Christopher M Date

A little over a decade after Edward Fudge invited critical readers of The Fire That Consumes to ‘measure this work by every proper standard’, Robert Peterson responded in a paper presented at the 1994 ETS Convention entitled ‘The Hermeneutics of Annihilationism: The Theological Method of Edward Fudge’. In his paper Peterson alleges to ‘have pointed out deficiencies in [Fudge’s] methodological approach’ and concludes that ‘evaluated in terms of hermeneutics and theological method, [Fudge’s] case appears to be weak’. This paper presents a case for conditional immortality and the annihilation of the finally impenitent, arguing that they—and not the traditional view—result from exegesis done according to accepted hermeneutical principles, responding to Peterson’s critique along the way.

A little over a decade after Edward Fudge invited critical readers of The Fire That Consumes to "Measure this work by every proper standard," Robert A. Peterson responded in a paper presented at the 1994 ETS Convention entitled "The Hermeneutics of Annihilationism: The Theological Method of Edward Fudge." In his paper Peterson alleges to "have pointed out deficiencies in [Fudge's] methodological approach" and concludes that "evaluated in terms of hermeneutics and theological method, [Fudge's] case appears to be weak." This paper presents a case for conditional immortality and the annihilation of the finally impenitent, arguing that they—and not the traditional view—result from exegesis done according to accepted hermeneutical principles, responding to Peterson's critique along the way.

Believers in conditional immortality—or conditionalism for short—maintain that the unsaved will be resurrected unto judgment and denied ongoing life of any sort whatsoever by being killed, executed, destroyed, or otherwise deprived of life forever. In the eyes of some traditionalists, conditionalism is more objectionable on Christological grounds than on any other, for they argue that it entails a temporary separation of Jesus’ human and divine natures, or the reduction of the Trinity to a binity, for the three days during which Jesus was dead. Such critics are right to test conditionalism for consistency with an orthodox doctrine of the atonement. However, conditionalism
passes that test quite well—while the traditional view of eternal torment fares poorly—given the Bible’s teaching of the substitutionary death of Jesus.

In today's pluralistic culture, atheists and adherents to a variety of non-Christian religions often dismiss the doctrine of eternal torment as absurd, and reject Christianity for apparently requiring belief in it. Meanwhile, Scripture and human experience testify to the reality that people deeply fear death, and the Bible's offer of immortal life is naturally appealing to them, as evinced by the lengths to which mankind goes to try and achieve immortality. Consequently evangelism done from a conditionalist perspective will fare just as successfully as evangelism based on escaping eternal torment, if not more so.

Christopher M. Date, "Dismissive of Hell, Fearful of Death: Conditional Immortality and the Apologetic Challenge of Hell," Hope's Reason 6 (2017):14-31

Unbelieving biblical scholars like Bart Ehrman leverage the science of historical criticism to cast doubt on the reliability of Scripture by calling into question the traditionally accepted authorship of biblical books. For example, Ehrman argues that the Pastoral Epistles—1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus—are pseudepigrapha, letters falsely attributed to Paul by anonymous authors, and he claims something of a scholarly consensus as support, even from among believing scholars. However, their conclusions by no means go unchallenged by defenders of Pauline authorship, and the debate rages on. This paper analyzes and compares evidence offered for and against Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Epistles, and concludes that the apostle Paul is likely to have written them.

In this inaugural debate to the “Essential Christian Debates” series, Christopher M. Date and Gil VanOrder Jr. examine the biblical teaching and philosophical implications of individual predestination to salvation. Does the Calvinistic position, as taught, render God a moral monster? Conversely, would the Arminian position logically lead one to pray like the Pharisee, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men?” A Calvinist and an Arminian tackle these pressing questions, among others, and explore a number of key biblical teachings, taking us beyond the caricatures of each position. This debate is for both beginning and experienced students of Scripture and provides an indispensible resource on a controversial topic hotly debated within the church for centuries.

This diverse collection of essays in honor of Edward William Fudge explores the topics of hell and immortality, for which Fudge has been widely known through his magnum opus, The Fire That Consumes. Most Christians believe people will live and suffer in hell forever, but Fudge defends a view known historically as "conditional immortality." He and a growing minority of Christians believe God will grant immortality only to those who meet the condition of being united with Christ on the Last Day, while those who do not will perish forever. Although Christians sharing Fudge's view have defended it both before and after him, conditionalists today still point to The Fire That Consumes as the seminal treatment of the topic.

In July 2014, Christians from around the world gathered at the inaugural Rethinking Hell conference, to celebrate Fudge's life and work and to discuss the nature of hell in an open and respectful forum. This volume contains most of the essays presented at that conference, and several others volunteered by conditionalists since then, as a gift to Fudge for the tremendous impact he has had on them, and for the continued work he does for God's kingdom.

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.

On this episode of NPR's 1A show, Joshua Johnson interviews Chris Date about changing evangelical views of hell and how hell-belief informs moral decision-making in the West. Also joining the conversation are: Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican Priest at the Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh; Lisa Miller, Contributing Editor to New York Magazine; and Todd May, Professor of Philosophy at Clemson University.

Dr. Dale Tuggy (Unitarian) and Chris Date (Trinitarian) debate the subject “Is Jesus human and not divine?” Dale Tuggy (affirmative) defends that Jesus is exclusively human. Chris Date (negative) proposes that Jesus as God incarnate has both human and divine natures. This debate took place on May 31, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

On Saturday, September 28th, 2013, Chris Date and Dr. Phil Fernandes debated the proposition, "The punishment of hell will be annihilation: the everlasting loss of life and conscious existence." Chris Date affirmed, articulating and defending conditional immortality and annihilationism. Dr. Fernandes denied, articulating and defending the traditional view of hell as eternal torment.

Following an article in the New York Times about scholars who adopt an annihilationist (also called 'conditional immortality') view of hell rather than the traditional 'eternal conscious torment' view, Justin is joined by two evangelicals to debate the issue.

Dr Al Mohler is President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He spoke against the annihilationist view in an edition of his daily podcast The Briefing.

Chris Date is one of the founders of Rethinking Hell and adopted an annihilationist view after he became convinced the Bible teaches it. They debate the scriptural evidence and whether scholarship is moving away from the traditional view.

In this informative presentation, Chris Date of Rethinking Hell surveys the reasons why Conditional Immortality is an acceptable view to hold for evangelical Christians and many others.

For some related material, see: http://rethinkinghell.com/acceptable/