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What are the Eternal Habitations of the Wicked?
Usually, I think of Matthew as the Gospel with the clearest presentation of Hell. On the other hand, Luke contains at least one surprisingly explicit reference in addition to (and shortly before) the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of…
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Bonus Response to C. Jaye Cox's Annihilationism Arguments
I posted a rebuttal of what I see as CJ’s top seven arguments for annihilationism (link). There’s another argument that didn’t make it to the top seven. The extra argument goes that if the punishment for sin is an eternity in hell, then Hitler is getting the same punishment as the kindest, most outwardly righteous…
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Rebuttals to C. Jay Cox's Seven Arguments for Annihilationism
C. Jay Cox has seven arguments for annihilationism. In the following discussion, I respond to and rebut each of them, in advance of a debate he and I have planned. His points are listed as “CJ” and mine as “TF.” This is not an attempt to replace the debate, but rather, hopefully, to improve the…
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Where are all the ashes?
If Annihilationists were right, one might expect to see the end of the wicked more often equated with non-existence. Of course, not all Annhilationists say that man ceases to exist, sometimes they will say he is reduced to ashes. One nice thing about the ashes argument is that there is a Biblical “ashes” motif that…
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Ignatius an Annhiliationist?
In a recent video, Chris Date (CD) claims that Ignatius of Antioch was an annihilationist (link). CD generally uses the term “conditional immortality” to describe his position. Before getting into a discussion of Ignatius himself, CD includes the bizarre claim that Tatian of Adiabene (c. 120-180) is the “oldest Christian advocate of eternal torment” (30:45…
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What about Apollymi?
Sometimes a person who is an annihilationist will argue as follows (Please note that I’m not endorsing any aspect of this representation except the spelling of the lexical form of the Greek word): 1) The most common description of the fate of the wicked is that are destroyed, using the verb, ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi or apollymi). 2)…
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A Traditionalist Response to John Stott's (and others') Arguments for Annihilationism
The title of this blog post refers to an interesting article by Robert A. Peterson, who was (and I believe still is) professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary. (Here is a link to the article.) The arguments answered include the following: 1. The “Vocabulary of Destruction” Argument2. The Hell-Fire Imagery Argument3. The Justice…
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Annihilationism / "Conditionalism" Debate
I recently debated the topic of Annihilationism in the specific form of “Conditionalism.” The debate can found in two sections (link to first part)(link to second part). Thanks very much to Chris Date (the moderator) as well as to Ronnie (my opponent) for this debate. To God be the Glory!