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Problems with anthropological physicalism/materialism
"Evangelical conditionalists also differ in terms of what we believe the Bible says about the constitution of human beings, and also about whether people are conscious in the intermediate state between death and resurrection. Some are anthropological physicalists or...
In conditionalism, there is a logical problem with the soul ceasing to exist then being resurrected
Some conditionalists believe that when a person dies, he ceases to exist and is then later resurrected to be judged. But this is a problem. Please consider these quotes from conditionalists, also known as annihilationists. "The first man was created when the dust of...
Fire burns the wicked until they are consumed, then they are annihilated
One of the arguments raised by conditionalists is that when the Scriptures speaks weeping and gnashing of teeth, it is referring to one of two things. The first is where conditionalists have told me that the weeping and gnashing of teeth is what the wicked will...
Eternal fire is not eternal. Instead, God as the source is eternal
One of the weaker arguments proposed by those who hold to annihilation/conditionalism deals with the phrase "eternal fire." Since Jesus speaks of eternal fire, as does Jude, and since people are cast into eternal fire, how does the annihilationist interpret this?...
Edward Fudge’s teaching that when death occurs the soul is deprived of life, leads to heresy
The late Edward William Fudge (d. 2017) was a strong proponent of conditionalism, the idea that upon final judgment, the wicked cease to exist. But he also taught that when the human person dies physically, his soul is deprived of life. This necessarily leads to...
Edward Fudge and eternal salvation, redemption, judgment, destruction, and punishment
This is a quote from Edward Fudge, one of the best-known annihilationists. "We have seen this in regard to eternal salvation (not an eternal act of saving), eternal redemption (not an eternal process of redeeming), eternal judgment (not an eternal act of judging),...
Fudge’s doctrine of punishment then annihilation has a problem
The late Edward Fudge (d. 2017), who many proponents of conditionalism appeal to for support of their position, taught that a person is annihilated after he has suffered for his sins for an appropriate amount of time. But this has a problem. "...when God destroys both...
Edward Fudge says “apollumi’ mostly refers to death. That is misleading
Edward William Fudge is one of the best-known conditionalists. He wrote a book called The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment. It is an in-depth support of annihilationism. Following is a quote from Mr. Fudge that...
If the sinner is punished and satisfies the law, then shouldn’t he go to heaven?
There is a view within conditionalism held by some who maintain that after a person dies without receiving Christ, he undergoes a period of punishment that corresponds to the sins that he committed while on earth. Then, after the required amount of suffering is...
Philosophical challenges to the conditionalist view of eternal punishment being nonexistence
Those who hold to conditional immortality state that God's everlasting punishment is God's act of annihilating the wicked. Is non-existence the same thing as everlasting punishment? Conditionalists cannot logically defend the idea that a person who does not exist is...
Word study on prosopon, presence, face
The Greek word πρόσωπον prósōpon occurs 76 times in the New Testament and is translated into the English (New American Standard Bible) using 18 different words. This is important in the context of annihilationism as the word appears in 2 Thess. 1:9, "These will pay...
Word study on outer darkness
The phrase outer darkness is used only in Matthew 8:12, Matt. 22:13, and Matt. 25:30. There is a possible allusion to the outer darkness found in three other verses: 2 Peter 2:4; 2:17; Jude 6. Outer darkness is the place where the "sons of the kingdom will be cast,"...
Word study on life, zoe
The word ζωή, zoe occurs 135 times in the Greek New Testament. It is used in a singular sense. It is just "life" (John 5:26; Acts 8:33; Rom. 8:38; James 4:14; 1 Pet. 3:10) as well as modifying another word such as eternal life (Matt. 7:14; Mark 9:43; John 3:16), the...
Word study on the Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire is found only in Revelation 19:20; 20:10; 14, 15, 21:8. It is described as burning with brimstone (v. 19:20). The beast, the false prophet, and those who worshipped the image are thrown alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20) along with the devil...
Word study on the phrase ‘in the day’
The phrase 'in the day,' occurs over 80 times in the English Bible (NASB). The phrase under examination is in the singular, not the plural "in the days" since this is a study motivated by the precise phrase spoken of by God in Genesis 2:17 where he declares, "but from...