City of God by Augustine (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example)
Firstly Augustine gives examples of living things that that live in pain and do not die.
Secondly he points out that there are many strange things that are believed in though at first appear they appear to be irrational, such as magnets and the strength of diamonds.
Thirdly he shows that people are ready to believe the tales of demons but not ready to believe what God says about hell.
What grabbed me
Annihilationism really came under Augustine's knife today.
It was made quite clear that unbelievers are foolish to only believe in phenomena that they have experienced: 'Those unbelievers therefore must not throw dust in their own eyes in this matter of the knowledge of nature, and assume that it is not possible for something to occur in any substance through the exercise of divine power, which conflicts with the property of that substance as known to them in their own human experience. And yet the natural phenomena known to all men are no less wonderful, and would be a source of astonishment to all who observe them, if it were not man's habit to restrict his wonder at miracles to the rarities.'
Sadly many unbelievers will only become believers in an eternal hell when they experience it.
May the Lord have mercy and grant faith in hell to more people this side of judgement.
Commence Book 21 by reading Chapters 9 to 23.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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