What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment
Evangelical Christians agree that a dreadful destiny awaits those who reject God’s presence now. According to the traditional majority view, that destiny will involve everlasting conscious torment in hell. However, believers are increasingly questioning the traditional view, finding it unbiblical and inconsistent with God’s own character. This internationally acclaimed book investigates the whole teaching of Scripture on the topic of final punishment, and concludes that hell will involve the irreversible destruction of body and soul, leaving room for whatever degree of conscious torment God justly decrees in any individual case. An Evangelical Book Club Selection.
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 10, 2021
Note, Sept. 10, 2021: I've added an update to this review below, in order to comment specifically on the 3rd edition.
Like most people, I was always taught from childhood on to assume that the Bible teaches the doctrine of conscious eternal torment for the wicked; but as a young adult (I'd become a Christian while in high school), beginning to seriously study the Bible for myself for the first time, I was amazed at how flimsy the actual scriptural case for this position is. Fudge here inductively examines the Biblical teaching on final punishment from Genesis to Revelation to build a convincing case that conditional immortality (i.e., that eternal life is not an inherent attribute of humanity, but a gift of God in Christ) is the doctrine of the scriptures, and that "the wages of sin is death."
Update, Sept. 10, 2021:
Having completed a read of the 2011 3rd edition of this book (which will be the last edition, since the author passed away in 2017) earlier this week, I wanted to update my very brief review of the 1982 first edition to particularly reference this edition. Of course, what's written above on the old edition also applies to this one!
Although bi-vocational Christian pastor Edward Fudge's doctorate was in law rather than Biblical studies (and he was a practicing attorney for over 20 years), he also earned a master's degree in Biblical languages as a young man, before entering the ministry. His convictions on conditional immortality and the final annihilation of the incorrigibly wicked were the fruit of serious Bible study, grounded in solidly evangelical theological convictions and a high view of the authority of Scripture (his denominational background was in the Churches of Christ, an off-shoot of the early 19th-century Restoration Movement). Both this edition and the earlier one (the 2nd edition was actually a slightly abridged British printing of the first one) were written for the serious student, whether in or out of academia. He uses footnotes, which are mostly documentary, and standard scholarly abbreviations (a list is provided), but you don't have to be a college or graduate student in Bible or theology to follow the language –the vocabulary is just that of intelligent and educated persons generally.
The first part of the book is an inductive study of both the Old and New Testament writings, more or less in the canonical order (Paul's epistles are treated chronologically), examining every passage which bears on the subject of final punishment, in its context, and taking the language in its natural meaning. In between the treatment of the two testaments, Fudge also looks inductively at each passage in the Apocrypha and other inter-testamental literature that treats the same subject. His conclusion (with which I agree) is that the Old Testament uniformly presents final punishment as “death,” destruction,” “perish(ing),” “burning up” or images that also express elimination of existence, with no suggestion anywhere of everlasting torture, and that there is no convincing reason to conclude that this language is not to be taken in the normal meaning of the words; that the O.T. does not present a teaching of a disembodied soul as a part of human beings that possesses natural immortality, but rather sees body and soul as parts of a wholistic person; that contrary to the claim of some that the inter-testamental literature demonstrates the rise of a unanimous belief in the eternal torture of the wicked that supposedly became “Jewish orthodoxy” that all first-century Jews should be assumed to have held, it actually demonstrates a diversity of beliefs, with not many clear expressions of the “conscious eternal torment” theory and several of conditionalism; and that the New Testament teaching on the subject rests solidly on the O.T. foundation, uses much of the same language, and expresses the same conviction. It's impossible to summarize every point made in these chapters. An important one, however, is that whereas traditionalist commentators normally dismiss many Old Testament references to the fate of the wicked as pertaining only to death in this life, the actual fact is that in many cases the wicked are NOT punished in this life, and the writers and their readers were well aware of that. The clear implication is that these warnings were understood to be eschatological from the very beginning. Another point, which I did not know until I read this, is that Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man borrows the plot of a Jewish folk tale that has at least seven other versions in Jewish literature; this (to my mind, at least) underlines the reality that its meaning in context has nothing to do with literal teaching about the afterlife, and would not have been taken by the hearers as literal. Fudge also points out that, like references to “eternal salvation” and “eternal redemption” etc., the lexical meaning of “eternal punishment” is punishment which is eternal in its effects, not that the action of effecting it is itself eternal.
In the following chapters, the writings of Christians throughout church history are examined, to explore the development of ideas on final punishment. There is no clear statement of the “conscious eternal torment" theory anywhere in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers or of the early apologists. Their language on the subject tends to be drawn strictly from the Bible, so any expression of the theory has to be read into the text from the presuppositions of the reader, as with the original biblical language. Justin Martyr seems to clearly express conditionalism in his statement that in the last judgment “the wicked angels and demons and men shall cease to exist;” as does Irenaus (the wicked “will be deprived of continuance for ever and ever,” etc.). The earliest clear and explicit exposition of the idea of eternal torture comes from Tertullian early in the third century; this would be taken up by Augustine in the early fifth century, and his prolific writing, eloquence and ecclesiastical influence gained it the status of the majority and “orthodox” view. (But in the intervening years, Origen and Gregory of Nyassa argued for universalism, the idea that the torments of hell would be purgative and ultimately lead everybody to salvation –Fudge's treatment, and critique, of this view is new in this edition-- and Arnobius of Sicca clearly argued for conditionalism.) Both Tertullian and Augustine were heavily influenced by, and explicitly cite, Plato's teachings about the immortality of the soul (though they modify it by admitting that souls are created by God rather than co-eternal with Him, and that He could destroy a soul if He wanted to).
The medieval Church did not significantly question Augustine in this area, with Anselm and Aquinas essentially simply building on his arguments. At the time of the Reformation, Luther expressed belief in “soul sleep” in his early writings, as did Tyndale; he also believed the eternal torments of hell were spiritual and psychological rather than physical (a belief some traditionalists also have advocated since then, and still do today). Some Anabaptists apparently did revive the conditionalist doctrine (though from my knowledge of Anabapist writings and doctrinal statements, I can say that the great majority were traditionalists on this point). Calvin, who was violently hostile to the Anabaptists, successfully associated conditionalism with them in his polemical, pro-traditionalist writings on the subject, and his great influence established the Tertullian-Augustine position as “orthodoxy” for the magisterial Reformers as much as for their Catholic opponents. Nonetheless, Christian voices continued to be raised in support of conditionalism through the ensuing centuries. (Both John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton were conditionalists, for instance; and though William Miller was a traditionalist on this point, other leaders of the 19th-century Adventist movement were conditionalists, and the various denominations that grew out of the movement adopted conditionalism as their official teaching.) Fudge recounts all of this history, concluding with the burgeoning resurgence of conditionalist thought among evangelicals beginning in the late 20th century.
Both in the biblical and the historical chapters, Fudge interacts irenically, thoughtfully and convincingly with the arguments of traditionalist writers, both those who preceded him and those who wrote responses to the first edition of his book in the intervening years. IMO, this book will probably rank as the definitive treatment of the conditionalist position for a long time to come.
Besides having indexes of all references to other authors and of all references to biblical and other ancient writings, this edition comes with an updated, nearly 15-page exhaustive bibliography of about every significant Christian writing on final punishment from Augustine down to the present century. The scope of Fudge's erudition on this particular subject is amazing.
Like most people, I was always taught from childhood on to assume that the Bible teaches the doctrine of conscious eternal torment for the wicked; but as a young adult (I'd become a Christian while in high school), beginning to seriously study the Bible for myself for the first time, I was amazed at how flimsy the actual scriptural case for this position is. Fudge here inductively examines the Biblical teaching on final punishment from Genesis to Revelation to build a convincing case that conditional immortality (i.e., that eternal life is not an inherent attribute of humanity, but a gift of God in Christ) is the doctrine of the scriptures, and that "the wages of sin is death."
Update, Sept. 10, 2021:
Having completed a read of the 2011 3rd edition of this book (which will be the last edition, since the author passed away in 2017) earlier this week, I wanted to update my very brief review of the 1982 first edition to particularly reference this edition. Of course, what's written above on the old edition also applies to this one!
Although bi-vocational Christian pastor Edward Fudge's doctorate was in law rather than Biblical studies (and he was a practicing attorney for over 20 years), he also earned a master's degree in Biblical languages as a young man, before entering the ministry. His convictions on conditional immortality and the final annihilation of the incorrigibly wicked were the fruit of serious Bible study, grounded in solidly evangelical theological convictions and a high view of the authority of Scripture (his denominational background was in the Churches of Christ, an off-shoot of the early 19th-century Restoration Movement). Both this edition and the earlier one (the 2nd edition was actually a slightly abridged British printing of the first one) were written for the serious student, whether in or out of academia. He uses footnotes, which are mostly documentary, and standard scholarly abbreviations (a list is provided), but you don't have to be a college or graduate student in Bible or theology to follow the language –the vocabulary is just that of intelligent and educated persons generally.
The first part of the book is an inductive study of both the Old and New Testament writings, more or less in the canonical order (Paul's epistles are treated chronologically), examining every passage which bears on the subject of final punishment, in its context, and taking the language in its natural meaning. In between the treatment of the two testaments, Fudge also looks inductively at each passage in the Apocrypha and other inter-testamental literature that treats the same subject. His conclusion (with which I agree) is that the Old Testament uniformly presents final punishment as “death,” destruction,” “perish(ing),” “burning up” or images that also express elimination of existence, with no suggestion anywhere of everlasting torture, and that there is no convincing reason to conclude that this language is not to be taken in the normal meaning of the words; that the O.T. does not present a teaching of a disembodied soul as a part of human beings that possesses natural immortality, but rather sees body and soul as parts of a wholistic person; that contrary to the claim of some that the inter-testamental literature demonstrates the rise of a unanimous belief in the eternal torture of the wicked that supposedly became “Jewish orthodoxy” that all first-century Jews should be assumed to have held, it actually demonstrates a diversity of beliefs, with not many clear expressions of the “conscious eternal torment” theory and several of conditionalism; and that the New Testament teaching on the subject rests solidly on the O.T. foundation, uses much of the same language, and expresses the same conviction. It's impossible to summarize every point made in these chapters. An important one, however, is that whereas traditionalist commentators normally dismiss many Old Testament references to the fate of the wicked as pertaining only to death in this life, the actual fact is that in many cases the wicked are NOT punished in this life, and the writers and their readers were well aware of that. The clear implication is that these warnings were understood to be eschatological from the very beginning. Another point, which I did not know until I read this, is that Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man borrows the plot of a Jewish folk tale that has at least seven other versions in Jewish literature; this (to my mind, at least) underlines the reality that its meaning in context has nothing to do with literal teaching about the afterlife, and would not have been taken by the hearers as literal. Fudge also points out that, like references to “eternal salvation” and “eternal redemption” etc., the lexical meaning of “eternal punishment” is punishment which is eternal in its effects, not that the action of effecting it is itself eternal.
