Immortality or Resurrection (Updated) - William West (top ten ebook reader .TXT) 📗

church the next day. The falling away took centuries.
There were many changes, and every change had many who fought it. But, the falling away did
come. The teaching of Christ on the resurrection of the dead was replaced by the teaching of Plato
[the Heathenizing of the church with the pagan teaching of an immortal soul] along with many
others: Purgatory, Limbo, worshiping of Mary and saints, etc. One by one, at first only a few in a
congregation, but eventually the entire congregation were teaching the doctrines of man and not
that of Christ.
Early in the Reformation there were many who did not believe, "You shall not surely die," but the Church of England and Calvin
opposed them. A few of the many books by well known ministers, teachers, professors, Doctors, mostly orthodox Protestants or
church of Christ ministers teaching that mankind does not have a part that is immortal from birth. That life after death is dependent of
the resurrection, not on an immortal soul.
1. Tertullian, "Treatise on the Soul" Chapter 55
2. Martin Luther, E. Petavel, "The Problem of Immortality" Page 255
3. John Wesley, "Wesley's sermon on Luke 16:23"
4. William Tundale, "Christian Moralism" Page 99
5. Ashey S. Johnson, "The Resurrection And The Future Life" 1913 (church of Christ)
6. Elias Smith, (Often referred to as "Elder" Elias Smith) "The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travel and Sufferings of Elias Smith,
1886 (church of Christ)
7. Dr. Joseph Priestley, "Corruptions Christianity" in Works (1818), Volume 5, Page 229
8. Edward Fudge, "The Fire That Consumes" 1982 (church of Christ)
9. R. O. Overton, "Man's Mortality," 1643
10. Moses E. Lord, "Do The Holy Scriptures Teach The Endlessness Of Future Punishment?" (church of Christ)
11. John Milton, "Treatise of Christian Doctrine" Volume. 1, chapter 13
119
12. Homer Hailey, "God's Judgments and Punishments" 2003 (church of Christ)
13. John Jackson, "A Dissertation on Matter and Spirit," 1735, "The Belief of a Future State" 1745, "A Clear Distinction Between
True and False Religion" 1750
14. Dr. Joseph Priestley, "Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit" in Works, Volume 3
15. F. LaGard Smith, "After Life, A Glimpse of Eternity Beyond Death's Door" 2003, Lipscomb University (church of Christ)
16. Bishop Edmund Law, "The State of the Dead," 1765 (Appendix)
17. Curtis Dickinson, "What The Bible Teaches About Immortality And Future Punishment" (church of Christ)
18. Archdeacon Blackburne, "A Short Historical View of the Controversy Concerning the Intermediate State" 1765
19. Samuel Bourn, "Christian Doctrine of Future Punishment" 1759
20. Dr. William Whiston, "The Eternity of Hell - Torments Considered" 1740
21. Prof. Henry Dodwell, "The Natural Mortality of Human Souls" 1708
22. Dr. William Thomson, "The Thought of Death" in the Bampton Lecture, 1862
23. Archbishop J. Tillotson, Works, 1717, Volume 1, Page 749
24. Dr. William Coward, "A Survey of the Search After Souls" and "Further Thoughts Concerning the Human Soul" 1703
25. E. D. Slough, "Indictment Of Eternal Torment—The Self-negation of a Monstrous Doctrine," 1914, (church of Christ)
26. Roger E. Dickson, "Life, Death, and Beyond" 1998 (church of Christ)
27. Henry Layton, "A Search After Souls" 1706
28. Russell Boatman, "The End Time" 1980 (church of Christ)
29. Clark Pinnock, "Four Views On Hell" 1992
30. Dr. Edward White, "Life in Christ" 1846, "That Unknown Country" and "Immortality, a Clerical Symposium" "The Unspeakable
Gift" (1884)
31. Jerry Cross, "Magnolia Bible College 1984 Lectures" Page 48 and 49 (church of Christ)
32. Dr. John Thomas, "Final extinction of wicked; immortality a gift through Christ"
33. John Scott, "Harding Graduate School Lectures" 1971 (church of Christ)
