Can a Loving God Send People to Hell? (William Lane Craig vs Ray Bradley)

[NashvilleKildCountry]

Lol Dr Craig stirred up my inner abstract algebra nerd with "proper subset." No matter what you think of him, no matter what belief (or lack thereof) you have, you have to admire this guy.

[DeDona1]

@drcraigvideos do you think God is pleased that 100,000 people go to hell every day?

[drcraigvideos]

@DeDona1 1. Why would that matter to an atheist anyway, who doesn't believe a hell exists? 2 No. But it's not God's choice. Sorry, but God can't force people to love Him. It has to be genuine.

[mjt532]

Spent a LOT of time in the middle section of the deabate on one issue...and never resolved it.

[Smilevil1]

So I'm skeptical because even if it's true that atheism maybe doesn't have answers, theism is standing in a dubious plataform. I mean, it's a way to explain things but is no for sure, it's just probabilities, you can't prove nothing at all. Maybe God exist but evil's problem make us to believe that a good God, maybe is not there so is valid that I can be skeptical to believe in Christian God which means that if I died and I never begin believe in God, I'll going to hell because I was skeptical

[chesster423]

oh.. so majority of people believe in a an eternal life? o,O that's something interesting...

[halcyondaze82]

you've seem to have blocked a lot on your channel :S in this case I'll ask it here:

Hi John,

Do you think, if I as a non believer in Christianity (I am what you would call an agnostic) that I am going to hell?

Will I be tortured forever for not being convinced when I die?

[drcraigvideos]

@halcyondaze82 Yes to both questions. Do you really think it makes sense for God to let people in heaven who don't even believe in Him? I mean, duh! I only block people who are trolls, ignorant, or shallow. So sue me.

[halcyondaze82]

@drcraigvideos

John,

So you think being skeptical deserves infinite punishment and torture? If you were wrong about something, I wouldn't torture you to death and I'm just a mere human. Not an omnibenevolent God.

[drcraigvideos]

@halcyondaze82 Who says you can't be skeptical? I'm sure plenty of Christians are skeptical about something. But you think that in order to go to heaven you have to be an "omnibenevolent God." That's not even Biblical nor a doctrine of Christianity. It's bad enough you dodged and skipped everything I said, but you're just making straw man arguments now. Try sincerely seeking Christianity out. Try to be fair. And don't pretend that you are. Because we all can see that you aren't.

[DonJay777]

@halcyondaze82 No one said that being skeptical deserves infinite punishment. Honest skepticism is a good thing, the Bible says "test all things". it is the wilful transgression of the moral order which does, it is a direct violation of the infinite God which does. God is an infinite being, all human personality came out of him, and the potential for billions more resides in Him- to sin against Him is to sin against an endless person, meriting endless punishment.

[lovellespice]

if you don't believe in hell, why should you worry too much about purchasing fire insurance.. obviously you care enough to be bothered.. you can't be a skeptic forever.. make up your mind and deal with it..

[popstargirl79]

@halcyondaze82 Hiya. I can understand where you’re coming from. I am a christian (have been for ten years). You ask if you would go to hell for being unconvinced? I am not God, and I cannot judge (as only he knows a man’s heart) but my response to you would be that the bible says that eternal life is not something you get given if you do something, rather, that ETERNAL LIFE IS A PERSON! By knowing eternal life itself (Jesus) you will have, be connected to, know life itself; eternal life.

[popstargirl79]

@halcyondaze82 ..(cont'd 2).. Eternal life is not something you get, but is the very nature of the person you are putting your faith, trust and belief in and on. "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3). In actuality, there is no life in this world or the world to come that is not made, created, and breathed into by God. “That in him we all live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

[popstargirl79]

@halcyondaze82 (cont'd 3)..No-one gets sent to hell. Hell is the place where God is not. If anyone rejects God there is nothing else apart from him. Where God is not is hell. I think it comes down to perspective on truth, that Satan has been deceiving the world with since the beginning of time. “there’s always tomorrow’ ‘did God really say…?’ and before you know it you’ve gone down a path into hell. His task done: to damn as many men, women and children as possible..

[popstargirl79]

@halcyondaze82 (cont'd 4).. But i thank God for the mercy and grace found for all men in Jesus Christ! I came to know Jesus 10 years ago. I love him. I'm more myself, have more fun, know deeper feelings and union with him than ever before. He's healed me from deep emotional pain.He romances me and surprises me every day. He is kind. He just wants to be your friend and for you to be his. He just wants to love us and know us. He made us, he is our God. He's the best! All the best to you :)

[ninetailschris]

@popstargirl79

God bless girl keep the love and show others with actions!