In the following chapters, the writings of Christians throughout church history are examined, to explore the development of ideas on final punishment. There is no clear statement of the “conscious eternal torment" theory anywhere in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers or of the early apologists. Their language on the subject tends to be drawn strictly from the Bible, so any expression of the theory has to be read into the text from the presuppositions of the reader, as with the original biblical language. Justin Martyr seems to clearly express conditionalism in his statement that in the last judgment “the wicked angels and demons and men shall cease to exist;” as does Irenaus (the wicked “will be deprived of continuance for ever and ever,” etc.). The earliest clear and explicit exposition of the idea of eternal torture comes from Tertullian early in the third century; this would be taken up by Augustine in the early fifth century, and his prolific writing, eloquence and ecclesiastical influence gained it the status of the majority and “orthodox” view. (But in the intervening years, Origen and Gregory of Nyassa argued for universalism, the idea that the torments of hell would be purgative and ultimately lead everybody to salvation –Fudge's treatment, and critique, of this view is new in this edition-- and Arnobius of Sicca clearly argued for conditionalism.) Both Tertullian and Augustine were heavily influenced by, and explicitly cite, Plato's teachings about the immortality of the soul (though they modify it by admitting that souls are created by God rather than co-eternal with Him, and that He could destroy a soul if He wanted to).
The medieval Church did not significantly question Augustine in this area, with Anselm and Aquinas essentially simply building on his arguments. At the time of the Reformation, Luther expressed belief in “soul sleep” in his early writings, as did Tyndale; he also believed the eternal torments of hell were spiritual and psychological rather than physical (a belief some traditionalists also have advocated since then, and still do today). Some Anabaptists apparently did revive the conditionalist doctrine (though from my knowledge of Anabapist writings and doctrinal statements, I can say that the great majority were traditionalists on this point). Calvin, who was violently hostile to the Anabaptists, successfully associated conditionalism with them in his polemical, pro-traditionalist writings on the subject, and his great influence established the Tertullian-Augustine position as “orthodoxy” for the magisterial Reformers as much as for their Catholic opponents. Nonetheless, Christian voices continued to be raised in support of conditionalism through the ensuing centuries. (Both John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton were conditionalists, for instance; and though William Miller was a traditionalist on this point, other leaders of the 19th-century Adventist movement were conditionalists, and the various denominations that grew out of the movement adopted conditionalism as their official teaching.) Fudge recounts all of this history, concluding with the burgeoning resurgence of conditionalist thought among evangelicals beginning in the late 20th century.
Both in the biblical and the historical chapters, Fudge interacts irenically, thoughtfully and convincingly with the arguments of traditionalist writers, both those who preceded him and those who wrote responses to the first edition of his book in the intervening years. IMO, this book will probably rank as the definitive treatment of the conditionalist position for a long time to come.
Besides having indexes of all references to other authors and of all references to biblical and other ancient writings, this edition comes with an updated, nearly 15-page exhaustive bibliography of about every significant Christian writing on final punishment from Augustine down to the present century. The scope of Fudge's erudition on this particular subject is amazing.
February 16, 2017
Growing up in American evangelical Christianity there were a few things that were a given, one of them was belief in hell as eternal conscious torment. Those who do not believe in Jesus, which does not just include atheists and those of other religions, but those whose belief is not sincere enough, were looking at an endless experience of torture. This was the punishment given by a loving God to those who, for whatever reason, make the wrong choice.
Most who grow up in such churches eventually become uneasy with such a doctrine. How could a loving God do something that none of us could conceive of doing to our worst enemy? What is loving about endless torture? But we swallow our questions because we do not want to appear to question accepted truth, such questions may indicate our own hellish destination.
Yet the doctrine of eternal conscious torment has come under question in recent decades. Some adherents to the traditional view say such questions are a result of people who do not believe the Bible, people who have allowed the culture to seduce them. The truth is that when the evidence of scripture is weighed, it is the traditional view of eternal torment that is found wanting. Edward Fudge's book is one of the most detailed and comprehensive studies of scripture on the subject of hell. He looks at the subject in all of scripture and finds that the Bible teaches the destruction of the wicked. This destruction is just that: death, destruction, perishing. It is not a "destruction" that leaves one endlessly alive and in pain. The only way to get to the traditional view is to take the 1-2 verses that actually may support it, allow them to dictate our reading of the rest of scripture and add in a dose of Platonic philosophy (which gives us a soul inherently immortal).
Fudge goes even farther by giving a brief tour of church history, showing how the traditional view began, won the day and became the view of the majority of Christians. He also shows the many, and growing, instances of Christians who question this traditional view, not out of some wishy-washy desire to appease culture, but out of a desire to truly and fairly represent the Biblical teaching of who God is.
This is a must read for any and all who desire to know what the Bible teaches on hell. Though I should note, Fudge has recently released a shorter book (Hell: A Final Word) that may be easier to read.
Most who grow up in such churches eventually become uneasy with such a doctrine. How could a loving God do something that none of us could conceive of doing to our worst enemy? What is loving about endless torture? But we swallow our questions because we do not want to appear to question accepted truth, such questions may indicate our own hellish destination.
Yet the doctrine of eternal conscious torment has come under question in recent decades. Some adherents to the traditional view say such questions are a result of people who do not believe the Bible, people who have allowed the culture to seduce them. The truth is that when the evidence of scripture is weighed, it is the traditional view of eternal torment that is found wanting. Edward Fudge's book is one of the most detailed and comprehensive studies of scripture on the subject of hell. He looks at the subject in all of scripture and finds that the Bible teaches the destruction of the wicked. This destruction is just that: death, destruction, perishing. It is not a "destruction" that leaves one endlessly alive and in pain. The only way to get to the traditional view is to take the 1-2 verses that actually may support it, allow them to dictate our reading of the rest of scripture and add in a dose of Platonic philosophy (which gives us a soul inherently immortal).
Fudge goes even farther by giving a brief tour of church history, showing how the traditional view began, won the day and became the view of the majority of Christians. He also shows the many, and growing, instances of Christians who question this traditional view, not out of some wishy-washy desire to appease culture, but out of a desire to truly and fairly represent the Biblical teaching of who God is.
This is a must read for any and all who desire to know what the Bible teaches on hell. Though I should note, Fudge has recently released a shorter book (Hell: A Final Word) that may be easier to read.
March 7, 2019
Edward William Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes (3rded.) makes an exhaustive—and occasionally exhausting—biblical and historical case for a conditionalist understanding of hell. Traditionalism teaches that “God will make the wicked immortal, to suffer unending conscious torment in hell.” By contrast, conditionalism teaches that “the wicked will finally and truly die, perish, and become extinct forever, through a destructive process that encompasses whatever degree and duration of conscious torment God might sovereign and just impose in each case.” According to Fudge, the duration of hell’s torments is the only issue that divides the two camps.
The biblical component of Fudge’s case occupies the first 23 chapters of the book, in which Fudge surveys passages from the Old Testament, intertestamental literature, and New Testament that bear on his argument. The historical component occupies the next 11 chapters, starting with the Apostolic Fathers and ending with late-twentieth century conditionalists. Chapter 35 summarizes the argument of the entire book, and chapter 36 offers several brief thoughts about how the debate should be conducted going forward.
Though summarizing a nearly 400-page book is a hazardous endeavor, it seems to me that Fudge’s cumulative case makes the following basic points:
1. The Bible is the final authority to settle theological debates about hell.
2. The Bible promises “eternal life” and “immortality” to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
3. By contrast, the Bible portrays the fate of the wicked as “destruction” and “death.” Since the Bible does not teach that the wicked have “eternal life,” the images of destruction and death are best understood as “extinction forever.” This coheres with the image of “fire” often used to describe hell, for fire consumes what it burns.
4. Applied to the fate of the wicked, the adjective “eternal” points not to an everlasting process of being punished, as traditionalists argue, but to the everlasting result of a terminal process of punishment.
5. Though church history is not the final authority in the debate over hell, it does indicate that conditionalism was a widespread view among church fathers prior to Augustine. Since Augustine, traditionalism has been the majority position.
6. At the present time, conditionalism is gaining adherents among evangelical theologians. Even traditionalists argue that many of the conditionalists—Fudge himself, John Stott, John Wenham, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, and the like—are otherwise evangelicals in good standing. In other words, the issue at stake in the debate is not biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement, or other first-level Christian doctrine, but rather a second-level doctrine, namely, how long hell endures.
The bulk of Fudge’s book centers on points 2 and 3 above, which can be summarized quickly but takes a long time to document.
Whether or not one agrees with Fudge, The Fire That Consumes is essential reading for anyone interested in a biblical doctrine of hell. This is admitted by traditionalists themselves, who often take Fudge’s writings as the point of departure in their critiques of conditionalism. For the traditionalist view, I would recommend the multi-author Hell Under Fire, edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. It interacts with an earlier edition of Fudge’s book, and Fudge’s third edition replies in turn to its critiques.
Book Reviewed
Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3rd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011).
P.S. If you found this review helpful, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
The biblical component of Fudge’s case occupies the first 23 chapters of the book, in which Fudge surveys passages from the Old Testament, intertestamental literature, and New Testament that bear on his argument. The historical component occupies the next 11 chapters, starting with the Apostolic Fathers and ending with late-twentieth century conditionalists. Chapter 35 summarizes the argument of the entire book, and chapter 36 offers several brief thoughts about how the debate should be conducted going forward.
Though summarizing a nearly 400-page book is a hazardous endeavor, it seems to me that Fudge’s cumulative case makes the following basic points:
1. The Bible is the final authority to settle theological debates about hell.
2. The Bible promises “eternal life” and “immortality” to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
3. By contrast, the Bible portrays the fate of the wicked as “destruction” and “death.” Since the Bible does not teach that the wicked have “eternal life,” the images of destruction and death are best understood as “extinction forever.” This coheres with the image of “fire” often used to describe hell, for fire consumes what it burns.
4. Applied to the fate of the wicked, the adjective “eternal” points not to an everlasting process of being punished, as traditionalists argue, but to the everlasting result of a terminal process of punishment.
5. Though church history is not the final authority in the debate over hell, it does indicate that conditionalism was a widespread view among church fathers prior to Augustine. Since Augustine, traditionalism has been the majority position.
6. At the present time, conditionalism is gaining adherents among evangelical theologians. Even traditionalists argue that many of the conditionalists—Fudge himself, John Stott, John Wenham, Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, and the like—are otherwise evangelicals in good standing. In other words, the issue at stake in the debate is not biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, Incarnation, Atonement, or other first-level Christian doctrine, but rather a second-level doctrine, namely, how long hell endures.
The bulk of Fudge’s book centers on points 2 and 3 above, which can be summarized quickly but takes a long time to document.
Whether or not one agrees with Fudge, The Fire That Consumes is essential reading for anyone interested in a biblical doctrine of hell. This is admitted by traditionalists themselves, who often take Fudge’s writings as the point of departure in their critiques of conditionalism. For the traditionalist view, I would recommend the multi-author Hell Under Fire, edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. It interacts with an earlier edition of Fudge’s book, and Fudge’s third edition replies in turn to its critiques.
Book Reviewed
Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3rd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011).
P.S. If you found this review helpful, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
September 26, 2010
I have discussed, read and heard from people on this topic at time in the past ten years, but finally decided to jump into a very detailed study of the issue of final punishment from a more annihilationist position. Having been raised in a typical traditional view of hell as conscious torment, I was intrigued to see what the "other side" had to say. I found this book to be very, VERY thorough, and very enlightening. I am not sure how much more could be say, but in nearly 500 pages, Fudge covers an incredible amount of ground.
He has whole sections that almost exhaustively cover every scripture and aspect on the topic of final punishment; starting in the Old Testament, then traveling through the Apocryphal period, the Pseudopigraphal writings, the New Testament, the Apostolic Fathers, the early church fathers, the medieval period, and into the Reformation period. He leaves almost no stone unturned as he examines the views throughout history.
At the end of the journey you begin to see how the traditional view came to be, the main culprits in its formation, and how we got to where we are today. Many questions get raised, many get answered, and at the end of the day, you have to ponder and examine what you believe in light of it all. I would have to say, the traditional "eternal conscious torment" view takes a lot of damage in the process, but that is obviously what the author intended.
