In April of 2014, shortly before the inaugural Rethinking Hell conference at the Lanier Theological Library, we published our first book, Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism. A year later, we are excited to announce the upcoming publication of our second book, A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward W. Fudge! (Cover design in image at left is indicative only.) Wipf & Stock, who published our first book and the 3rd edition of Edward Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes, has agreed to publish our second book through Pickwick Publications, its most academic imprint.
Joining Chris Date as co-editor of A Consuming Passion was Ron Highfield, Professor of Religion at Pepperdine University. Stephen Travis generously provided the foreword. This book is what’s known as a festschrift, a collection of essays written by many authors in honor of a colleague, typically on a special occasion—in this case Edward Fudge on the occasion of his seventieth birthday and the celebration of his life and work that took place at the 2014 Rethinking Hell conference. Eleven of the fourteen papers presented at the conference are included in this volume, as are eleven additional contributions volunteered by conditionalists who were not able to present but wished to honor Edward in this book. The contributors and their essays include:
- John G. Stackhouse Jr.
- The Legacy of Edward Fudge
- Terrance L. Tiessen
- My Long Journey to Annihilationism
- Jon Zens
- “Are You Going to Heaven?” A Journey Away from the Wrong Question
- Rob McRay
- Moses, Jesus, and Fudge: How Edward Fudge (and Biblical Theology) Changed What I Preach About Hell
- Gregory G. Stump
- “Dear Edward”: Letters to a Gentleman Scholar
- Gordon L. Isaac
- The Extinction of Evil: The Biblical Prerequisite for New Heavens,
New Earth - James S. Spiegel
- Making the Philosophical Case for Conditionalism
- Nicholas Quient
- Paul and the Annihilation of Death
- Peter S. Grice
- Tempest Theophany, Cosmic Conflagration, and the Vanished Vanquished:
Toward a Trinitarian Framework for Immortality and Annihilation - Adam Murrell
- Divine Sovereignty in the Punishment of the Wicked
- Claude Mariottini
- The Punishment of the Wicked in Isaiah 66:24
- Kim Papaioannou
- Death, Eternal Life, and Judgment in the Gospel and Epistles of John
- Roger Harper
- Hades in Revelation
- David Instone-Brewer
- Eternal Punishment in First Century Jewish Thought
- James K. Brandyberry
- Important Forgotten History: The Roots of Opposition to Conditionalism
- Ronnie Demler
- Sic et Non: Traditionalism’s Scandal
- Glenn A. Peoples
- The Future of Hell
- Douglas A. Jacoby
- Doctrinal, Biblical, and Psychological Obstacles to Accepting Conditionalism: Successfully Rethinking Hell in a Small Christian Movement
- Ralph G. Bowles
- The Offer of Life: Conditional Immortality in the Practice of Evangelism
- David C. Cramer
- How to Talk about the Afterlife (If You Must): Ten Theses to Guide Debates among Traditionalists, Conditionalists, and Universalists
- Jim Wood
- Taking Conditionalism to the People
- Christopher M. Date
- Articulating and Promoting Conditionalism in the Twenty-First Century
Meanwhile, we are just over a month away from this year’s conference, “Rethinking Hell Conference 2015: Conditional Immortality and the Challenge of Universal Salvation,” being held June 18th through the 20th at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. A Consuming Passion will not likely be published in time for the conference, but we’re doing everything we can to make it happen, and if it does not we will have more information available and may offer discounted pre-order options. Either way, the conference promises to be an event you won’t want to miss, so read about it in the conference announcement and then go to http://www.rethinkinghellconference.com and register today!
