I find an increasing number of Christians today who say there is no eternal torment, only extinguishment. I told one friend that if he believes that, other false doctrines will follow. And they have.
The first false doctrine to follow that error is in the immortality of the soul. It’s true that the Bible doesn’t say explicitly that the soul is immortal, but it strongly implies it. In fact everything in the Bible implies that the soul will live on, for good or for ill. The unique creation of mankind as opposed to animals, the Fall and blood sacrifice, the resurrection of Christ, the fact that people need a savior, and it goes on. Redemption and heaven would mean very little if there is nothing to be redeemed from and no heavenly reward.
If these heretics believe that there is no immortality until we are raised from the dead, then how are we spiritually alive now in the new birth? The body is what is going to put on immortality, not the soul.
Other doctrines that will follow will be of the justice of God (How can a good God send people to hell?) which begs the question: is God perfect? Is he just? Actually, sending people to hell is the just thing to do. It will give people what they want — autonomy and godlessness. It verifies free will.
If God is perfect, then he must have a perfect hatred of sin.
Hell is not for the amount of sin, but for the type of sin: the rejection of salvation for the reward of self-government.
Lamar Howell's Weblog 
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