The approach does not always come across as biased against the traditional view. He presents many angles and presuppositions from all angles, making the book very balanced in my opinion. But as intended, at the end of the day, the traditional view doesn't fair very well. A thoroughly convincing book? Maybe, maybe not. A very probing and challenging look? Very much so.
I enjoyed the sections dealing with universalism, that was also enlightening to see the history of that view, as well as the historical refutations of it.
My only real complaint was where his own eschatological positions took him in certain areas. His dealing with Gehenna and more obvious literal national judgment verses in the NT teachings of Jesus get confused with future judgment and their timing and nearness context get lost and misapplied. I have heard many modern messages say Jesus speaks more of hell than of heaven; and technically this is not true. Jesus spoke more of judgment yes, but the modern translation of Gehenna to hell (hell as in what most would consider the lake of fire) confuses the issue of Jesus' words of coming fiery near judgment coming upon the apostate nation of Israel. Jesus spoke more of coming judgment against the nation in his time, and not so much of final punishment after death. This is a common confusion, and it permeates this book. It doesn't negate his position, but can be frustrating and could have benefited his position if he categorized these verses correctly. This is probably heightened for me since I only recently finished reading A New Vision for Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context and other works of eschatological and cultural significance.
Aside from that slight misapplication of some verses, the book still has much to offer, much to challenge the traditional view, and much that must be dealt with in time.
He has whole sections that almost exhaustively cover every scripture and aspect on the topic of final punishment; starting in the Old Testament, then traveling through the Apocryphal period, the Pseudopigraphal writings, the New Testament, the Apostolic Fathers, the early church fathers, the medieval period, and into the Reformation period. He leaves almost no stone unturned as he examines the views throughout history.
At the end of the journey you begin to see how the traditional view came to be, the main culprits in its formation, and how we got to where we are today. Many questions get raised, many get answered, and at the end of the day, you have to ponder and examine what you believe in light of it all. I would have to say, the traditional "eternal conscious torment" view takes a lot of damage in the process, but that is obviously what the author intended.
The approach does not always come across as biased against the traditional view. He presents many angles and presuppositions from all angles, making the book very balanced in my opinion. But as intended, at the end of the day, the traditional view doesn't fair very well. A thoroughly convincing book? Maybe, maybe not. A very probing and challenging look? Very much so.
I enjoyed the sections dealing with universalism, that was also enlightening to see the history of that view, as well as the historical refutations of it.
My only real complaint was where his own eschatological positions took him in certain areas. His dealing with Gehenna and more obvious literal national judgment verses in the NT teachings of Jesus get confused with future judgment and their timing and nearness context get lost and misapplied. I have heard many modern messages say Jesus speaks more of hell than of heaven; and technically this is not true. Jesus spoke more of judgment yes, but the modern translation of Gehenna to hell (hell as in what most would consider the lake of fire) confuses the issue of Jesus' words of coming fiery near judgment coming upon the apostate nation of Israel. Jesus spoke more of coming judgment against the nation in his time, and not so much of final punishment after death. This is a common confusion, and it permeates this book. It doesn't negate his position, but can be frustrating and could have benefited his position if he categorized these verses correctly. This is probably heightened for me since I only recently finished reading A New Vision for Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context and other works of eschatological and cultural significance.
Aside from that slight misapplication of some verses, the book still has much to offer, much to challenge the traditional view, and much that must be dealt with in time.
January 22, 2017
Regardless of where one is with his or her doctrine of hell, The library of any serious theologian and student of the Bible should contain Edward Fudge’s The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment (Third Edition). Originally published in 1982 after being commissioned to study and publish what the Bible says about hell and final punishment, The Fire That Consumes presents Fudge's findings and convictions about annihilationism and conditional immortality (conditionalism) over and against the prevailing “traditional” view of unending conscious torment and the increasingly popular view of universalism. The second edition was an edited and abridged version published in the UK in 1994, but this “fully updated, revised, and expanded edition” was published in 2011 after decades of conversation and debate.
Fully addressing Scripture, the Apocrypha, many extant historical texts, and notable philosophers and theologians throughout history, Fudge evaluates and refutes the traditional view of hell, noting its origins lie not in Scripture but in an accepted assumption of Plato’s view of the inherently immortal soul. Promulgated by Tertullian, Augustine, and Calvin, each presuming the arguments of the former (again, going back to Plato), hell as a place of unending conscious torment has been squarely and unquestionably set in both Catholic and Protestant traditions. Fudge rightly considers Scripture first, noting no mention of an inherent immortal soul therein. To the contrary, “death” and “destruction” await the enemies of God and “eternal life” (immortality) is a “gift” to those with God. While fully articulating the argument that the Bible presents hell as a place of all-consuming fire (total destruction or annihilation) rather than a place of a purgation or never-ending conscious torment, Fudge finds it unnecessary to dwell on specific durations, levels, and severities of punishment beyond what is made known in Scripture, seeing that those paths necessarily revel in speculation.
Fudge writes with a pastoral and humble heart not often found in this kind of literature. While disagreeing and arguing against theologians both past and present, he will often recognize one’s heart for God and positive contributions when pointing out foundational, logical, and theological flaws. After the arduous journey that has brought him to this point (more about this in Hell: A Final Word and the movie “Hell and Mr. Fudge”), it is encouraging to see the continued grace and mercy Fudge extends to attackers who place him and his position, as well as those in agreement therewith, in the heretical sandbox, as if on par with denying the resurrection or divinity of Jesus. God bless Fudge and his persistence.
Not too many years ago I found myself questioning my tradition when I found no mention in Scripture of the kind of hell passed on to me; rather, I found over and over the utter destruction of God’s enemies. I felt as though I had experienced a complete paradigm shift in reality. Over thirty years of learning, preaching, and teaching that hell is a place of unimaginable pain and suffering that never ever ends doesn’t easily lend itself to an overnight shift in belief; but there I was, confronted with Scripture countering my previously held beliefs about hell and the character of God in both, his love and justice. So, I found myself with a soft conclusion of hell being the eventual total destruction of God’s enemies while remaining open to a reasonable argument for everlasting torment, should there be one. It wasn’t until I reviewed a copy of Hell: A Final Word that I discovered Fudge, already established terms for my newfound position, and that this position isn’t new at all. Further study of Scripture convinced me of annihilationism and conditionalism, but The Fire That Consumes has certainly solidified it for me. Perhaps it will for you, too.
I understand the controversial nature of this material for many, and I pray it and those who discuss such things are approached with grace, a heart for God and his truth, and love for one’s neighbor. For those who wish to comment or respond to this post in any manner with something akin to “but what about what Bible passage X and theologian Y?” I encourage you to get the book and check for yourself. I imagine your questions will be answered well. This is a book review, not a fully articulated argument for the case of annihilationism and conditionalism—that’s what the book is for.
Fully addressing Scripture, the Apocrypha, many extant historical texts, and notable philosophers and theologians throughout history, Fudge evaluates and refutes the traditional view of hell, noting its origins lie not in Scripture but in an accepted assumption of Plato’s view of the inherently immortal soul. Promulgated by Tertullian, Augustine, and Calvin, each presuming the arguments of the former (again, going back to Plato), hell as a place of unending conscious torment has been squarely and unquestionably set in both Catholic and Protestant traditions. Fudge rightly considers Scripture first, noting no mention of an inherent immortal soul therein. To the contrary, “death” and “destruction” await the enemies of God and “eternal life” (immortality) is a “gift” to those with God. While fully articulating the argument that the Bible presents hell as a place of all-consuming fire (total destruction or annihilation) rather than a place of a purgation or never-ending conscious torment, Fudge finds it unnecessary to dwell on specific durations, levels, and severities of punishment beyond what is made known in Scripture, seeing that those paths necessarily revel in speculation.
Fudge writes with a pastoral and humble heart not often found in this kind of literature. While disagreeing and arguing against theologians both past and present, he will often recognize one’s heart for God and positive contributions when pointing out foundational, logical, and theological flaws. After the arduous journey that has brought him to this point (more about this in Hell: A Final Word and the movie “Hell and Mr. Fudge”), it is encouraging to see the continued grace and mercy Fudge extends to attackers who place him and his position, as well as those in agreement therewith, in the heretical sandbox, as if on par with denying the resurrection or divinity of Jesus. God bless Fudge and his persistence.
Not too many years ago I found myself questioning my tradition when I found no mention in Scripture of the kind of hell passed on to me; rather, I found over and over the utter destruction of God’s enemies. I felt as though I had experienced a complete paradigm shift in reality. Over thirty years of learning, preaching, and teaching that hell is a place of unimaginable pain and suffering that never ever ends doesn’t easily lend itself to an overnight shift in belief; but there I was, confronted with Scripture countering my previously held beliefs about hell and the character of God in both, his love and justice. So, I found myself with a soft conclusion of hell being the eventual total destruction of God’s enemies while remaining open to a reasonable argument for everlasting torment, should there be one. It wasn’t until I reviewed a copy of Hell: A Final Word that I discovered Fudge, already established terms for my newfound position, and that this position isn’t new at all. Further study of Scripture convinced me of annihilationism and conditionalism, but The Fire That Consumes has certainly solidified it for me. Perhaps it will for you, too.
I understand the controversial nature of this material for many, and I pray it and those who discuss such things are approached with grace, a heart for God and his truth, and love for one’s neighbor. For those who wish to comment or respond to this post in any manner with something akin to “but what about what Bible passage X and theologian Y?” I encourage you to get the book and check for yourself. I imagine your questions will be answered well. This is a book review, not a fully articulated argument for the case of annihilationism and conditionalism—that’s what the book is for.
August 2, 2022
This is widely regarded as the standard work on annihilationism or conditional immortality, and it lives up to that label. Fudge presents a comprehensive, thorough and frustratingly compelling case for this view of hell, which he would argue is the view of Jesus and the apostles (and the rest of the Bible for that matter). Though I’m not sure I ultimately land thoroughly in his camp, it isn’t because Fudge’s case is bad. It’s very good. And it even answers some of the philosophical/moral objections to the doctrine of hell. But there are still some that remain that are not answered satisfactorily (in my view). But it certainly does a much better job than the traditional view.
I think perhaps the biggest hole in Fudge’s view (that he claims is not a hole) is the idea of degrees of punishment. Fudge affirms degrees of punishment and claims that conditional immortality allows for conscious punishment to whatever extent God deems just before the wicked is ultimately annihilated (aka, God destroys both body and soul, as Jesus said). However, if the ultimate end is annihilation, then any punishment before that ultimate end is pointless, and it is simply overpowered by the vast end punishment. Logically, someone who gets a slap on the wrist before being killed is no different than someone who is burned at the stake, because the extreme finality of death is the ultimate punishment (overshadowing any other punishments), and that punishment is the same for all parties. A death sentence is no less severe because it didn’t also include twenty years in prison. It’s a problem of infinities, because we are dealing with eternity, and from the long view of endless ages, all punishment then becomes equal and the “degrees of punishment” just before extermination pointless. Of course, the traditional view does no better of a job dealing with this, because if you are tortured for literal eternity, all punishment is the same, because all punishment is infinite. Not to mention the other logical/moral problems with the traditional view, but that’s for another time and place.
