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BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...ndational scriptures that allegedly demonstrate the 3 key constituents of (1) final separation, (2) unending experience and (3) just retribution, ranging from Isa 66 through to Rev 20. Burk gets off to a shaky start on Isa 66, alleging that it furnishes “explicit support” (21) – yet note his revealingly speculative language: “Though not mentioned specifically in this text, this scene seems to assume that God’s enemies have been given a body fit for an unending punishment.” (23, italics added) Stackhouse wryly exposes this strained argument: “I suggest that it is not ‘the text’ that is doing the assuming here.”12 Sprinkle likewise note...

Kirk Cameron And The Biblical Case For Annihilationism

...Christian conversations about hell have never been especially calm, but the recent online reaction to Kirk Cameron’s comments in favour of annihilationism has been particularly revealing. Social media has erupted with accusations of heresy, doctrinal collapse, and theological compromise.  It’s the “Rob Bell Incident” all over again (if anyone remembers that).  The infamous John Piper tweet about Rob Bell A lot of comments I saw were wondering what Ray Comfort thinks of this, as he and Kirk worked closely together in ministry for about 25 years, and while Ray wasn’t as dismissive as John Piper was of Rob Bell, he still calls out Kirk’s new vi...

Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...ophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation Just as Jesus didn't write anything down, but taught his disciples personally, they also taught people in the same way, mainly orally and in person, and wrote few things down when the occasion presented itself. Their followers then wrote down the things which they learned from the Apostles instead, probably more so as the Church grew and as time went on, to better preserve all they had learnt. If we look at Hebrews, we can see what the basic teaching is considered to be: Hebrews 6:1-2Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again t...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part One)

...I know that "Conditional Immortality" is quite a divisive topic, and one you may have come across before (sometimes referred to as “Annihilationism”); and have been told outright that it’s “heresy” or false, or that it’s an emotional argument people want to believe because it ‘sounds nicer’ than the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). Or maybe you’ve never even heard of this before and you didn’t realise there were alternative interpretations and views on hell. If you are new to this, in brief it means that “the wicked” will be removed from existence after judgement and finite torment, rather than living forever in torment. Any...

A Prayer You Can Hold: A Maker’s Reflection on Beads, scripture and Attention

...Guest Post By Fiach OBroin-Molloy My own roots lie in the Catholic tradition, but my workbench has brought me into contact with Christians whose devotional lives differ from mine. I make Catholic rosaries, Anglican prayer beads and other forms of devotional beads by hand. That work has not taught me that distinctions between traditions do not matter. It has taught me that, beneath those distinctions, many of us know the same difficulty: we want to pray, but our attention is restless. I have travelled, lived and worked in a number of countries, from parts of Africa to countries further east. Again and again, I encountered beads or knotted cords held, counted or...

Biblical Inspiration and the Canon: How We Got the Bible

...The Bible is often described as “God-breathed,” a phrase taken from 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” But what does it mean for scripture to be “inspired,” and how did the books of the Bible come to be recognised as part of the canon — the authoritative collection of writings that make up the Bible? Were they really “decided” at the Council of Nicaea, as some popular myths claim? Table of Contents Understanding Biblical Inspiration What is the Canon? The Septuagint and the Deuterocanonical Books How Were the Books of the Bi...