[RyanGraySmith89]

@halcyondaze82

your actions would be judged by God, for example, God knowing your thoughts is going to be like ok on jan 13th 2012 8 am you thought hey maybe I should look into the bible a bit more that way i can make more sense of my own beliefs, oh wait I'm too lazy ill just continue to believe the nonsense of an uncaused existence... God is going to be like oh so basically you don't care enough to find out the truth, well I gave you the bible its up to you to read it...

[drcraigvideos]

@Adcroy So, you expect God to let you in heaven even though you don't believe in Him? That doesn't make any sense. If God doesn't show Himself to you? Why should he obligate Himself to you? Why don't you give me a trillion dollars then so i can be sure that you exist? Happy?

[drcraigvideos]

@Adcroy I don't see how that's so. After all, there's heaven. But with the atheist, there is no ultimate judgement. No heaven or hell. Just death. So, I guess if someone lives their life like a Martin Luther King or an Adolf Hitler it really doesn't matter all that much since there's no ultimate consequence to either of their lives. Pity if you ask me. Atheism itself screws up atheists.

[whatthehellbook]

The Bible does not teach eternal punishment. God's love & mercy endures forever. Does it really endure forever or only in this life? How can it be Good News if it doesn't translate to the afterlife? God will still judge but He will not punish forever. He's a better father than we are, right?

1 Tim 4:10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

whatthehellbook . com

[karrilho]

Isn't God omniscient ? Doesn't William Lane Craig realize that God all ready knows who goes to hell before the person is even born ? How can there be free will then ? This makes no sense

[Danthemanlyman7]

@depauw2004

According to who? You?

[depauw2004]

No One deserves to go to Hell for all eternity.

[retonete]

WOW!!!!!! craig got pawned a lot of time on this one, and bradley is a great debater as well as craig. WLC met his match for sure

[SolidAir54321]

I noticed that Craig managed to wrangle both the opening word and the last word. Probably a condition he imposed, like the Harris debate where he insisted on going first so Harris would be forced to choose between saying his own prepared speech or responding to Craig.

[SolidAir54321]

Craig claims that “some people might be damned if created in some circumstances but saved if they were created in other circumstances.” Then why blame them? Why punish them if the circumstances God put them in causes them to be damned? If even God is unable to create a universe with only Heaven and without Earth and Hell, then why blame the people who go to Hell. Besides, I see no reason why an _omnipotent_ God could not create only Heaven.

[marsh91942]

O love this guy. Surely he has been sent by God to speak against the New Atheists of our time. Thanks for putting his speeches up here for us.

[SummerSunshine1988]

Hell has nothing to do with God's love. It has to do with God's wrath, which cannot be escaped without the blood of Christ.

[garyjgriz]

No response here, or anywhere, about the problem of God's foreknowledge. God knew most would reject, yet God chose to create everyone anyway. Therefore, God bears some responsibility for billions in hell. Ray touched on this, but William never responded.

In Fact, nobody has a legitimate response. The only response is that humans bear responsibility. Yes, humans bear SOME responsibility, but Christians believe God created hell and nonbeliever with immortal soul, knowing most would reject.

[Legomyegoorj]

@garyjgriz Yes, God has foreknowledge. He would know the possible world to create in which the MOST people would FREELY choose to respond to Him. We can therefore assume that this world in which we live is precisely that. For, if He had created humans (and Angels) to obey without choice, they would be mere robotic lifeforms, unable to understand the nature of "love" as there would be no frame of reference to differentiate "love" from "hatred," "good" from "evil," and so on...

[garyjgriz]

@Legomyegoorj Yes, God would not want robots. However, there is no valid reason to create hell as a place of eternal torment. God could destroy (literally) the non Christian, rather than keep them conscious for the sole purpose of tormenting them endlessly. Nobody can justify this, but many accept it by faith and trust because of their beliefs.

[Legomyegoorj]

@garyjgriz Just a question for you, did you happen to watch this video all the way through? Because I believe WLC addresses your concern either in this or another video.

[Legomyegoorj]

@garyjgriz Also, you must consider that Hell was not originally meant for any man; rather, it was created as a place of punishment for Lucifer and the fallen Angels.

[garyjgriz]

@Legomyegoorj No, Dr Craig does not address the problem that God bears responsibility for creating us in the first place. Nobody would be in hell if God had not created hell and humans. And the fact that it was created originally for the devil and his angels is irrelevant. Why do so many bring that up? The end result remains the same, God created hell even though God could totally destroy non followers.

[Legomyegoorj]

@garyjgriz I suppose the only thing to say is that God may have morally sufficient reasons for creating things the way they are. I do admit though, that's the best I can give for the moment.