I think perhaps the biggest hole in Fudge’s view (that he claims is not a hole) is the idea of degrees of punishment. Fudge affirms degrees of punishment and claims that conditional immortality allows for conscious punishment to whatever extent God deems just before the wicked is ultimately annihilated (aka, God destroys both body and soul, as Jesus said). However, if the ultimate end is annihilation, then any punishment before that ultimate end is pointless, and it is simply overpowered by the vast end punishment. Logically, someone who gets a slap on the wrist before being killed is no different than someone who is burned at the stake, because the extreme finality of death is the ultimate punishment (overshadowing any other punishments), and that punishment is the same for all parties. A death sentence is no less severe because it didn’t also include twenty years in prison. It’s a problem of infinities, because we are dealing with eternity, and from the long view of endless ages, all punishment then becomes equal and the “degrees of punishment” just before extermination pointless. Of course, the traditional view does no better of a job dealing with this, because if you are tortured for literal eternity, all punishment is the same, because all punishment is infinite. Not to mention the other logical/moral problems with the traditional view, but that’s for another time and place.
January 30, 2022
I can’t help but compare this book to That All Shall Be Saved, the only other major treatment of hell that I’ve read (that one universalist and this one annihilationist). And in many ways, I have had an opposite experience with this one.
Despite my awarding That All Shall Be Saved five stars, I did not find his arguments particularly convincing - as disconnected from scripture as they were. However, he was a clever and gifted writer so I enjoyed the book from beginning to end.
The Fire That Consumes, however, is the polar opposite. Fudge has a background as a lawyer. As a result, his writing style is very thorough, but clunky and frankly a slog to read for the majority of the book. However, by giving us a complete overview of the scriptures on the topic and providing commentary on every single one, his scriptural argument is very convincing.
The book would have been greatly helped by the more artful use of an appendix or two. Fudge admits that many of the scriptures boil down to the same thing as others he’s covered earlier in the book. For readability, it would have been helpful to make your argument using a few key scriptures and provide a list of scriptures that further echo those themes.
I also wish that he had spent more time than he did on the Lake of Fire passage considering it’s one of, if not the, formative scripture for most evangelicals when it comes to hell. Don’t get me wrong, he’s convincing enough in his argument: that it’s a single picture that has been used to interpret the larger scope of scripture to fit its own idiosyncratic mold rather than allowing the vast breadth of scripture (which supports conditional immortality) interpret this single idiosyncratic picture. However, I would have loved to hear Fudge riff more on what purpose the image serves within the book of Revelation.
But these are small things. This book is utterly convincing in its arguments. As a history teacher, I particularly enjoyed Fudge’s exploration of the development of the theology of hell in the latter half of the book.
Has this book made me an annihilationist? The best answer is probably. It’s hard to change your mind on something that’s been taught to you for as long as you can remember. Before I make the jump, though, I think I need to read a defense of the traditionalist side. It only seems fair, after all.
Despite my awarding That All Shall Be Saved five stars, I did not find his arguments particularly convincing - as disconnected from scripture as they were. However, he was a clever and gifted writer so I enjoyed the book from beginning to end.
The Fire That Consumes, however, is the polar opposite. Fudge has a background as a lawyer. As a result, his writing style is very thorough, but clunky and frankly a slog to read for the majority of the book. However, by giving us a complete overview of the scriptures on the topic and providing commentary on every single one, his scriptural argument is very convincing.
The book would have been greatly helped by the more artful use of an appendix or two. Fudge admits that many of the scriptures boil down to the same thing as others he’s covered earlier in the book. For readability, it would have been helpful to make your argument using a few key scriptures and provide a list of scriptures that further echo those themes.
I also wish that he had spent more time than he did on the Lake of Fire passage considering it’s one of, if not the, formative scripture for most evangelicals when it comes to hell. Don’t get me wrong, he’s convincing enough in his argument: that it’s a single picture that has been used to interpret the larger scope of scripture to fit its own idiosyncratic mold rather than allowing the vast breadth of scripture (which supports conditional immortality) interpret this single idiosyncratic picture. However, I would have loved to hear Fudge riff more on what purpose the image serves within the book of Revelation.
But these are small things. This book is utterly convincing in its arguments. As a history teacher, I particularly enjoyed Fudge’s exploration of the development of the theology of hell in the latter half of the book.
Has this book made me an annihilationist? The best answer is probably. It’s hard to change your mind on something that’s been taught to you for as long as you can remember. Before I make the jump, though, I think I need to read a defense of the traditionalist side. It only seems fair, after all.
August 8, 2023
This has some good thoughts in it. I confess that I mostly skimmed it, except for the chapter on apokatastasis, which merited three book darts, and for the paragraphs emphasizing the grievousness of eternal conscious torment.
I'm probably not Fudge's primary audience, but even then, I found this book readable, sometimes witty, often thoughtful, and mostly compassionate. I would rather people listen to Edward Fudge than Mark Driscoll on the subject of hell, that's for sure.
George MacDonald wrote that "Good souls many will one day be horrified at the things they now believe of God...They can make little progress in the knowledge of God, while...holding evil things true of Him." George MacDonald's view of hell is perhaps more fearsome than Edward Fudge's, but as a believer in final restoration, his view of God is far and away more awesome.
I'm probably not Fudge's primary audience, but even then, I found this book readable, sometimes witty, often thoughtful, and mostly compassionate. I would rather people listen to Edward Fudge than Mark Driscoll on the subject of hell, that's for sure.
George MacDonald wrote that "Good souls many will one day be horrified at the things they now believe of God...They can make little progress in the knowledge of God, while...holding evil things true of Him." George MacDonald's view of hell is perhaps more fearsome than Edward Fudge's, but as a believer in final restoration, his view of God is far and away more awesome.
April 24, 2023
A wonderful book with a strong argument for the conditionalist view of hell. Don’t be surprised if you leave this book fully convinced that the traditional view of hell (eternal conscious torment) is lacking in biblical evidence that you thought was there before. I did.
August 13, 2021
Good overall. “Rethinking Hell”, I thought had better and more developed arguments.
January 1, 2020
Overall, I think this book is a good and helpful resource for anyone who wants to enter the discussion of the various Christian views on hell. If you are interested in understanding different views on hell, specifically Conditional Immortality (sometimes called Annihilationism), you should probably read it. It gives a solid defense of the Conditional Immortality view over and against the more traditional Eternal Conscious Punishment view. In this book Fudge addresses a great deal of material, both in Scripture and outside of it. Contemporaneous with Scripture and after. He addresses many (if not all) the objections of Traditionalism and engages with specific examples of these objections. I think Fudge does a great job (for the most apart) addressing the objections leveled against Conditional Immortality and often times showing how such (often times, popular) objections hold very little weight.
Furthermore, he provides a great deal of other resources and it is clear that a lot of hard work and research went into this project. Fudge, very helpfully, provides examples of Conditionalists (of one flavor or another) from Biblical times onwards and traces the discussion on final punishment from both Conditionalist and Traditionalist sides. I found the many examples of modern theologians who accept this view particularly helpful and encouraging.
The tone of this work is exemplary. Fudge does a great job modeling what our attitude should be towards those we disagree with on this issue. Though he stumbles in a few instances, by and large he does his best to truly understand his opponents, give them the benefit of the doubt, attempts to understand how their surrounding context may influence them and doesn't fault them for their conclusions, and constantly reaffirms brotherhood in Christ with them. It is so easy to get fired up about this discussion, to get so emotionally invested that we forget the warnings and admonitions in Scripture of disagreeing with grace and love. Brother Fudge does a phenomenal job of reminding us to take care how we talk about this important topic.
That said, the book is not without its faults. I struggled in deciding whether to give this book 4 stars or 3. Were there an option to give half stars I would've gone 3 1/2, but as it is, I'm going with 3. One star is removed for general organize, form, and flow, another one for content.
IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATION, FORM, AND FLOW this book just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like he is going for like four different methods of organization, making it difficult to follow and repetitious in certain places. Fudge begins with a couple chapters discussing the importance of revisiting the doctrine of hell. Then he goes into the over-arching topic of souls, afterwards devoting 2 chapters to specific words (Aionios and Sheol/Hades). From there he spends 3 chapters on the over-arching topic of Divine Justice (focusing on the Old Testament). Then he spends 2 chapters on diversity in opinions of literature pre-NT and contemporaneous with the NT. After this he spends 5 chapters specifically devoting attention to Jesus' words (4 on 'fire' images and 1 on 'non-fire' images). Fudge then goes on with 2 chapters dealing with the cross. From there he moves to 5 chapters devoted to the Epistles (in a somewhat confusing order: 1&2 Thessalonians-Galatians-1&2 Corinthians-Romans-Ephesians-Philippians-Colossians-Hebrews-James-Acts [obviously not an Epistle, but included in this portion which adds to the confusion]-1&2 Peter-1-3 John-Jude-Revelation. I think he was going Pauline -> Non-Pauline, but still certain aspects of this order don't really make sense). Fudge does indicate what order he will go in for some of it on page 187, I'm just unconvinced that it is the most helpful method. He then spends 7 chapters devoted to diversity of opinion post-NT before finally going through 5 chapters of miscellaneous aspects of the discussion.
To me, this flow is incoherent. It has traces of several organizational methods that WOULD HAVE worked, but in combining them altogether and placing them in the order he did just makes it difficult to follow and appreciate. For example, there is no need for Fudge to have made an entire chapter devoted to the word Aionios if he was going to cover the parable of the Sheep and the Goats anyway (which he does chapter 13).
Not only does the chapter organization make little sense, but even within chapters, the flow is choppy and unhelpfully organized. The chapter entitled The Evangelical Recovery Continues is the worst offender of this, in my opinion. But it does not stand alone. Even within chapters such as these we see unnecessary repetition of material.
This edition also has several responses/rebuttals to Fudge's opponents. While I'm sure this is a good and helpful addition to the previous editions, the way it was executed made it seem even more choppy. I have not read the other two editions, so they may be better in terms of organization, but I cannot really speak to that. I'm glad that he is so set on engagement of opposing views, I just wish he had done it more smoothly.
IN TERMS OF CONTENT, I thought the book was very good. It certainly serves to be a helpful resource on the topic of the nature and duration of hell. I found the chapter on Revelation, the chapters focusing on Jesus' teaching, and the chapter on Aionios (despite my belief that it would have been better served as a part of chapter 13), Divine Justice: Historical Examples particularly helpful.
Another thing that I found helpful were the footnotes or statements that indicated where a Traditionalist opponent did not engage. The silence on the Traditionalist side for certain passages spoke volumes to me (assuming of course that Fudge is correct and that they have not discussed those passages). Some examples are 2 Peter 2:1-22 or the way the Biblical authors use the Flood
There are several items content-wise that I don't think were nearly as helpful or relevant.
First and foremost was his discussion on the soul. He spends a couple of chapters defending or at least noting his non-belief in an immaterial soul or a conscious intermediate state. On page 322 he says:
"I do not take a hard stand in the present work on the intermediate state for several reasons. Although it seems to me that the bulk of scriptural teaching weighs against conscious awareness between death and resurrection, I do not find the Bible so unambiguous on the topic as to permit absolute dogmatism on this point. More important here, is that this is a secondary issue for the purposes of this book. Finally, one can consistently hold that the believer is either awake or asleep between temporal death and the resurrection, while insisting on the final extinction of the perpetually unrepentant as the Biblical view"
If Fudge had said this and no more, I would have been satisfied. If Fudge had devoted a great deal of material towards the topic, defending it Scripturally and against opposition, I would have been satisfied (even if I ultimately came away in disagreement as I do now). Unfortunately, he offers just enough material on the topic to be distracting without enough to give a solid defense.
