By Jim Brown
September 23, 2002

(AgapePress) - A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention is defending evangelist Billy Graham's position on the doctrine of hell.

Although Dr. Graham has been quoted as saying he questions whether there is actually fire in hell, one evangelical leaders says Graham is merely unsure of the chemical makeup of hell. Dr. Paige Patterson is president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He says during Graham's early days of ministry, he preached on hell forever -- and plenty hot.

"As he has grown older -- I don't think there's any way to get around it -- he has definitely softened his position somewhat," Patterson says. "But I have never heard him myself come to the point where he denied the reality of eternal suffering in a place called hell. I think all he intended to do in that was simply deny that he knew the exact constituency, chemically, of fire."

Patterson says he, too, does not know the exact chemical nature of hell, and is not going there to find out. Along those lines, the SBC leader says pastors and churches that abandon their role in teaching the doctrine of hell are heading down a "slippery slope."

Patterson says it is impossible to give up any vital doctrine of the Christian faith without weakening others.

"If you say ... 'I’m going to give up this doctrine of eternal punishment because I don't like that -- it doesn't taste right, and so I'm going to give that up' ... then you immediately have a big problem with the atonement [of Christ]," he says. "Because what on earth could justify the heavenly Father in sending His only begotten and greatly beloved Son to die an ignominious and shameful death on Calvary if, in fact, it wasn't necessary?"

At Southeastern's third chapel session this year, Dr. Patterson preached an evangelistic sermon on hell -- and five seminary students accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

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