34. H. H. Dobney, "Notes of Lectures on Future Punishment" 1844
35. Archbishop R. Whately, "A View of the Scriptural Revelations Concerning a Future State"
36. Sidney Hatch, Th. M., "Daring to Differ: Adventures in Conditional Immortality" 1991
37. James Panton Ham, "Life and Death; or, The Theology of the Bible in Relation to Human Mortality" 1849
38. Charles F. Hudson, "Debt and Grace as Related to the Doctrine of a Future Life" 1857, "Christ Our Life, The Scriptural Argument
for Immortality Through Christ Alone" 1860
39. Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Immortality or Resurrection?" 1997
40. Dean Frenerick W., "Farrar, Mercy and Judgment" 1881
41. Dr. Robert W. Dale, "Edward White, His Life and Work" 1902
42. J. W. Hanson D.D., "The Hell Bible"
43. Samuel G. Dawson, "Jesus' Teaching on Hell" 1996 (church of Christ)
44. Canon Henry Constable, "Hades: or the Intermediate State of Man Restitution of All Things" "The Duration and Nature of Future
Punishment"
45.Bishop John J. S. Perowne, "Hulsean Lectures on Immortality" 1868
46. Sir George Stokes, "That Unknown Country (A Symposium)" 1889, "Immortality, a Clerical Symposium"
47. Dr. W. A. Brown, "The Christian Hope" 1912
48. Dr. R. F. Weymouth translated The New Testament in Modern Speech. Note on 1 Corinthians 15:18: "By 'perish' the Apostle here
apparently means 'pass out of existence'"
49. Dr. William Temple, "Christian Faith and Life" 1931; Drew Lecture on Immortality, 1931, "Nature, Man and God" 1953
50. Dr. Aubrey R. Vine, "An Approach to Christology" 1948
51. Dr. Lyman Abbott, "That Unknown Country" 1889
52. Dr. Emmanuel Petavel-Ollieff, "The Struggle for Eternal Life" "The Extinction of Evil" 1889, "The Problem of Immortality"
53. H. Pettingell, "The Theological Trilemma (Endless Misery) Universal Salvation, or Conditional Immortality" 1878, "Platonism
versus Christianity" 1881, "The Life Everlasting: What Is It? Whence Is It? Whose Is It?" 1882, "The Unspeakable Gift" 1884
54. Al Maxey, "The Maxey-Thrasher Debate" (church of Christ)
55. Eric Lewis, "Life and Immortality" 1949. "Christ, the First Fruits" 1949
56. Dr. Basiil F. C. Atkinson, In "The Pocket Commentary of the Bible" Part One: Book of Genesis, 1954 Comment on Genesis 2:7:,
Part 1, Book of Genesis, Page 32
57. DR. T. A. Kantonen, "The Christian Hope" 1954
58. Robert Dozier, "Dozier-Johnson Debate" (church of Christ)
59. DR. D. R. G. Owen, "Body and Soul" 1956
60. William Enfield, "History of Philosophy"
61. John Locke, "Reasonableness Of Christianity"
62. John Millton, "State of the Dead"
63. Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, "The Nature and Destiny of Man" 1955, Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh, 1939
64. Jeremy K. Moritz, “HELL: Eternal Torment or complete Annihilation?” (church of Christ)
65. Steven Clark Goad, “Thoughts on Punishment of the Wicked” church of Christ Christian Ekklesia Podcast, (church of Christ)
66. William West, “Immortality Or Resurrection” 2006 and “Unconditional Immortality Or Resurrection Of The Dead” 2008, (church
of Christ)
The doctrine of Hell has been strongly opposed from the time is was first brought into the
church by the church fathers, but in the last fifty years the opposition is rapidly growing in the
Protestants churches and particularly in the church of Christ. As a result of the rapid growth in
opposed to the God slandering doctrine of Hell two books by those why believe in Hell have been
written. "Hell of Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment" by Robert A. Peterson and "Hell Under
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Fire" by nine Protestant authors. The names they give to their books shows the doctrine of Hell is
being strongly opposed and rejected by many.
