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Top Lutheran bishop: If hell exists, ‘I think it’s empty’

Article Date - 09/07/2017

There are so many things wrong with this picture that is so anti-biblical that if Martin Luther were alive today, he would be nailing another 95 thesis (and then some) on the door of a major Lutheran church, but focusing upon the use of John 12:32 incorrectly, we will show with the Bible how this person so misrepresents God and should be fired. Seeing that she has made it up to such a high rank, that means the Lutheran denomination as a whole should be brought into question.

First of all, proper Bible study is not by pulling one verse out of the Bible. Isaiah 28:9-10 basically tells us to gather all of the verses on the subject, be it whole verses ("line upon line"), inclusion in multiple topics of one verse so focus on the part that is in question ("here a little, there a little"), as well as every precept or application being made ("precept upon precept"), like Jesus' parables.

Second, the verse itself that she uses is a misinterpretation. Everyone truly is drawn unto Jesus, atheists included. That does not mean they are saved. People are drawn to love Him, hate Him, or pick and choose what they want to believe of His teachings.

Third, using but one verse to justify a belief means that there is a purposeful ignoring of all the other verses in the Bible contradictory to the belief held. That is irresponsible. Proper Bible study, since God is NOT the author of confusion or of contradictory verses (1 Corinthians 14:33), means that we have to explain the apparent contradiction so that the verses do not really contradict. For instance, there are two statements of Paul that tell of being knocked off the horse. One of them is that the people around did not hear the voice (Acts 22:9) while another says they did (Acts 9:7). The proper, non-contradictory understanding, is that the people heard a voice but could not make it out the words that Jesus spoke.