The Cost of Discipline. In this episode, we sit with St. Athanasius and his writings on the life of St. Antony. How did Christians in the 4th century view spiritual warfare and affliction? What is the relation of discipline to prayer, piety, and resisting temptation? What did 4th century Christians think about virtues and vices, and whether they were (or weren’t) related to the Christian life? Is it better for Christians to seek a place of solitude or community when focusing on heavenly things versus worldly things? How does Mammon factor into this? What does Scripture teach about the evil one, demons, dark powers, and evil spirits? Do we as modern Christians agree with Athanasius and Antony’s views about spiritual warfare, and if not, why? This and much, much more on this week’s episode.

The Thinking Fellows examine one of Christianity’s most difficult and avoided topics: hell.

To not speak of hell is also to forget or ignore the great benefits of Christ and his saving work.

Increasingly, to forgive is seen as winking at evil, as shrugging one’s moral shoulders, and as being complicit.

If the world could have been saved by bookkeeping, it would have been saved by Moses, not Jesus. The law was just fine.

The biggest point Luther makes about the descent is not that Jesus triumphed over hell idle and unaffected, but that Jesus defeated hell by suffering hell away.

Did Jesus really descend into hell? And did Peter just say Baptism saves us?

Throughout the centuries, “Inferno” has also played a large role in the development of Christianity, particularly in the Western Medieval church.

When God sends them to hell, it is indeed punishment, but he’s only giving them what they asked for.

Is God the perfect loving father for whom we have all longed; or is he an angry, blood-thirsty deity who can only be appeased by the torture and death of his own child?

King has some kind of belief in God, but was probably under no inner compulsion to do anything we would term evangelism.