Category Archives: Blog

I am thankful to Themelios for publishing my friendly critique of Robert Golding’s excellent article on hell last year. The introduction is below. Please follow the link to read the full article. “It was refreshing to read Robert Golding’s recent article in Themelios on eternal punishment. In a sea of compromise around this topic, his commitment to the doctrine of ...
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This is the third in a series of responses to the extensive review of Is There Anything Good About Hell? by the conditionalist, David Jukobovic. As stated previously, the reviewer is erudite and congenial, both welcome attributes in a reviewer. I will be dealing exclusively in this installment with the reviewer’s response to chapter 8, Infinite Honour and Infinite Sin ...
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In part one of my response to David Jakubovic’s review of Is There Anything Good About Hell (AGAH), I introduced a few small matters concerning my intentions with this series of articles and the constraints and goals of my book, before finally arguing that there is a strong theological tradition concerning the word “evil” (eg. Aquinas) that does not bleed ...
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This agnostic method of sapping the doctrine of endless retribution is not only wanting in frank and open dealing in an argument, but is chargeable with falsifying divine revelation. To say that the Bible “veils the subject of endless punishment in mystery” and that it is “reticent upon the subject of the future life,” in the face of such an ...
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W. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (pp. 158–159): Luxury deadens the moral sense, and luxurious populations do not have the fear of God before their eyes. Hence luxurious ages, and luxurious men, recalcitrate at hell, and “kick against the goads.” No theological tenet is more important than eternal retribution to those modern nations which, like England, Germany, and ...
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Several weeks ago, I was contacted by a friendly annihilationist who had written a critical review of the book that was both impressive and erudite . It begins by stating, “This is the most coherent philosophical/theological defence of Eternal Conscious Torment  that I have seen. Author Dirks doesn’t just go for the usual ‘low-hanging fruit’ that we have all heard ...
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Part of my morning exercises over the last year is reading through Cyril of Alexandria’s commentary on John (not that I always get to it daily). Cyril, like most other Early Church Fathers, was quick to speak about eternal punishment. In his commentary on John 8:21, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in ...
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For this top five, I want to share five books referenced in Is There Anything Good About Hell? which could help establish a younger or less mature believer in some deeper theological thinking . None of these are about hell or punishment itself and I have deliberately not included longer works: systematic theologies, commentaries, or other reference-type works. I also ...
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Christ’s outward and inward miseries, sorrows, and sufferings are not to be paralleled, and therefore Christians have the more cause to lose themselves in the contemplation of his matchless love. Oh, bless Christ! oh, kiss Christ! oh, embrace Christ! oh, welcome Christ! oh, cleave to Christ! oh, follow Christ! oh, walk with Christ! oh, long for Christ! who for your ...
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This top three has little to do with hell--at least specifically. I am preaching through the book of Exodus, and I am growing in my knowledge of the degree to which Exodus, its language, and its themes, impact the rest of the scriptures. It's truly remarkable. So I present a top three resources on the book of Exodus with a ...
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