The main point of the book is the FINAL end of the unsaved, so it is completely understandable why he would not devote a lot of time in the section of the epistles and others discussing the intermediate state. HOWEVER, if that is to be the case, then he should have devoted NO time to it. As it is, it seems to me that he gave a half-hearted defense on how the soul does not exist apart from the body but does not engage much where rebuttal would be present. If he is not going to engage in that capacity then it would have been better for him to completely forego the discussion of the intermediate state and simply focus on hell, the final punishment. While I agree with his conclusions in that respect, I remain unconvinced of Monism.
The discussion of the intermediate state is scattered and unformed, but is mostly present in the chapters 3. Souls: Immortal or Otherwise, 5. Sheol/Hades: Gravedom?, and 30. John Calvin: Psychopannychia. The first two bear at least some relevance on the discussion. It is important for the discussion of final punishment to evaluate whether or not the soul is immortal. It is also important to evaluate what each word concerning the after life means, of which Sheol and Hades are a part.
However, chapter 30 bears no weight on the discussion of final punishment AT ALL. It is a summarization of a book that John Calvin wrote against the Anabaptists specifically regarding the INTERMEDIATE STATE. This chapter is almost completely useless and unnecessary if we are attempting to have a discussion primarily on the final state of the lost. Beyond this, in previous chapters as Fudge evaluates arguments made by Church Fathers, Reformers, Modern Theologians who hold a Traditionalist view, he constantly rebukes them for lack of Scriptural argumentation and reliance on philosophical argumentation. However, in this instance, Fudge briefly notes that Calvin brings up several passages of Scripture that indicate a conscious intermediate state: Ps 31:5, Matt 10:28, Luke 23:46, John 2:19, John 19:30, and Acts 7:59. But then just leaves it. He addresses argumentation that Calvin makes on primarily philosophical grounds, but completely ignores his Scriptural arguments used for a conscious intermediate state, deviating a great deal from his approach to arguments about the final state.
Second is his insistence that the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment spread AS A RESULT OF Platonic thought. I think he does a good job at showing how Augustine was likely influence by Plato, However, he is less convincing elsewhere. Case-in-point is his discussion on Tertullian. In a section entitled "No Platonic Influence?" Fudge quotes Tertullian as saying something that (out of context) seems like he is relying on Plato. But in context, Tertullian is just conceding where he finds common ground with unbelievers. He believes that he can find common ground with Plato in regards to his belief in the immortality of the soul. This does not equal influence. I can find common ground and agreement with someone like Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris, that doesn't mean that I am influenced by them. Could it be that Tertullian and others were influenced by Plato and other pagan philosophers? Sure, absolutely. But Fudge does not do a very good job demonstrating that that is the case and so, by and large, I remain unconvinced. Fudge and other Conditionalists constantly lament the guilt-by-association of Evangelical Conditionalists with groups like the Socinians or Jehovah's Witnesses, we should not then turn around and do it to Traditionalists with Plato.
Third, would be his random and unnecessary mini-rants. Fudge is not always able to stay on-focus and attempts to address or sometimes even attack items that are of little relevance. The thing that stood out to me most (as a Calvinist) were his short and irrelevant arguments targeting Calvinism. If Fudge wants to argue against Reformed Theology then that is all well and good, however, the places he decided to do so had (seemingly to me) no bearing on the discussion of final punishment. Calvinism was not the only issue that this happened with, but it did happen a couple times with it.
Lastly, some of his sub (and sub-sub) sections left much to be desired. There were many places where I thought much more could have and should have been said, especially in places where Fudge offers only one or two sentences on a topic, word, verse, or rebuttal that I felt deserved greater attention. Sometimes the section would be a simple sentence or short paragraph, and often times these were unsatisfactory and even ambiguous. By and large this was not the case, but it happened enough for me to count it against him.
Again, I think this is a good and important book. In my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons and Fudge is able to both put forward a positive case for Conditionalism as well as defend it against objectors.
-------------------------------------------
As an aside, were an Universal Reconciliationist, I would be very disappointed in this book. I understand that Fudge's focus is on Conditionalism vs. Traditionalism, however, I could see the Universalist feeling completely left out of the discussion (with the exception of one chapter). This is not something I fault Fudge for and was not a consideration for the rating, simply an observation.
Furthermore, he provides a great deal of other resources and it is clear that a lot of hard work and research went into this project. Fudge, very helpfully, provides examples of Conditionalists (of one flavor or another) from Biblical times onwards and traces the discussion on final punishment from both Conditionalist and Traditionalist sides. I found the many examples of modern theologians who accept this view particularly helpful and encouraging.
The tone of this work is exemplary. Fudge does a great job modeling what our attitude should be towards those we disagree with on this issue. Though he stumbles in a few instances, by and large he does his best to truly understand his opponents, give them the benefit of the doubt, attempts to understand how their surrounding context may influence them and doesn't fault them for their conclusions, and constantly reaffirms brotherhood in Christ with them. It is so easy to get fired up about this discussion, to get so emotionally invested that we forget the warnings and admonitions in Scripture of disagreeing with grace and love. Brother Fudge does a phenomenal job of reminding us to take care how we talk about this important topic.
That said, the book is not without its faults. I struggled in deciding whether to give this book 4 stars or 3. Were there an option to give half stars I would've gone 3 1/2, but as it is, I'm going with 3. One star is removed for general organize, form, and flow, another one for content.
IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATION, FORM, AND FLOW this book just doesn't make sense to me. It seems like he is going for like four different methods of organization, making it difficult to follow and repetitious in certain places. Fudge begins with a couple chapters discussing the importance of revisiting the doctrine of hell. Then he goes into the over-arching topic of souls, afterwards devoting 2 chapters to specific words (Aionios and Sheol/Hades). From there he spends 3 chapters on the over-arching topic of Divine Justice (focusing on the Old Testament). Then he spends 2 chapters on diversity in opinions of literature pre-NT and contemporaneous with the NT. After this he spends 5 chapters specifically devoting attention to Jesus' words (4 on 'fire' images and 1 on 'non-fire' images). Fudge then goes on with 2 chapters dealing with the cross. From there he moves to 5 chapters devoted to the Epistles (in a somewhat confusing order: 1&2 Thessalonians-Galatians-1&2 Corinthians-Romans-Ephesians-Philippians-Colossians-Hebrews-James-Acts [obviously not an Epistle, but included in this portion which adds to the confusion]-1&2 Peter-1-3 John-Jude-Revelation. I think he was going Pauline -> Non-Pauline, but still certain aspects of this order don't really make sense). Fudge does indicate what order he will go in for some of it on page 187, I'm just unconvinced that it is the most helpful method. He then spends 7 chapters devoted to diversity of opinion post-NT before finally going through 5 chapters of miscellaneous aspects of the discussion.
To me, this flow is incoherent. It has traces of several organizational methods that WOULD HAVE worked, but in combining them altogether and placing them in the order he did just makes it difficult to follow and appreciate. For example, there is no need for Fudge to have made an entire chapter devoted to the word Aionios if he was going to cover the parable of the Sheep and the Goats anyway (which he does chapter 13).
Not only does the chapter organization make little sense, but even within chapters, the flow is choppy and unhelpfully organized. The chapter entitled The Evangelical Recovery Continues is the worst offender of this, in my opinion. But it does not stand alone. Even within chapters such as these we see unnecessary repetition of material.
This edition also has several responses/rebuttals to Fudge's opponents. While I'm sure this is a good and helpful addition to the previous editions, the way it was executed made it seem even more choppy. I have not read the other two editions, so they may be better in terms of organization, but I cannot really speak to that. I'm glad that he is so set on engagement of opposing views, I just wish he had done it more smoothly.
IN TERMS OF CONTENT, I thought the book was very good. It certainly serves to be a helpful resource on the topic of the nature and duration of hell. I found the chapter on Revelation, the chapters focusing on Jesus' teaching, and the chapter on Aionios (despite my belief that it would have been better served as a part of chapter 13), Divine Justice: Historical Examples particularly helpful.
Another thing that I found helpful were the footnotes or statements that indicated where a Traditionalist opponent did not engage. The silence on the Traditionalist side for certain passages spoke volumes to me (assuming of course that Fudge is correct and that they have not discussed those passages). Some examples are 2 Peter 2:1-22 or the way the Biblical authors use the Flood
There are several items content-wise that I don't think were nearly as helpful or relevant.
First and foremost was his discussion on the soul. He spends a couple of chapters defending or at least noting his non-belief in an immaterial soul or a conscious intermediate state. On page 322 he says:
"I do not take a hard stand in the present work on the intermediate state for several reasons. Although it seems to me that the bulk of scriptural teaching weighs against conscious awareness between death and resurrection, I do not find the Bible so unambiguous on the topic as to permit absolute dogmatism on this point. More important here, is that this is a secondary issue for the purposes of this book. Finally, one can consistently hold that the believer is either awake or asleep between temporal death and the resurrection, while insisting on the final extinction of the perpetually unrepentant as the Biblical view"
If Fudge had said this and no more, I would have been satisfied. If Fudge had devoted a great deal of material towards the topic, defending it Scripturally and against opposition, I would have been satisfied (even if I ultimately came away in disagreement as I do now). Unfortunately, he offers just enough material on the topic to be distracting without enough to give a solid defense.
The main point of the book is the FINAL end of the unsaved, so it is completely understandable why he would not devote a lot of time in the section of the epistles and others discussing the intermediate state. HOWEVER, if that is to be the case, then he should have devoted NO time to it. As it is, it seems to me that he gave a half-hearted defense on how the soul does not exist apart from the body but does not engage much where rebuttal would be present. If he is not going to engage in that capacity then it would have been better for him to completely forego the discussion of the intermediate state and simply focus on hell, the final punishment. While I agree with his conclusions in that respect, I remain unconvinced of Monism.
The discussion of the intermediate state is scattered and unformed, but is mostly present in the chapters 3. Souls: Immortal or Otherwise, 5. Sheol/Hades: Gravedom?, and 30. John Calvin: Psychopannychia. The first two bear at least some relevance on the discussion. It is important for the discussion of final punishment to evaluate whether or not the soul is immortal. It is also important to evaluate what each word concerning the after life means, of which Sheol and Hades are a part.
However, chapter 30 bears no weight on the discussion of final punishment AT ALL. It is a summarization of a book that John Calvin wrote against the Anabaptists specifically regarding the INTERMEDIATE STATE. This chapter is almost completely useless and unnecessary if we are attempting to have a discussion primarily on the final state of the lost. Beyond this, in previous chapters as Fudge evaluates arguments made by Church Fathers, Reformers, Modern Theologians who hold a Traditionalist view, he constantly rebukes them for lack of Scriptural argumentation and reliance on philosophical argumentation. However, in this instance, Fudge briefly notes that Calvin brings up several passages of Scripture that indicate a conscious intermediate state: Ps 31:5, Matt 10:28, Luke 23:46, John 2:19, John 19:30, and Acts 7:59. But then just leaves it. He addresses argumentation that Calvin makes on primarily philosophical grounds, but completely ignores his Scriptural arguments used for a conscious intermediate state, deviating a great deal from his approach to arguments about the final state.
Second is his insistence that the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment spread AS A RESULT OF Platonic thought. I think he does a good job at showing how Augustine was likely influence by Plato, However, he is less convincing elsewhere. Case-in-point is his discussion on Tertullian. In a section entitled "No Platonic Influence?" Fudge quotes Tertullian as saying something that (out of context) seems like he is relying on Plato. But in context, Tertullian is just conceding where he finds common ground with unbelievers. He believes that he can find common ground with Plato in regards to his belief in the immortality of the soul. This does not equal influence. I can find common ground and agreement with someone like Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris, that doesn't mean that I am influenced by them. Could it be that Tertullian and others were influenced by Plato and other pagan philosophers? Sure, absolutely. But Fudge does not do a very good job demonstrating that that is the case and so, by and large, I remain unconvinced. Fudge and other Conditionalists constantly lament the guilt-by-association of Evangelical Conditionalists with groups like the Socinians or Jehovah's Witnesses, we should not then turn around and do it to Traditionalists with Plato.
