For centuries, Christians believed that the heavenly few would see and even rejoice at the sufferings of hellʼs multitude. As Paul Johnson [himself a defender of Christianity] admitted in A History of Christianity, “This displeasing notion was advanced and defended with great tenacity over several centuries, and was one of the points Catholics and orthodox Calvinists had in common.”
The idea is still being defended today in Trevor C. Johnsonʼs thesis composed for his masterʼs degree in Biblical Studies at Reformed Theological Seminary in 2004. (Johnson is also a loving and faithful Christian missionary, husband, and parent serving the Lord in a potentially dangerous mission field.) I would like some Evangelical Christian apologists on the web to read Johnsonʼs masterʼs thesis which is now online (and also offered at amazon.com — note the three positive reviews from fellow Christians), and explain either why you agree with it, or disagree with it, and if you disagree, how such a notion came to be derived from various Biblical stories and verses, and also came to be defended from the philosophical necessity of heavenʼs occupants remaining joyful (no tears in heaven) and knowledgeable concerning Godʼs decisions, and view such decisions as praiseworthy such that there is not the least bit of doubt nor lack of joy at viewing such decisions in action.
Read Seeing Hell: Do The Saints In Heaven Behold The Sufferings Of The Damned (And How Do They Respond)
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