Into this situation, we are supposed to announce, on God’s behalf, a judgment to come that will reach its apogee in the everlasting punishment of vast numbers of people in hell. It is a difficult time in history to talk about hell. Better to play along with the national assemblies of religious leaders gathered for […]
ow should preachers communicate about hell and eternal punishment? Today these truths strike some as comical and others as cruel. In conservative Christian circles, serious scholars of evangelical reputation have created significant doubts about the traditional doctrine in the minds of some of our finest young preachers. Others ignore it in reaction to its misuse […]
S. Lewis did not write as a theologian; his works touch on Christianity in a popular vein. Yet as a foremost apologist of the last century, he continues to have an enduring influence. This brief review of his "doctrine" of hell, therefore, faces numerous obstacles, most notably that of genre. Although his fiction brilliantly illustrates […]
t is easy to meet Christians today who reject the traditional doctrine of hell. Many of them think that, in the end, everyone will be saved. Some Christians support this new position by arguing that we can know very little about hell with certainty, and that the Church's traditional doctrine was embraced by extrapolating from […]
ell was a prominent theme in Jesus' preaching, but the same is not true in contemporary Christianity. The Revised Common Lectionary, used in many mainline churches, has trimmed articles dealing with hell, condemnation, and wrath from its cycle of readings. The universalism that has come to characterize the popular piety of our nation was implicitly […]
hen we gather for worship on Sunday, many of us confess our faith in the words of the Apostles' Creed. The Creed's most puzzling statement has always been that our Lord "descended into hell." What does this mean? Is it true? Isn't it enough simply to affirm the observable facts of Christ's passion, his suffering […]
MR:For those unfamiliar with your teaching on hell or eternal punishment, would you please summarize it briefly? Is it fair to call your view "conditional"?EF: First, let me say, I appreciate the desire of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals to call us back to Scripture, and to distinguish authentic scriptural teaching from the pollutions of […]
Unquestionably, irresponsible speculation about hell on both sides of the debate have made the discussion considerably more difficult. Whether it is vivid descriptions of Dante’s Inferno or revivalist “hellfire and brimstone” sermons, the impression is too often given that we must go beyond biblical description to alert people to avoid such a dreadful place. The […]
