a cumulative standpoint, the guy who dies at 96 may sin far more than than the boy who drown at 16. But that's an accidental difference. The cut-off is fairly arbitrary.<br /><br />So even if (arguendo) hell is supposed to correspond to our "finite" sins in this life, it's artificial to think we'd only be punished for what we had the time to do, even if we would have continued to sin in this life had we continued to live. If we never died, we'd sin every day (barring special divine intervention).<br /><br />The critic of hell is acting as though God wouldn't or shouldn't extrapolate from what we actually did into the unrealized future, had we lived as long as Methuselah, or longer. But that's not very logical. <br /><br />And, as I also mentioned, you have related issues. Not just what would a sinner do with more time, but more opportunities. <br /><br />I think there are other arguments for eternal punishment as well. I'm just addressing a very popular, but very shortsighted objection.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-31636762078941075692011-03-23T13:53:26.472-04:002011-03-23T13:53:26.472-04:00"Since the reprobate will sin eternally in he..."<i>Since the reprobate will sin eternally in hell by cursing God eternally</i>"<br /><br />Well, if eternal life is not going to get any better for the reprobate-in-hell, then cursing God or not cursing God is not going to make a difference for the reprobate.Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-31506826597710344482011-03-23T12:34:58.842-04:002011-03-23T12:34:58.842-04:00True, the reprobate don't cease to sin when th...True, the reprobate don't cease to sin when they die. They cease to sin in this life, but continue to sin in the afterlife.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-9875780524792288642011-03-23T11:58:08.642-04:002011-03-23T11:58:08.642-04:00Since the reprobate will sin eternally in hell by ...Since the reprobate will sin eternally in hell by cursing God eternally, the eternal crime fits the eternal punishment. <br /><br />In fact, one could argue that the reprobate will sin on average more in hell than when they were in their mortal bodies, since there will be no common grace in perdition.Alan E. Kurschnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08963783504805163298noreply@blogger.com