The Egyptians might have been the first to believe in the dual nature of a person. They
believed that death was a door to a new form of life, which may be higher or lower, depending on
how good or bad a person was. They believed the body was evil and a prison to the soul. They
built the pyramids and other tombs and put the things in them they thought would be needed in
the next life. Death was a friend to them that freed the soul of the evil body; but it was the Greeks
[Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato] who adopted this Egyptian belief of the dual nature of a person; and
developed the philosophy of the immortal soul. Many church fathers were schooled in and
believed in this Greek philosophy, and were only partly converted. They brought their Greek
philosophy into the church in the apostasy. Unconditional immortality is the foundation of the
doctrine of Hell. If a person had an unseen immortal part that could not die, there had to be a
place to put the "souls" which were evil but could not die. The "souls" of the saved had to be put
somewhere, therefore, the doctrine of a person going to Heaven or Hell immediately after death
without a resurrection or a judgment came into being, and the New Testament teaching of the
resurrection of the dead became unneeded and of little or no importance.
In the Greek philosophy a person never dies. Only the body dies, freeing the soul to a higher
life. Christ taught the resurrection of man, not the Greek "immaterial, invisible part of man" (W.
E. Vine) that never dies. The Greeks did not believe in or need a resurrection, or a savior, or
redeemer; these would not fit into their belief. They believed in an immortal soul, therefore, there
could be no death. The Greek philosophy of an immortal soul was opposed and opposite to
the teaching of Christ on the resurrection. The immortal soul doctrine was believed by most
pagan religions in the time of Paul, and when he was before Agrippa, he asked, "Why is it
considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?" [Acts 26:8 New
American Standard Version]. To Plato and Agrippa, the resurrection of the dead would
have been a step backward. It would put the soul that was freed from its prison of a body
back into the prison it had been freed from.
The Greek and heathen belief that the immortal soul is indestructible, demands that the soul
cannot die, but must be alive forever somewhere. The resurrection as taught by Christ demands
that a person be dead, if not, there cannot be a resurrection. The resurrection is a calling back to
life the whole person God created, not a calling back to life some part of the person that is not
dead. If the Greek doctrine of an immortal soul that cannot die, which is believed by many today
were true, then the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection would be pointless.
PLATO AND SOCRATES -- VERSUS -- CHRIST
IMMORTALITY --------- VERSUS - LIFE AND RESURRECTION
DEATH A FRIEND ------ VERSUS - DEATH IS "THE LAST ENEMY"
PLATO: THE SOUL IS | IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION
IMMORTAL, THEREFORE ONLY | DEATH IS THE END OF
"IT" IS ALIVE AFTER DEATH| ALL LIFE 1 CORINTHIANS 15:14-23
PLATO: ONLY THE BODY DIES| "THEN THEY ALSO THAT ARE
FREEING SOUL TO A HIGHER | FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST
FIFE WITHOUT A BODY | HAVE PERISHED"
ONLY SOME INTER PART OF | A PERSON (WHO IN CHRIST) WILL BE
A PERSON IS IMMORTAL | IMMORTAL, NOT JUST PART OF A PERSON
ALL THE DEAD ARE ALIVE | CHRIST IS "THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD"
PLATO'S IMMORTAL SOUL AND CHRIST'S RESURRECTION ARE NOT
COMPATIBLE, BOTH CANNOT BE. ONE CAN BE TRUE, BUT NOT BOTH AT THE
SAME TIME; THEY ARE ALIEN TO EACH OTHER.
Paul and Plato used the same Greek words, but not in the same way. Immortal, immortality,
indestructible, never dying was used by Plato and by many today to describe the soul, but in the
Old or New Testament, these words are never used referring to any lost person or to any part of a
person after death. The expression "immortal soul" is very common in the writing of the pagan
philosophers and today's preachers, but is not found in the Bible.
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PAUL USED|PLATO AND MANY TODAY SAY THE SOUL
DIE |CANNOT DIE
DEATH |NO DEATH
DESTROYED |CANNOT BE DESTROYED
CORRUPTION |IS INCORRUPTIBLE
MORTAL |IS IMMORTAL
PERISH |CANNOT PERISH
"In the very terms in which the punishment of the wicked is asserted in the New Testament. Where the
latter says the soul shall die, Plato says it shall not die; where the latter says it shall be destroyed, Plato says
it shall not be destroyed; where