Rethinking Hell

Rethinking Hell
Author: Christopher M. Date
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1630871605

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. Earl 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.

Universal Salvation?

Universal Salvation?
Author: Robin A. Parry
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2004-03-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780802827647

Foreword by Gabriel Fackre Will God one day save all people through Christ s atoning work? That is the question at the heart of the debate in this volume — a debate sure to challenge readers, whatever their current perspective. Featuring evangelical writers of exceptional insight and sensitivity, Universal Salvation? offers a conversation worth everyone s attention. The volume opens with a rigorous three-part defense of Christian universalism by philosopher Thomas Talbott, who argues that Scripture teaches the ultimate salvation of all people, including those in hell. Gabriel Fackre in his foreword calls Talbott s work the most thoughtfully wrought argument for universalism to date from within the contemporary evangelical community. The rest of the book gathers incisive responses to Talbott by Christian scholars from different disciplines, who evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Talbott s arguments, take his thought in new directions, or explain why they think he is mistaken. Talbott then responds to his critics. The aim of this volume is not to persuade people that universalism is true but to open up a fairer debate on a controversial subject of continuing importance to theologians and nontheologians alike. By exploring universal salvation from biblical, philosophical, theological, and historical perspectives, the book helps readers think through the issues more carefully than has been possible with resources previously available.

DEBATE ON UNIVERSALISM

DEBATE ON UNIVERSALISM
Author: John Lightfoot 1809-1854 Waller
Publisher: Wentworth Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2016-08-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781361727737

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Thrasher-Davis Debate on Universalism

Thrasher-Davis Debate on Universalism
Author: Thomas Thrasher
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2018-08-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781725685215

Controversies among people of different religious persuasions have occurred throughout history, even in New Testament times (e.g., Acts 6 and Acts 15). At one time, most religious groups had representatives who participated in public debates defending their various viewpoints, including Universalists. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Today, the vast majority of religious leaders disapprove of debates for various reasons. Of course, this viewpoint stands in contrast to the examples of men such as the apostle Paul (Acts 19), Stephen (Acts 6), Jesus (Matthew 22), and others who are "set for the defense of the gospel" (Philippians 1:7, 17). This book preserves the record of a debate on the issue of universal salvation. The publisher recommends that the reader study this material by "searching the Scriptures" to determine whether these things presented by Myles Davis and Thomas N. Thrasher are so (Acts 17:11).

The Evangelical Universalist

The Evangelical Universalist
Author: Gregory MacDonald
Publisher: SPCK
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2012-11-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0281068763

Can an orthodox Christian, committed to the historic faith of the Church and the authority of the Bible, be a universalist? Is it possible to believe that salvation is found only by grace, through faith in Christ, and yet to maintain that in the end all people will be saved? Can one believe passionately in mission if one does not think that anyone will be lost forever? Could universalism be consistent with the teachings of the Bible? In The Evangelical Universalist the author argues that the answer is ‘yes!’ to all of these questions. Weaving together philosophical, theological, and biblical considerations, he seeks to show that being a committed universalist is consistent with the central teachings of the biblical texts and of historic Christian theology.