Polycarp: Eternal Fire

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From The Martyrdom of Polycarp:

Then said the Proconsul [threatening Polycarp] 'I have wild beasts; if thou repent not, I will throw thee to them.' But he said, 'Send for them. For repentance from better to worse is not a change permitted to us; but to change from cruelty to righteousness is a noble thing.' Then said the Proconsul again, 'If thou dost despise the wild beasts I will make thee to be consumed by fire, if thou repent not.' And Polycarp answered, 'Thou threatenest the fire that burns for an hour and in a little while is quenched; for thou knowest not of the fire of the judgement to come, and the fire of the eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why delayest thou? Bring what thou wilt.' [1]

The  significant part of the dialog is the latter half, in which Polycarp is threatened with being burned alive as a punishment for confessing to be a Christian. In response, Polycarp argues that it is better to be burned at the stake for a short period of excruciating pain, that to face the punishment of fire throughout all eternity. After this argument, the Proconsul gives up trying to convert Polycarp and has him burned alive at the stake.

This is, of course, evidence that the early Christians believed in eternal punishment by fire, contra the teaching of the heretical Jehovah's Witnesses.

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[1] Henry Bettenson, ed. Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press, 1967.

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This page contains a single entry by Christopher Howard published on February 24, 2010 7:35 AM.

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