From: Joe
Date: 8/5/03
Time: 11:36:45 PM
Remote User:
Jasper,
Trust you are well.
Retired? I haven't found your name on the Company directory for a while. Tried a lot of times to get a hold of you.
My neice does family research and got a hit on our name on your BB. She forwarded the link.
I do see you are keping busy!
My dad did not believe in what a lot of people envision a hollywood 'afterlife'. No devils with forked tails or places where disembodied spirits hang around to communicate to people through televisions or other mediums. But if you drag out the Companion Bible he gave you then check out what Bullinger has to say about hell, spirit, soul, breath, Nephilim, in the appendices, and you will have a firm idea of where he stood.
There are cogent apologetics on both sides of the hell equation: eternal damnation and torment vs annihilation. My dad and I agreed on the former to the extent that in "hell" there will be a consious awareness and at least a total separation from God. We had a lot of discussions about this subject and found we did a lot of teetering. I do so miss those discussions!
The doctrine of the Trinity states that within the one Being that is God there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal Persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Second, over against unitarianism, the belief that God’s being is held by only one Person (normally, the Father). Trinitarianism, insists that the one Being of God is shared by three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Central to this belief is the recognition that the Father is not the Son. They are two distinct Persons with different roles in the Godhead and in the work of redemption itself.
My dad was a 'trinitarian'. Theologically his approach to biblical study was from a dispensational perspective. We went to the same Presbyterian Church every Sunday and dinner and Bible study classes on Wednesday. And he had his men's Bible study group on Friday mornings!
The Great Kabookie is correct -- He didn't have time for the Unitarians. Though I am sure he had Unitarian friends. And you were indeed his best friend.
Please lets get together... In the mean time you might want to check out these folks.
Try Ravi Zacharias http://www.gospelcom.net/rzim/ravi.php
Fellow William Lane Craig http://www.discovery.org/crsc/fellows/WilliamCraig/
Christian Research Institute www.equip.org
Cheers, Joe