We’ve hinted at it here and there, but we had to keep it on the down low. Now that contracts have been signed and accepted, we are excited to be able to officially announce the upcoming publication of our very first book, Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism! (Cover design in image at left is indicative only.) Wipf & Stock (W&S), the publishers of the 3rd edition of Edward Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes, has agreed to publish our book as well, very likely in time for our upcoming conference in July, 2014.
Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism has been edited by Chris Date, Greg Stump, and Joshua Anderson, and includes original introductory chapters by Peter Grice and Glenn Peoples, as well as a foreword written by Professor John Stackhouse Jr. The book brings together in a single, convenient publication the often difficult to obtain works of a variety of authors articulating and defending conditional immortality and the annihilation of the finally impenitent, or defending it as a view an evangelical can legitimately espouse. Authors and their reproduced works include:
- Edward Fudge
- “The Final End of the Wicked” (JETS 27:3)
- Stephen Travis
- Excerpts from I Believe in the Second Coming of Jesus
- John Stott
- Excerpts from Evangelical Essentials
- Clark Pinnock
- “The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent” (Criswell Theological Review 4:2)
- John Wenham
- “The Case for Conditional Immortality” from Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell
- Basil Atkinson
- Excerpts from Life and Immortality
- E. Earle Ellis
- “New Testament Teaching on Hell” from Eschatology in Bible and Theology
- Ralph Bowles
- “Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment?” (Evangelical Quarterly 73:1)
- Harold Guillebaud
- Excerpts from The Righteous Judge
- Anthony Thiselton
- Excerpts from Life After Death
- Philip E. Hughes
- Excerpts from The True Image
- Henry Constable
- Excerpts from The Duration and Nature of Future Punishment
- Christopher Marshall
- Excerpts from Beyond Retribution
- Nigel Wright
- Excerpts from The Radical Evangelical
- Richard Swinburne
- Excerpts from Responsibility and Atonement
- Kim Papaioannou
- Excerpts from The Geography of Hell in the Teaching of Jesus
- LeRoy E. Froom
- Excerpts from The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers
- Evangelical Alliance
- Excerpts from The Nature of Hell (ACUTE Report)
- Roger Olson
- Excerpts from The Mosaic of Christian Belief
- Ben Witherington III
- Excerpts from The Bible and Culture blog posts
When my friend and fellow Rethinking Hell contributor, Greg Stump, originally told me about his dream of publishing a book compiling what many authors before us have variously written in defense of conditionalism, it seemed like a bit of a pipe dream. Later, Greg reported to us that he had had an opportunity to pitch his book idea to John Wipf, co-founder of W&S, who liked the idea and said it sounded like exactly the sort of thing they would publish. What at first seemed like little more than a dream was beginning to seem possible. And then, not long after submitting an official proposal form, I nearly fainted in shock when I received the email telling us W&S had accepted our proposal.
Since then Greg, Joshua and I have been frantically preparing the manuscript for delivery to W&S on December 31st: transcribing originals; writing prefaces and introductions; securing licenses to republish excerpts; and much, much more. The Lord has blessed us and things have come together nearly without a hitch, and we’re confident that wherever you currently stand on the issue of hell, you’ll be personally edified by Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism. 
And if you’re already convinced of conditionalism, you might want to consider giving the book as a gift to your traditionalist friends and family.
Though not yet officially available for pre-order through W&S and other retailers, Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism is available as an optional addition to your conference registration or sponsorship package, available for purchase now. Reserve your copy today, and pick it up and have it signed in-person in July!