[lexidart]

Bradley completely ignored Craig on several points and then spoke as if Craig hadn't even perfectly handled those objections in advance.

[peterplaysbass]

Excellent point in that no one has a problem with a holy and just God allowing anyone into heaven. The problem is indeed an emotional one, not an intellectual one. It makes me wonder why any intellectual self-proclaimed athiest would debate the issue at all.

[Oppositum]

Does hell exist? Let's test that claim: its called the science of Near-death experiences - also known as an anomaly in psychology. What we find here is that some of the most powerful empirical evidence supporting the existence of an afterlife and a God is in fact the most damning against traditional Christianity. Philosophical-theological arguments like Craig's are worthless in light of genuine empirical observations to the contrary. See Bruce Greyson PhD, Pim van Lommel MD, and Chris Carter MA.

[TheGreaterGood80]

This is the mighty "atheist killer" Craig, it seems. These videos are quite funny. Unintentionally funny, but funny nonetheless

[NLPNVC]

Great debate, thanks for posting it.

[pcgamerjoe]

I'm a huge admirer of Dr. Craig's work, but this is the one area where I have to disagree with him. There is very solid ground for annihilationism if you throw out your preconceived notions and subjective interpretation.

[gmanbyah328]

Great stuff.

[drcraigvideos]

Speaking of hell, it seems that Osama Bin Laden is visiting that place for an eternity.

[ebeatworld]

@drcraigvideos Indeed. 

[karozans]

@drcraigvideos While I agree with you that Osama is in hell. Lets not forget what the video says.

It was not God's will for Osama to go to hell. It was God's desire that Osama go to heaven.

God's heart is broken because Osama chose to send himself to hell.

I know it is hard for us humans to digest this, but it is true.

I guess we are lucky that the one and only true God loves even the most wicked souls.

[MsOluwatoyin]

@karozans It was actually,God's desire that Osama,go to heaven,yet,Osama's own free will,took him to heaven/hell(Whichever one he's in)

[R0FLLWAFFL3]

@drcraigvideos Thanks for this video! So much anti-christian sentiment grounded in ignorance. Just today a speaker at my school representing the LGBT answered a question on homosexuality and the church. The answer was pitiful. "The Bible doesnt mention homosexuality, catholics made it up. Besides, the Bible says a lot of things that no one follows. Like you cant wear purple on sundays." Unbelievable. I wanted to stand up and laugh at her soooo hard.

[Ledwix]

@drcraigvideos It seems more likely that bin Laden doesn't exist anymore. The evidence for an invisible alternate dimension of reality that contains the souls of the dead is as strong as the evidence for reincarnation.

[SolidAir54321]

@drcraigvideos Unless Islam is true.

[Taurion4467]

must be hard to do what william lane craig does without adding in lucifer

[Onvelow]

A loving god can only allow people go suffer in hell if he does not have the power to prevent it.

[hammerman2006]

@Onvelow but if he is all powerful, how can he not prevent it?

[thorkyll]

@hammerman2006 God isn't "all powerful". For examle God lacks the power to stop existing.

[emmthreejonny]

@thorkyll - That doesn't mean He is not all powerful it just means He's not emo.

[Onvelow]

@hammerman2006 Exactly.

A: God wants to keep you from hell but can't. Not omnipotent, thus not god.

B: God can keep you from hell but won't. Not omnibenevolent, thus not god

C: He neither could, nor desires to keep you from hell. Not god.

[stephjh2006]

@Onvelow but he has exercised the power for all to be saved, you are ignoring our own will. The power for all to be saved has been demonstrated, God has not withheld salvation from anyone. For God to have HIS way he needs to then violate our own will, this would also be wicked, so either way you will still hate God.

[codyaustinpemberton]

@hammerman2006 if god saved everyone then god would not be just

[Zydosia]

@codyaustinpemberton Did god create people who were going to hell knowing they were going to hell?

[drcraigvideos]

I figured I'd post up this debate of Dr. Craig's. Unlike the new atheists (like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett), Ray Bradley is actually smart and was a good match for Dr. Craig.

[LarsTheHonest]

@drcraigvideos Thanks for sharing this. Theres alot of bad preaching on the internet, like "hell isnt real," "homosexual behaviour is not a sin," "Jesus wasn't God," "the trinity is unbiblical," etcetra. I could go on and on. Thanks for putting out good information. Dr. Craig is probably the best Christian apologist I know of. He's been a great help for me. And thats also thanks to you, John, for putting out the videos of him! Thanks a bunch!

~Lars

[drcraigvideos]

@LarsTheHonest You're welcome.

[MamaMario13]

@LarsTheHonest yes, even the catholic church is starting to allow celibate homosexuals into their church. It is ridiculous, at least there r some moral christians left