Third, would be his random and unnecessary mini-rants. Fudge is not always able to stay on-focus and attempts to address or sometimes even attack items that are of little relevance. The thing that stood out to me most (as a Calvinist) were his short and irrelevant arguments targeting Calvinism. If Fudge wants to argue against Reformed Theology then that is all well and good, however, the places he decided to do so had (seemingly to me) no bearing on the discussion of final punishment. Calvinism was not the only issue that this happened with, but it did happen a couple times with it.
Lastly, some of his sub (and sub-sub) sections left much to be desired. There were many places where I thought much more could have and should have been said, especially in places where Fudge offers only one or two sentences on a topic, word, verse, or rebuttal that I felt deserved greater attention. Sometimes the section would be a simple sentence or short paragraph, and often times these were unsatisfactory and even ambiguous. By and large this was not the case, but it happened enough for me to count it against him.
Again, I think this is a good and important book. In my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons and Fudge is able to both put forward a positive case for Conditionalism as well as defend it against objectors.
-------------------------------------------
As an aside, were an Universal Reconciliationist, I would be very disappointed in this book. I understand that Fudge's focus is on Conditionalism vs. Traditionalism, however, I could see the Universalist feeling completely left out of the discussion (with the exception of one chapter). This is not something I fault Fudge for and was not a consideration for the rating, simply an observation.
March 7, 2022
Wow. Truly no words for how well-written this book is. Frankly, I might even be convinced of his argument, but only time will tell. Definitely a must read if this topic is of interest to you.
June 24, 2016
(Update 2016: I have upgraded the book to 5 starts, despite the one substantial flaw below. Although the lacking explanation of Revelation 2o:10 leaves a loose end that must be tied elsewhere, nevertheless this volume is too thorough and influential to warrant a lower rating).
This book is a must have for any serious examination on what the Bible really teaches about final judgment. It is very thorough, saturated with scripture, and uses ample scholarly sources. However, it is also surprisingly easy to read. Because the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal torment is not only popular but also has, at first glance, some scriptural basis, it is important that a book address the many such claims adequately. Most of the time, this book does.
NOTE: He recently wrote an updated 3rd edition, and in it, he addresses arguments against what he wrote in the original version that have popped up over the last 30 years. I haven't read it, but since the arguments are all essentially the same, you might as well by the updated one.
Really, there is only one notable flaw I found, (and it is substantial, though not enough to warrant reducing the book below 5 stars - updated). His explanation of Revelation 20:10 gets so close to explaining, once and for all, how a passage that says "they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" can be consistent with annihilationism. He points out the clearly symbolic nature of not only the lake of fire, but those thrown into it. He points out the fact that the abstract entity of death suffers the same fate of the lake of fire as do living creatures. He points out that the beast, based on Daniel 7, represents not a person but a kingdom, a corporate entity, which cannot be tormented. Yet, he fails to put it together. When dealing with the question of the Devil, he kind of just says that, "well, it does seem to say that the devil is tormented eternally, but one verse shouldn't be the source of our theology when the rest of the Bible says otherwise" (paraphrase). Those arguing against his position have been tearing him apart over that one thing ever since.
Unfortunately, in debates and talks as recent as a few months ago (after the 3rd edition came out), he still does not have anything to add regarding the devil, so that does not seem to have been dealt with in the 3rd edition.
(My explanation? Simple - once you establish that the lake of fire is symbolic for something, and that for death and the beast, it represents destruction, then the lake of fire should represent the same fate for everyone thrown in. Yes, it says the devil is tormented for eternity, but it also said the same for the beast, yet, if we accept Fudge's theory, that is only symbolic of the real life fate of what the beast represents. The beast being tormented eternally represents the destruction of the kingdom it represents. Thus, when others in the vision suffer the fate of eternal torment in the lake of fire, that that represents real life destruction of the things they represent).
Now, if you think that sounds loopy, listen to Glenn People's podcast "Say Hello To My Little Friend;" he explains it much more in depth.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with my theory, the point is, Fudge fails to explain how the devil would not be eternally tormented, which is a big problem when your book is about how the doctrine of eternal torment in Hell is untrue.
Still, this book is a very useful resource, and really got the conversation going again back in the 80's (good conditionalist books are very few and very far between). It is in so many ways a 5-star book; even though it falls short of solving the problem once and for all.
If you are interested in studying what the Bible says about Hell, The Fire That Consumes is a must.
This book is a must have for any serious examination on what the Bible really teaches about final judgment. It is very thorough, saturated with scripture, and uses ample scholarly sources. However, it is also surprisingly easy to read. Because the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal torment is not only popular but also has, at first glance, some scriptural basis, it is important that a book address the many such claims adequately. Most of the time, this book does.
NOTE: He recently wrote an updated 3rd edition, and in it, he addresses arguments against what he wrote in the original version that have popped up over the last 30 years. I haven't read it, but since the arguments are all essentially the same, you might as well by the updated one.
Really, there is only one notable flaw I found, (and it is substantial, though not enough to warrant reducing the book below 5 stars - updated). His explanation of Revelation 20:10 gets so close to explaining, once and for all, how a passage that says "they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" can be consistent with annihilationism. He points out the clearly symbolic nature of not only the lake of fire, but those thrown into it. He points out the fact that the abstract entity of death suffers the same fate of the lake of fire as do living creatures. He points out that the beast, based on Daniel 7, represents not a person but a kingdom, a corporate entity, which cannot be tormented. Yet, he fails to put it together. When dealing with the question of the Devil, he kind of just says that, "well, it does seem to say that the devil is tormented eternally, but one verse shouldn't be the source of our theology when the rest of the Bible says otherwise" (paraphrase). Those arguing against his position have been tearing him apart over that one thing ever since.
Unfortunately, in debates and talks as recent as a few months ago (after the 3rd edition came out), he still does not have anything to add regarding the devil, so that does not seem to have been dealt with in the 3rd edition.
(My explanation? Simple - once you establish that the lake of fire is symbolic for something, and that for death and the beast, it represents destruction, then the lake of fire should represent the same fate for everyone thrown in. Yes, it says the devil is tormented for eternity, but it also said the same for the beast, yet, if we accept Fudge's theory, that is only symbolic of the real life fate of what the beast represents. The beast being tormented eternally represents the destruction of the kingdom it represents. Thus, when others in the vision suffer the fate of eternal torment in the lake of fire, that that represents real life destruction of the things they represent).
Now, if you think that sounds loopy, listen to Glenn People's podcast "Say Hello To My Little Friend;" he explains it much more in depth.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with my theory, the point is, Fudge fails to explain how the devil would not be eternally tormented, which is a big problem when your book is about how the doctrine of eternal torment in Hell is untrue.
Still, this book is a very useful resource, and really got the conversation going again back in the 80's (good conditionalist books are very few and very far between). It is in so many ways a 5-star book; even though it falls short of solving the problem once and for all.
If you are interested in studying what the Bible says about Hell, The Fire That Consumes is a must.
June 20, 2014
This book is about as convincing a theological case as one could hope to see made about a controversial subject. Edward Fudge--trained in both biblical languages and law--painstakingly works through virtually every relevant passage of the Bible, plus texts in the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha as well, to show that the Bible's testimony to the destiny of the lost is suffering their just deserts and then disappearing from the cosmos. There is not, despite the testimony of the majority of Christian teachers since the early church, a hell of everlasting torment of the damned.
Fudge's book has been out for 30 years and remains the main textbook of exegesis on the matter. John Wenham's earlier book, "The Goodness of God" (IVP, 1974) first brought this idea to me, and I was convinced immediately. Since then, I've read the likes of John R. W. Stott, Michael Green, I. Howard Marshall, Richard Bauckham, Richard Swinburne, and other worthies line up behind it. But the doctrine remains curiously under-represented over here in North America, and many evangelical and Reformed individuals and institutions insist on what they call "eternal conscious torment" (which I find an odd term, since torment entails consciousness) as a nonnegotiable tenet of the faith. Yet despite the authority of such towering figures as Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin, and the imprimatur of the Westminster divines, Fudge makes what to me is a simply conclusive case that the Bible doesn't teach the immortality of the soul nor does it teach the everlasting agony of the lost. The case for those ideas has to be made either by reference to presupposition (as in "of course the soul is immortal!") or deduction from certain theological principles. What Fudge shows, again, to my mind conclusively, is that the Old and New Testaments speak uniformly of a general resurrection, with those not found to be in Christ destined to appropriate suffering and then extinction.
I hold back on the fifth star simply because I wish the book was both smaller and bigger. Smaller: it repeats a lot, and occasionally strays into areas that don't matter to the main argument (such as election). Bigger: I'd like to see a stronger case against universalism and a larger theological framework in which this all fits with the goodness of God (as Wenham did). And I have my quibbles about the style here and there.
Nonetheless, this remains the definitive work on behalf of what is called "conditional immortality" (and unhelpfully and incorrectly referred to as "annihilationism")--or what I prefer to call the "just punishment" conception of hell. I'll be using it extensively to write my chapter defending this view in the "Four Views of Hell" book forthcoming from Zondervan next year.
Fudge's book has been out for 30 years and remains the main textbook of exegesis on the matter. John Wenham's earlier book, "The Goodness of God" (IVP, 1974) first brought this idea to me, and I was convinced immediately. Since then, I've read the likes of John R. W. Stott, Michael Green, I. Howard Marshall, Richard Bauckham, Richard Swinburne, and other worthies line up behind it. But the doctrine remains curiously under-represented over here in North America, and many evangelical and Reformed individuals and institutions insist on what they call "eternal conscious torment" (which I find an odd term, since torment entails consciousness) as a nonnegotiable tenet of the faith. Yet despite the authority of such towering figures as Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin, and the imprimatur of the Westminster divines, Fudge makes what to me is a simply conclusive case that the Bible doesn't teach the immortality of the soul nor does it teach the everlasting agony of the lost. The case for those ideas has to be made either by reference to presupposition (as in "of course the soul is immortal!") or deduction from certain theological principles. What Fudge shows, again, to my mind conclusively, is that the Old and New Testaments speak uniformly of a general resurrection, with those not found to be in Christ destined to appropriate suffering and then extinction.
I hold back on the fifth star simply because I wish the book was both smaller and bigger. Smaller: it repeats a lot, and occasionally strays into areas that don't matter to the main argument (such as election). Bigger: I'd like to see a stronger case against universalism and a larger theological framework in which this all fits with the goodness of God (as Wenham did). And I have my quibbles about the style here and there.
Nonetheless, this remains the definitive work on behalf of what is called "conditional immortality" (and unhelpfully and incorrectly referred to as "annihilationism")--or what I prefer to call the "just punishment" conception of hell. I'll be using it extensively to write my chapter defending this view in the "Four Views of Hell" book forthcoming from Zondervan next year.
May 12, 2020
(These theology books always take me so much time to get through.)
In "The Fire That Consumes" (3rd Edition), Fudge offers an exhaustive defense of conditionalism, whereby he interprets Christian scripture as supporting the proposition that complete annihilation ultimately awaits the unregenerate. He takes a conservative view of scripture, and has incorporated the views of his traditionalist critics. Having been raised in conservative Baptist environments, I had been interested in finding just this kind of exegetical exploration.
