Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 50:2 (Jun 2007)
Article: Fallacies In The Annihilationism Debate: A Critique Of Robert Peterson And Other Traditionalist Scholarship
Author: Glenn Peoples

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JETS 50:2 (June 2007) p. 329

Fallacies In The Annihilationism Debate: A Critique Of Robert Peterson And Other Traditionalist Scholarship

Glenn Peoples

Glenn Peoples is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Anyone who has done much reading on the evangelical debate over the nature of final punishment in the last two decades will have encountered Robert Peterson. He has made a literary career of defending the traditional doctrine of eternal torment against the challenge posed by annihilationism. He is the author of Hell On Trial and has written a number of journal articles attacking the position set forth by a number of evangelicals who have voiced support for annihilationism—in particular, Edward Fudge, the author of The Fire That Consumes.1 Most recently (at the time of writing this article), Peterson co-authored Two Views of Hell with Fudge, where the traditionalist and the annihilationist views were presented side by side and critiqued.2 It would be fair to say that more than any other evangelical author Peterson has been the bastion of the traditional doctrine of hell in recent times and the most vocal critic of annihilationism. In particular, Peterson has taken on the task of writing a number of articles specifically directed at various defenders of annihilationism and critiquing their arguments, seeking to show that they have each failed. Here I pick up on this method, only this time the tables will be turned. I will critically examine some key features of Peterson’s own case and suggest that while it may constitute the strongest case available against annihilationism, it has some major shortcomings and is ultimately unsuccessful.

JETS 50:2 (June 2007) p. 330

I. Misrepresentation

The first task before we can begin interact with Peterson’s arguments, as with many critics of annihilationism it seems, is to clear the ground of the mistakes and distractions that must be dealt with before any of the theological and biblical issues can be addressed. This is an arduous and frustrating task in any debate, but a necessary one in order to have any cogent or fruitful interaction. One fairly persistent obstacle that blocks the path to actually engaging the issues is misrepresentation of the position being attacked. Of course, this problem is not unique to Peterson or even to this issue; it is commonplace in debate and must simply be taken as a matter of course and dealt with to advance the discussion further. Perhaps the most obvious example of misrepresentation in Peterson’s writing comes when he discusses the annihilationist view that Jesus’ death on the cross is a foretast...

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