Coming to Terms

Five key phrases in the hell debate.

1. Eternal conscious physical and spiritual torment.

The damned in hell will suffer in body and soul forever. Advocates: John Blanchard, Donald Carson, Ajith Fernando, John Gerstner, Robert Morey, J. I. Packer, David Pawson, and Robert Peterson.

2. Eternal conscious spiritual torment.

The unsaved will suffer spiritual or psychological torment rather than physical torment.Advocates: Murray Harris, Anthony Hoekema, and Peter Toon.

3. Eternal separation from God.

This less specific way of talking about hell is relational, stressing the terrible fate of never-ending loss of communion with God.Advocates: Kendall Harmon, Peter Head, and Alec Motyer.

4. Conditional immortality.

Souls are not inherently immortal, but persons are granted immortality by God when they are justified. In contrast, the unsaved do not receive the gift of immortality and ultimately will cease to exist.Advocates: Robert Brow, Earle Ellis, Edward Fudge, Michael Green, Clark Pinnock, John Wenham, and Nigel Wright.

5. Annihilationism.

The final extinction of the wicked. Evangelicals who propound annihilationism usually do so from a conditionalist foundation. Consequently, The Nature of Hell uses the term conditionalism to denote belief in both conditional immortality and the ultimate annihilation of the lost.—Summarized from The Nature of Hell

Related Elsewhere

Be sure to read the related stories to this sidebar, ” Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire | Will unbelievers endure eternal torment or will they be annihilated? An assessment of the Evangelical Alliance’s The Nature of Hell” and ” Rightly Dividing the Hell Debate | Key Advocates and Writings.”

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Also in this issue

Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire: What is hell—eternal torment or annihilation? A look at the Evangelical Alliance's The Nature of Hell.

Cover Story

Undying Worm, Unquenchable Fire

Biotech: Tissue of Lies?

Is the Stock Market Good Stewardship?

Camus the Christian?

Machiavelli Marooned

The Back Page | Philip Yancey: Getting a Life

Gwen Shamblin in the Balance

SBC Funding Imperiled

Updates

School Vouchers Face Tight Races

Briefs: North America

Quotations to Contemplate

Fire and Ice

Vatican: Protestants Not 'Sister Churches'

Smack Down

Colombia: Abducted Pastor Pays His Own Ransom on Installment Plan

Briefs: The World

Nigeria: Will Shari'a Law Curb Christianity?

North Korea: 7 Christian Executions Suspected

Ecuador: Word and Spirit Together

Grunge Boomers in Concert

Good News for Witches

Rightly Dividing the Hell Debate

Free to Be Creatures Again

Beyond Self-Help Chatter

Big-Picture Faith

Love Your Heavenly Enemy

The Transcendental Gore

More Than a Badge and a Gun

Lessons From Two Sides of AIDS

Shelly Wift's Tips for Witnessing to Witches

A Wicca Primer

Reporting at the Speed of Cyberspace

Editorial

Honest Ecumenism

Scouts in a Jam?

The Fallacy of Missile Defense

The Perils of Harry Potter

In the Word: The Grim Shepherd

Your World: Unrighteous Indignation

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