Fudge writes "One issue alone divides traditionalists and conditionalists: Does Scripture teach that God will make the wicked immortal, to suffer unending conscious torment in hell? Or does the Bible teach that the wicked will finally and truly die, perish, and become extinct forever, though a destructive process that encompasses whatever degree and duration of conscious torment God might sovereignly and justly impose in each individual case?"
To expand on a comment a friend of mine made, the traditional Christian belief in never-ending torture in hell is like an infinity in an equation -- it dominates all the other terms. With that infinity hanging there, nothing else can be expressed meaningfully. Anything could be (and has been) justified by such an outlook (just look at the rational for burning "heretics" over the years).
Perhaps after reading Fudge's works, conservative evangelicals could share their faith, not from a Jonathan-Edwards-brimstone-induced dread, but rather from a loving, personal understanding of what it is to live daily knowing God. This could even get rid of the hostile "Christian" street corner sandwich board guy.
In "The Fire That Consumes" (3rd Edition), Fudge offers an exhaustive defense of conditionalism, whereby he interprets Christian scripture as supporting the proposition that complete annihilation ultimately awaits the unregenerate. He takes a conservative view of scripture, and has incorporated the views of his traditionalist critics. Having been raised in conservative Baptist environments, I had been interested in finding just this kind of exegetical exploration.
Fudge writes "One issue alone divides traditionalists and conditionalists: Does Scripture teach that God will make the wicked immortal, to suffer unending conscious torment in hell? Or does the Bible teach that the wicked will finally and truly die, perish, and become extinct forever, though a destructive process that encompasses whatever degree and duration of conscious torment God might sovereignly and justly impose in each individual case?"
To expand on a comment a friend of mine made, the traditional Christian belief in never-ending torture in hell is like an infinity in an equation -- it dominates all the other terms. With that infinity hanging there, nothing else can be expressed meaningfully. Anything could be (and has been) justified by such an outlook (just look at the rational for burning "heretics" over the years).
Perhaps after reading Fudge's works, conservative evangelicals could share their faith, not from a Jonathan-Edwards-brimstone-induced dread, but rather from a loving, personal understanding of what it is to live daily knowing God. This could even get rid of the hostile "Christian" street corner sandwich board guy.
August 17, 2013
Very well-written, measured and scholarly. Fudge has a careful and serious approach to
studying Scripture and does an excellent job demonstrating that conditionalism is well within the bounds of orthodoxy.
studying Scripture and does an excellent job demonstrating that conditionalism is well within the bounds of orthodoxy.
January 22, 2015
Wasn't all I had hoped for, but excellent nevertheless. I felt some sections were unnecessary or repetitive and wish other sections had gone into more detail, especially the Church Fathers section. But this is still a (or perhaps the) key work on final punishment from a conditionalist perspective.
May 10, 2019
Whew! This book was a chore to get through, but well worth the effort. Edward Fudge contends that the Bible consistently speaks of hell not in terms of unending conscious torment but in terms of final annihilation, a view that he calls conditional immortality. He exegetes the vast majority of the relevant Scriptures, supplementing this by examining the diversity of thought on the issue in the intertestamental apocrypha and pseudoepigrapha (where the idea of hell as eternal conscious torment seems to have first appeared within Judaism). Along the way he attempts to show the relative weakness of the exegetical case for the traditional view of hell. Then he traces the development of thought on hell in Western Christianity, arguing that the traditional view became inevitable once Western theologians (especially Augustine and, much later, Calvin) imported the idea of the inherent immortality of the human soul from Platonism. In all of this he is focused and thorough, and his exegesis is perfectly straightforward and reasonable. It is also relatively convincing - if I was not a universalist, I have no doubt that Fudge's account of conditional immortality would be persuasive.
I was pleased to see that he devoted a chapter to the topic of Christian universalism, tracing its presence in Christian thought from Origen to today's developing evangelical universalism. Though he fairly summarizes the ideas of recent Christian universalist authors such as Thomas Talbott and Robin Parry (personal heroes of mine), he makes no attempt to offer alternative interpretations of key universalist passages such as Romans 5 and 1 Cor. 15; he thinks that the positive evidence for conditional immortality makes this unnecessary. I disagree with him on this, as do Robin Parry and Jerry Walls (see Zondervan's Four Views on Hell and Parry's The Evangelical Universalist). Fudge does not consider Talbott's allegorical reading of the hell passages, which identifies the destruction of the sinful self with the creation of the new self; he does not consider Parry's universal identification of Jesus with every person in both death and resurrection; and he does not address J.A.T. Robinson's brilliant reading of the final judgment passages, which says that from the perspective of the unsaved there are two possible trajectories (life and death) but from the perspective of the saved there is only one possible trajectory for all (life). Because Fudge's emphasis is on exegesis, he also does not address important theological and philosophical questions about his view; he especially does not sufficiently address the question of God's character (can God's love and justice be reconciled, or must one ultimately defer to the other?), which is a driving concern for Christian universalists. That being said, his primary aim is a defense of conditional immortality and not a critique of Christian universalism; so despite the limits of his focus, his work here is solid.
I was pleased to see that he devoted a chapter to the topic of Christian universalism, tracing its presence in Christian thought from Origen to today's developing evangelical universalism. Though he fairly summarizes the ideas of recent Christian universalist authors such as Thomas Talbott and Robin Parry (personal heroes of mine), he makes no attempt to offer alternative interpretations of key universalist passages such as Romans 5 and 1 Cor. 15; he thinks that the positive evidence for conditional immortality makes this unnecessary. I disagree with him on this, as do Robin Parry and Jerry Walls (see Zondervan's Four Views on Hell and Parry's The Evangelical Universalist). Fudge does not consider Talbott's allegorical reading of the hell passages, which identifies the destruction of the sinful self with the creation of the new self; he does not consider Parry's universal identification of Jesus with every person in both death and resurrection; and he does not address J.A.T. Robinson's brilliant reading of the final judgment passages, which says that from the perspective of the unsaved there are two possible trajectories (life and death) but from the perspective of the saved there is only one possible trajectory for all (life). Because Fudge's emphasis is on exegesis, he also does not address important theological and philosophical questions about his view; he especially does not sufficiently address the question of God's character (can God's love and justice be reconciled, or must one ultimately defer to the other?), which is a driving concern for Christian universalists. That being said, his primary aim is a defense of conditional immortality and not a critique of Christian universalism; so despite the limits of his focus, his work here is solid.
Read
March 28, 2020Edward Fudge's immensely impressive magnum opus is the most lauded defense of conditionalism or annihilationism, and deservedly so. It is nothing if not exhaustive. Fudge leaves no stone unturned, and I wish a book of this nature existed for other positions on Hell, and for many other Christian doctrines. I remain unconvinced of conditionalism, though Fudge has convinced me that his view is not easily dismissed and respectable on exegetical grounds.
If one presupposes that "death" and "destroy/destruction" mean the ceasing of existence then one is sure to be persuaded that conditionalism is the Bible's teaching. If one presupposes that "death" and "destroy/destruction" means the passing from one state to another then one is sure to be persuaded that traditionalism (eternal torment) is the Bible's teaching. We have to go to the Bible to discover what these words and concepts mean, and different hermeneutical methods and choices will result in different conclusions.
I hope Fudge is right, but I do see him presupposing his definition of "death/destroy/destruction" and reading it into the text in several places (his understanding of the OT informs this), and I cannot agree with his exegesis of Revelation 14:9-10, Revelation 20:10-13 and to a lesser extent many other verses (Matt 8:29, Matt 10:28/Luke 12:5, Matt 13:41-42, Matt 25:46, Matt 26:24, Mark 9:47-48/Luke 12:5/Matt 5, Luke 12:47-48, Luke 16, John 3:36, 2 Thess 1:7-9 (Mcknight), Rev 22:15, Heb 9:17, Jude 6-7/Matt 8:12/Matt 22:13/Matt 25:30).
Perhaps larger than any other obstacle is the problem that conditionalism creates for understanding the atonement and the death of Christ. Christ certainly did not cease to exist and certainly did pass from one state to another. I have yet to see a presentation of conditionalism that does not do violence to orthodox views of the atonement, the trinity, or christology. This is a major issue and Fudge's work on the subject is lacking.
Fudge's treatment of other texts is less admirable than his biblical exegesis. He reads conditionalism into intertestamental literature and early church sources without warrant. Most of the texts he sees supporting his view are ambiguous at best as they use the same biblical language that needs to be interpreted and understood. Fudge admits this in some places, and I find him to be an honest scholar whose work I admire. Perhaps in time I will be persuaded. Until that time I remain unconvinced but respectful of the conditionalist view.
If one presupposes that "death" and "destroy/destruction" mean the ceasing of existence then one is sure to be persuaded that conditionalism is the Bible's teaching. If one presupposes that "death" and "destroy/destruction" means the passing from one state to another then one is sure to be persuaded that traditionalism (eternal torment) is the Bible's teaching. We have to go to the Bible to discover what these words and concepts mean, and different hermeneutical methods and choices will result in different conclusions.
I hope Fudge is right, but I do see him presupposing his definition of "death/destroy/destruction" and reading it into the text in several places (his understanding of the OT informs this), and I cannot agree with his exegesis of Revelation 14:9-10, Revelation 20:10-13 and to a lesser extent many other verses (Matt 8:29, Matt 10:28/Luke 12:5, Matt 13:41-42, Matt 25:46, Matt 26:24, Mark 9:47-48/Luke 12:5/Matt 5, Luke 12:47-48, Luke 16, John 3:36, 2 Thess 1:7-9 (Mcknight), Rev 22:15, Heb 9:17, Jude 6-7/Matt 8:12/Matt 22:13/Matt 25:30).
Perhaps larger than any other obstacle is the problem that conditionalism creates for understanding the atonement and the death of Christ. Christ certainly did not cease to exist and certainly did pass from one state to another. I have yet to see a presentation of conditionalism that does not do violence to orthodox views of the atonement, the trinity, or christology. This is a major issue and Fudge's work on the subject is lacking.
Fudge's treatment of other texts is less admirable than his biblical exegesis. He reads conditionalism into intertestamental literature and early church sources without warrant. Most of the texts he sees supporting his view are ambiguous at best as they use the same biblical language that needs to be interpreted and understood. Fudge admits this in some places, and I find him to be an honest scholar whose work I admire. Perhaps in time I will be persuaded. Until that time I remain unconvinced but respectful of the conditionalist view.
July 3, 2021
Quarantine-Book #11:
I just finished "The Fire that Consumes," by Edward Fudge. #EdwardFudge #TheFireThatConsumes
[Edit: in case you want to watch the story: Hell & Mr. Fudge
https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=a... ]
After 22 years I'm reading this. I was intimidated when I bought it in 1998 by its thickness and academic tone. I gave it to Goodwill and then years later i really got to reading theology, avoided intimidation, saw the third edition for $1.50 and it's not as stuffy as many academic works I've read.
What happens to the wicked dead:
I'll try to be brief: Fudge establishes that our view of the immortality of the soul is Platonic and not Biblical. The Hebrew and Greek for "eternity" really mean "a time" and to conclude everlasting torment from this alone is flawed. God, mountains, the temple and a slave's life all use "eternal," so it begs us to look deeper when speaking of eschatological things.
Fudge moves through questionable OT texts and his detractors into the fascinating world of the apocrypha. Judith misquoting Isaiah is the first place we get everlasting torment. He moves on through the DSS and then the Psudedpigrapha before landing on the specific sayings of Jesus. Here the big hold out is the word eternal and how its respected in the greek, also how it is seen as referring to life vs death and then how detractors read death as "not really death." He moves on to the atonement working from a penal substitution framework and how Christ had to suffer nonbeing to have taken the punishment for man. The detractors get in Chalcedonian weeds in objection: splitting the trinity or the hypostatic union. Then Fudge goes through the rest of the NT covering every verse that deals with the destiny of the wicked.
