The Rethinking Hell contributors and a few special guests join Chris Date for a supersized episode of the podcast, to celebrate our one year anniversary and discuss the past year of ministry, feedback from our readers and listeners, and the ministry year to come.
Listen from start to finish to find out how you can be entered into a second drawing to win a free copy of the third edition of The Fire That Consumes, signed by its author, Edward Fudge! The winner will be notified by email.
Month: July 2013
With upcoming debates scheduled for late August and September, I wasn’t going to plan any other debates until next year. However, a last-minute opportunity has arisen to defend conditional immortality and annihilationism in a less formal dialogue with traditionalist Michael Willenborg. Michael holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii, an M.A. in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Philosophy.
Our discussion will be webcast live on the internet radio show, “Theology Matters with The Pellews,” on Thursday, August 1st, at 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific. The title of the debate is, “Does the Bible Teach Annihilationism?” Calls will not be taken, but listeners will be able to ask questions in a chat room during the live show. For more details, and to listen live or join the chat, visit the show’s blog post.
Hello everyone,
Having held to this minority Christian view on the doctrine of hell for some time now, I find that it has taught me a lot about things that go far beyond final punishment. I also find that I am not alone in these things. Therefore, I have decided to write some of them down. This is the first installment in what we hope to be an ongoing series here at RethinkingHell. After all, there is always more to learn.
The point of this article is not so much to give further evidence for the evangelical conditionalist view as much as it is to share lessons that can benefit believers of whatever view on hell. It is, of course, inevitable that some examples and statements will promote the conditionalist view; that’s just the nature of the beast. Nevertheless, as you shall see, these lessons are applicable to all kinds of spiritual matters, not just hell.
Continue reading “Lessons You Learn as a Conditionalist (Part 1)”
Dr. Craig Blomberg joins Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date to discuss his criticisms of conditional immortality, and how evangelicals who disagree on the topic of hell should engage in the conversation. Continue reading “Episode 31: Quenching Zeal? with Craig Blomberg”
Dr. Glenn Peoples demonstrates that some early Church Fathers were conditionalists.
“The punishment of hell will be annihilation, the everlasting loss of life and conscious existence.”
I have promoted the conditionalist view of final punishment in debates with two fellow Reformed bloggers, and I recently scheduled a debate on the topic with a Catholic. Now I have been given the opportunity to debate an Arminian, Dr. Phil Fernandes, pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship in Silverdale, Washington, and president of the Institute of Biblical Defense, a Christian apologetics ministry based in Bremerton, Washington. Dr. Fernandes has a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from Greenwich University, an M.A. in religion from Liberty University, and a B.Th. from Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He is the author of several books, including The God Who Sits Enthroned: Evidence for God’s Existence (Xulon, 2002), No Other Gods: A Defense of Biblical Christianity (IBD, 1998), God, Government, and the Road to Tyranny (Xulon, 2003), Contend Earnestly for the Faith (PublishAmerica, 2008), and most recently Hijacking the Historical Jesus: Answering Recent Attacks on the Jesus of the Bible (CreateSpace, 2012). Continue reading “Chris Date vs. Dr. Phil Fernandes on Hell”
Dr. Jon H. Zens joins Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date to discuss universalism and his book, Christ Minimized? A Response to Rob Bell’s Love Wins. Continue reading “Episode 30: Christ Minimized? with Jon Zens”
The first blog post at Rethinking Hell was published on June 12, 2012, and the first podcast episode was published on July 31 that same year. In celebration of a great first year of evangelicals rethinking hell together, all of our contributors—and a few special guests—will soon be recording an anniversary episode to discuss a year of ministry past and what to expect in the year ahead.
To that end, we would greatly appreciate hearing some feedback from you. Why not get in touch to tell us about your experiences with Rethinking Hell? For example, tell us which blog posts and/or podcast episodes you enjoyed the most—or least!—and why. Or tell us how Rethinking Hell has motivated or helped you in investigating the topic of final punishment. Maybe you have a personal message for an individual contributor. Whatever you’d like to say is fair game!
Everyone who sends their feedback to us at competition@rethinkinghell.com will be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of the third edition of The Fire That Consumes, signed by its author, Edward Fudge! The winner will be notified by email.
The feedback sent in might also be featured in the first anniversary episode, so be sure to tell us whether or not you’re okay with yours being mentioned, or perhaps you would prefer to stay anonymous not have your feedback mentioned at all.
Stay tuned for the anniversary episode of the Rethinking Hell podcast, and be sure to listen to it for a chance to win another prize!