Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism

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Most evangelical Christians believe that those people who are not saved before they die will be punished in hell forever. But is this what the Bible truly teaches? Do Christians need to rethink their understanding of hell? In the late twentieth century, a growing number of evangelical theologians, biblical scholars, and philosophers began to reject the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell in favor of a minority theological perspective called conditional immortality. This view contends that the unsaved are resurrected to face divine judgment, just as Christians have always believed, but due to the fact that immortality is only given to those who are in Christ, the unsaved do not exist forever in hell. Instead, they face the punishment of the "second death"--an end to their conscious existence. This volume brings together excerpts from a variety of well-respected evangelical thinkers, including John Stott, John Wenham, and E. Earle Ellis, as they articulate the biblical, theological, and philosophical arguments for conditionalism. These readings will give thoughtful Christians strong evidence that there are indeed compelling reasons for rethinking hell.

Peter S. Grice - Igniting an Evangelical Conversation

Glenn A. Peoples - Introduction to Evangelical Conditionalism

Edward W. Fudge - The Final End of the Wicked

Stephen H. Travis - The Nature of Final Destiny

John R. W. Stott - Judgment and Hell

Clark H. Pinnock - The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent

John W. Wenham - The Case for Conditional Immortality

Basil F. C. Atkinson - The Doom of the Lost

E. Earle Ellis - New Testament Teaching on Hell

Ralph G. Bowles - Does Revelation 14:11 Teach Eternal Torment?

Harold E. Guillebaud - The General Trend of Bible Teaching

Anthony C. Thiselton - Claims about “Hell” and Wrath

Philip E. Hughes - Is the Soul Immortal?

Henry Constable - Divine Justice

Christopher D. Marshall - Divine and Human Punishment in the New Testament

Nigel G. Wright - A Kinder, Gentler Damnation?

Richard G. Swinburne - The Future of the Totally Corrupt

Kim G. Papaioannou - The Development of Gehenna Between the Old and New Testaments

LeRoy E. Froom - Conditionalism in the Early Church

Evangelical Alliance - Hell and Evangelical Unity

Roger E. Olson - Diverse Christian Beliefs About Life Beyond Death

Ben Witherington III - Equally Orthodox Christians

"As more and more people open their minds to rethink the doctrine of final punishment, this book will be a valuable resource and reference. I wish it had been available when I did my own research. This volume is extensive, inclusive, and impressive in scope and approach. I am delighted to endorse it! A book for our time, it should enjoy great success."
--Edward Fudge, author of The Fire That Consumes

"This volume is to be welcomed and recommended for its usefulness in gathering together some of the most significant contributions from leading scholars and preachers who question whether the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked is a correct interpretation of the biblical teaching."
--I. Howard Marshall, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Christopher M. Date is the principal blogger and podcaster of the Rethinking Hell project and works as a software engineer in the Pacific Northwest. Gregory G.