He then works through the patristics showing that their language was biblical: if you read death and not death then you walk away with the same conclusions as you would from scripture. And then the apologists and Augustine showing who on fire they were for Plato (WWPD?).
Fudge makes a great case against the traditional view for one of annihilationalism (ceasing to exist). I wish he would have ended the book on a chapter dealing with what evangelism looks like without the threat of hell. I think it looks better without the compulsion of "hell or Jesus, pick!" While it took me a long time to read this I am glad I did and I believe it helped nuance my own view.
I just finished "The Fire that Consumes," by Edward Fudge. #EdwardFudge #TheFireThatConsumes
[Edit: in case you want to watch the story: Hell & Mr. Fudge
https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=a... ]
After 22 years I'm reading this. I was intimidated when I bought it in 1998 by its thickness and academic tone. I gave it to Goodwill and then years later i really got to reading theology, avoided intimidation, saw the third edition for $1.50 and it's not as stuffy as many academic works I've read.
What happens to the wicked dead:
I'll try to be brief: Fudge establishes that our view of the immortality of the soul is Platonic and not Biblical. The Hebrew and Greek for "eternity" really mean "a time" and to conclude everlasting torment from this alone is flawed. God, mountains, the temple and a slave's life all use "eternal," so it begs us to look deeper when speaking of eschatological things.
Fudge moves through questionable OT texts and his detractors into the fascinating world of the apocrypha. Judith misquoting Isaiah is the first place we get everlasting torment. He moves on through the DSS and then the Psudedpigrapha before landing on the specific sayings of Jesus. Here the big hold out is the word eternal and how its respected in the greek, also how it is seen as referring to life vs death and then how detractors read death as "not really death." He moves on to the atonement working from a penal substitution framework and how Christ had to suffer nonbeing to have taken the punishment for man. The detractors get in Chalcedonian weeds in objection: splitting the trinity or the hypostatic union. Then Fudge goes through the rest of the NT covering every verse that deals with the destiny of the wicked.
He then works through the patristics showing that their language was biblical: if you read death and not death then you walk away with the same conclusions as you would from scripture. And then the apologists and Augustine showing who on fire they were for Plato (WWPD?).
Fudge makes a great case against the traditional view for one of annihilationalism (ceasing to exist). I wish he would have ended the book on a chapter dealing with what evangelism looks like without the threat of hell. I think it looks better without the compulsion of "hell or Jesus, pick!" While it took me a long time to read this I am glad I did and I believe it helped nuance my own view.
December 22, 2017
I can't say that I loved this book, but I did like it. The author certainly did his homework, and yet sometimes dismissed alternative viewpoints with just a few sentences or paragraphs. But I also see why this was necessary; if the author had attempted to engage every alternative viewpoint on every Scripture text that he referenced, his work may easily have been thousands upon thousands of pages. So I did appreciate his relative brevity, while being as thorough as he was.
This book makes many very excellent points which are difficult to refute. It is, quite often, dry and repetitive, but generally its repetitiveness only further illustrates the author's point that Scripture teaches what he believes it teaches about hell and final punishment.
I greatly appreciated one of the author's final points concerning future things expressed in the Bible. He wrote, "We will do well to remember that while all God's prophecies are true, so that what they say really comes to pass, their fulfillment is often a matter of correspondence rather than mechanical literalism."
In other words, because of the symbolic nature of much of prophecy, even when a text seems to be straightforward when taken literally, we ought to leave room for the possibility that we've taken it too literally. Prophecy is much easier to see when looking back rather than looking forward.
So we ought not be so dogmatic about our particulars that we miss the point of all prophecy: that we be encouraged to be faithful, and have the sure hope that in Christ, we are victorious.
This book makes many very excellent points which are difficult to refute. It is, quite often, dry and repetitive, but generally its repetitiveness only further illustrates the author's point that Scripture teaches what he believes it teaches about hell and final punishment.
I greatly appreciated one of the author's final points concerning future things expressed in the Bible. He wrote, "We will do well to remember that while all God's prophecies are true, so that what they say really comes to pass, their fulfillment is often a matter of correspondence rather than mechanical literalism."
In other words, because of the symbolic nature of much of prophecy, even when a text seems to be straightforward when taken literally, we ought to leave room for the possibility that we've taken it too literally. Prophecy is much easier to see when looking back rather than looking forward.
So we ought not be so dogmatic about our particulars that we miss the point of all prophecy: that we be encouraged to be faithful, and have the sure hope that in Christ, we are victorious.
March 23, 2022
This is the definitive study on the subject of final judgment. Pastor Fudge set out to write a book upholding the doctrine of eternal conscious torment, but his thorough research persuaded him that he had been wrong in his belief. Fudge examines all the Bible has to say on the subject, carefully examining texts in the original languages. He then goes on to examine what the early church fathers had to say on the subject. He concludes that the doctrine of eternal conscious torment is not taught in Scripture even though some unfortunate translations of the Greek and Hebrew scriptures have resulted in many people believing it is. I had long struggled with the idea that a loving and just God would eternally torment even young and relatively innocent individuals who had never even heard the gospel. Now I know why. That teaching is false. It misrepresents God. And in so doing, it poses a manmade obstacle to salvation for some.
March 29, 2023
“This case rests finally on Scripture. Only Scripture can prove it wrong.”
Never before have I read such a dense theology book. It’s not my normal genre, and it took me quite some time to make it through this work. I found my views on hell and the soul challenged. Do people who do not trust in Jesus for salvation face an eternity of conscious torment as punishment? Or is hell actually a second, final, irreversible death for them, eternal in its consequence?
I think what I most admire about Fudge’s approach to this topic is that even though he went through it systematically, examining the doctrine from the Old Testament times through the twentieth century, he invariably held Scripture as the highest proof. Philosophy, reason, morality, feelings, tradition…no other arguments could trump Scripture. I highly respect that approach. Nothing else would convince me of a doctrine’s truth more than that.
Never before have I read such a dense theology book. It’s not my normal genre, and it took me quite some time to make it through this work. I found my views on hell and the soul challenged. Do people who do not trust in Jesus for salvation face an eternity of conscious torment as punishment? Or is hell actually a second, final, irreversible death for them, eternal in its consequence?
I think what I most admire about Fudge’s approach to this topic is that even though he went through it systematically, examining the doctrine from the Old Testament times through the twentieth century, he invariably held Scripture as the highest proof. Philosophy, reason, morality, feelings, tradition…no other arguments could trump Scripture. I highly respect that approach. Nothing else would convince me of a doctrine’s truth more than that.
April 29, 2021
The most thorough book I've ever read. Fudge addresses everyone in the Christian experience (Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, traditional fathers, Jewish fathers, and on and on) about what Hell is, the chief question being whether or not Hell is a place where one is tortured forever, or where one goes to be consumed, and not ever be able to return. There is a difference, you see, and an important one if you are a Christian. I will spoil here the conclusion of the book, which is: Hell is where your soul is consumed, so you have no chance at resurrection; it is NOT a place where you are tortured for eternity.
You have to read this to really understand the arguments, because, like I said, Fudge is extremely thorough, addressing everyone, and he even addresses the criticisms of his arguments at every level.
You have to read this to really understand the arguments, because, like I said, Fudge is extremely thorough, addressing everyone, and he even addresses the criticisms of his arguments at every level.
June 6, 2023
"To a great extent, we are all children of tradition, a reality that imposes fearful responsibility."
Since the time of Augustine in the 4th century Eternal Conscious Torment has been the predominant view within Christendom. Over the last decade or so I have been very uncomfortable with this view. I believe this view is not biblical. This leaves me with several other options. I have spent the last couple of years diving into those options. Fudge in his 400 page work presents a biblical argument for the position of conditionalism or annihilationism. Fudge's work seems to be very thorough as he deals with the biblical text as well as he works through different theologians over the last 2,000 years. His work seems to be very compelling and worth the research for anyone who desires to understand more concerning the final fate of people. I give this 5 stars.
Since the time of Augustine in the 4th century Eternal Conscious Torment has been the predominant view within Christendom. Over the last decade or so I have been very uncomfortable with this view. I believe this view is not biblical. This leaves me with several other options. I have spent the last couple of years diving into those options. Fudge in his 400 page work presents a biblical argument for the position of conditionalism or annihilationism. Fudge's work seems to be very thorough as he deals with the biblical text as well as he works through different theologians over the last 2,000 years. His work seems to be very compelling and worth the research for anyone who desires to understand more concerning the final fate of people. I give this 5 stars.
June 30, 2023
Even though I think I'm almost persuaded by the view promoted in this book, it was not well stated or argued and made for a frustrating read.
1) unnecessary use of greek words that made absolutely no helpful contribution to the argument 2) constant reminders in the footnotes that 'no traditionalist authors have commented on this verse' 3) repetitive approach to the Biblical material - by going through book by book it meant that every time 'destruction', 'perish' or similar appeared the same comment is made about how this is best read naturally. Sorting by language rather than canonical order (Especially in the NT) would have been much better.
Considering this is held up as the gold standard book on Conditional Immortality... CI needs a new, better book.
1) unnecessary use of greek words that made absolutely no helpful contribution to the argument 2) constant reminders in the footnotes that 'no traditionalist authors have commented on this verse' 3) repetitive approach to the Biblical material - by going through book by book it meant that every time 'destruction', 'perish' or similar appeared the same comment is made about how this is best read naturally. Sorting by language rather than canonical order (Especially in the NT) would have been much better.
Considering this is held up as the gold standard book on Conditional Immortality... CI needs a new, better book.
April 15, 2023
There were many clever turns of phrase that kept the book enjoyable. Ultimately though, this book was a disappointment for me. Its goal was more to set forth a theological consistent system on the ultimate fate of the wicked than to examine the history of the idea of conditional immortality. So I guess I’m going to have to read something else to dig into the history of the idea. Perhaps The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers?
June 13, 2019
I got my first conditionalist suspicions from reading the Gospels, but I didn't even know the term "conditionalism" (or its synonym, "annihilationism") existed until I encountered it in Anthony Buzzard's writings.
I am not in full agreement with Fudge's epistemology (especially his distrust of philosophy and science- he says on his website that he is "not persuaded that evolutionary theory is correct") or theology (mine is increasingly Socinian, which he considers highly disreputable), but on the issue of eternal punishment, I think he has closed the case.
I am not in full agreement with Fudge's epistemology (especially his distrust of philosophy and science- he says on his website that he is "not persuaded that evolutionary theory is correct") or theology (mine is increasingly Socinian, which he considers highly disreputable), but on the issue of eternal punishment, I think he has closed the case.
June 26, 2022
The definitive book on the subject. It's Evangelical in orientation, so it is a straight Biblical argument. There are lingering questions, particularly in the chapters on the death of Christ. But this book makes a convincing argument that this is not a heretical or even heterodox position to take. Highly recommended.
July 10, 2019
A must read for any Christian
An in depth and scriptural look at the fundamental but most ignored doctrine of the Christian faith. The bible offers an answer that brings out the mercy and justice of God as opposed to a tyrant and torturer of the majority of humanity.
An in depth and scriptural look at the fundamental but most ignored doctrine of the Christian faith. The bible offers an answer that brings out the mercy and justice of God as opposed to a tyrant and torturer of the majority of humanity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews