By George W. Sarris

It has often been pointed out that Jesus spoke of Hell more often than any of the other New Testament writers. That claim is clearly true . . . and untrue at the same time.

The claim is based on the number of times Jesus used the word Gehenna – the term most commonly translated “Hell” in the modern versions. Gehenna is used twelve times in the New Testament, and eleven of those times it is used by Jesus Himself. The other use is in the book of James.

So, if we are looking at the number of times Jesus used the word that is translated “Hell” in English as compared to how many times others in the New Testament used that word, we would be correct in saying that Jesus spoke of Hell more often than anyone else in the New Testament. However, if we are looking at what Jesus meant when He used the word Gehenna and what His listeners understood by it, we would certainly have reason to question whether or not that observation is correct. FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

Is teen rebellion a necessary part of raising a family in today’s modern world?

That is a question every set of young parents asks as their children begin to grow up. I have five children, and I was often warned,

Just wait until your kids hit the teen years! It’s brutal!

I was informed on many occasions by well-meaning friends and acquaintances that teen rebellion is one of the realities of parenting in the late 20^th and 21^st centuries. It’s just one of those “stages” that teens have to go through – so I shouldn’t be surprised when it hits.

While each teen certainly has a free will and is ultimately responsible for his/her choices, is it true that teen rebellion is a natural part of parenting that must be expected and anticipated? Actually, no! I didn’t rebel against my parents when I grew up. Nor did my brother. Nor did my wife. And, interestingly, neither did any of my children. And, it wasn’t just because we were “lucky!” FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

In Seven Days in Utopia – an excellent film based on David L. Cook’s best-selling book, Golf’s Sacred Journey – Robert Duvall’s character makes a very profound statement about his beliefs:

I respect tradition. But, I have a passion for the truth!

I wish I had thought up that line, because it expresses so well the reason why I initially looked into the issue of ultimate destinies.

Seek Truth Wherever It Leads

As a third year seminary student in the late 1970s, I was wrestling with the question every Christian asks at one time or another – How could a good God allow anyone to suffer consciously forever? 

A number of years earlier when I was in college, God's love had captured my heart and transformed my life. Prior to attending seminary, I served on the staff of a large campus missionary organization for four years. I wanted to tell others about this wonderful Being who had done such marvelous things in my life, but there was something deep inside of me that kept saying something was wrong with the prevailing teaching about Hell within the Christian community. It just didn’t seem consistent with what Scripture seemed to reveal about God's character. FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

Diogenes of Sinope was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived in a tub, and walked through the streets of Athens in the daytime carrying a lantern. When asked what he was doing, he replied,

I am looking for an honest man!

The more I read about the politicians of our day, the more I resonate with Diogenes! Are there any honest men (or women) in the political arena today?

Scandals Are No Longer News!

National and state government in this country has been rocked over and over by scandals to the point that they are no longer shocking. We are no longer surprised to learn of Senators or Representatives or Governors who have been involved in gross immorality, or who have lied directly to the public, or who have been recipients of kickbacks, or misused public funds, or voted for bills because of some perk they received, or who voted for bills they never read, or who . . . . the list just keeps going on and on.

Power corrupts. The longer people remain in power, the more power those people get. The more power those people get, the greater the temptation to misuse their power. The greater the temptation to misuse their power, the deeper the level of corruption that arises. FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

Have you ever had an experience similar to mine?

I talked with a man who told me that he stopped believing in God and going to church when he heard that most of his friends, and a lot of people in other parts of the world who had never heard of Jesus were going to go to Hell.  He decided at that time that he just couldn’t believe in a God who was that uncaring!  He now professes to be a Buddhist.

Although we would prefer not to acknowledge it, the concept of Hell as a place of never ending, conscious suffering for the majority of the human race poses several significant problems that have caused many people to reject Christianity – not the least of which is how this teaching relates to who God is and what He has revealed about Himself in Scripture. 

Is God Partial?

Does God show favoritism?  Has He deliberately chosen to extend His love and grace to some of His creatures while intentionally withholding it from the rest?  Has He purposely selected some for salvation while passing over others? FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

As we approach the Palm Sunday and Easter holidays, I was reminded of a Christmas card I received from a friend some years ago.  It had a very simple, but profound message.  The cover asked, “What's the difference between Christmas, Buddhamas, Confuciusmas, and Mohammadmas?” 

When you opened the card, the answer was striking:  “Easter!”

The followers of Christ, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and the founders of every other religion are all able to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of their leader.  They are all able to celebrate the anniversary of the death of their leader.  But, only the followers of Christ can celebrate the anniversary of the resurrection of their leader!  The tombs of Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and other religious founders are full.  The tomb of Jesus of Nazareth is empty!

Interestingly, Jesus is the only credible Person in history who has ever even claimed to have risen from the dead.  That claim has been challenged repeatedly during the last 2,000 years, but it has withstood the criticism and has been embraced by some of the greatest minds of all time, some of whom had set out specifically to disprove it.  FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

With the controversy continuing to build over the HHS Contraception Mandate which includes the requirement that all health insurance plans must include coverage for abortion inducing drugs, along with the recent decision that abortion coverage itself in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would only require an additional premium of a dollar per month, it’s important to understand what the root issue is in the abortion controversy.  

Abortion has very little to do with a woman’s “right to choose.”  It has very much to do with a man’s “right” to sleep around! 

I went to college in the late 1960’s, during the height of the free love movement.  Free love is great . . . for men!  They can sow their wild oats as often as they please and then simply get up and leave.  No strings.  No apparent consequences.  

But, what about women who freely love?  Unlike men, they cannot simply get up after a night’s fling and go on their merry way.  Free love produces babies.  And, it is the woman who literally “bears” the responsibility of the night’s activities in the form of a child.  FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

I had the sad experience recently of having a dear friend who I have known well for over a dozen years come up to me at a conference where I was speaking to inform me that, in essence, he didn’t want to be my friend anymore.  His reason?  He has concluded that I am a “false teacher” who is leading people astray by my blog posts and a yet-to-be published book addressing the issue of ultimate destinies.

He informed me that he had written to the person in charge of the conference to express his concerns and urge that I not be allowed to address those assembled.  He also told me that he would continue to follow that practice whenever he heard that I was going to speak somewhere. 

Tears actually began to form in my eyes as my friend left, specifically requesting that I not communicate with him anymore.  It’s one thing to have people you don’t know - and who don’t really know you – call you a heretic or a false teacher and tell you to take a walk.  It’s quite another to have someone you know well do the same thing.  FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

Well, the festivals are over. 

I’m referring to the two film festivals that were held last weekend – the Academy Awards in Hollywood, and the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival in the Alamo City.  The first is well-known, of course.  The second is much less known.

I’ve had the privilege of participating in each of the less well-known festivals since they began in 2004.  Some of the films, like Courageous which won Best of Festival this year, or Seven Days in Utopia which was my favorite and featured Robert Duvall, have large budgets and nationwide distribution.  Most have much smaller amounts of money to work with and have been produced by families and friends who have a vision for working together on worthwhile projects that can make an impact on the culture.  That, in itself, is a pretty amazing thing to see in light of how fragmented families are in America today.  FULL POST

By George W. Sarris

In any discussion of ultimate destinies, one passage of Scripture almost always comes up in support of the idea that Hell is a place of conscious suffering that never ends – the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31

In that passage, Jesus tells his listeners:

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.  The rich man also died and was buried.  In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ FULL POST