
Rethinking Hell
Rethinking Hell is a central resource for a view on Hell called Conditional Immortality (a.k.a. conditionalism or annihilationism). Focusing on this biblical view as held by many Evangelical Christians, we interview notable proponents, respond to the challenges of critics, present the stories of people who once held to the traditional view but are now rethinking hell, and much more.
Latest episodes

Dec 29, 2018 • 1h 20min
Episode 117: Hell and Hermeneutics; A Response to Lindsay Brooks—Plus 2019 Conference Announcement!
Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date responds to clips from a breakout presentation delivered at the 2015 Rethinking Hell Conference by his friend Lindsay Brooks, in which Brooks offers some criticism of conditional immortality on hermeneutical grounds. Also, listen for an important announcement about the upcoming 2019 Rethinking Hell Conference!

Dec 19, 2018 • 1h 3min
Episode 116: Hell and Eschatological Humility; A Conversation with Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Dr. Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, joins Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date to discuss his take on hell and final punishment as a systematic theologian and his five-volume series, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World.

Dec 15, 2018 • 52min
Episode 115: "The Precious Blood of Christ": A Response to James White
Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date responds to comments recently made by James White on the Dividing Line, in which White rightly explains that biblical language of Christ shedding his precious blood means he died as a substitute in place of those for whom his sacrifice was made. Chris asks, if the blood of Christ points metonymically to his substitutionary death, doesn't that mean the punishment awaiting the unsaved is likewise death?

Nov 8, 2018 • 40min
Episode 114: "An Unquenchable Doctrine": Chris Date on the Recent History of Conditional Immortality
Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date recently presented a paper at Lloyd Strickland's and Andrew Crome's conference, "Imagining the Last Things: Eschatology and Apocalypticism, 1500-Present." Chris's paper, "An Unquenchable Doctrine: The Tenacity of Conditional Immortality in Recent History," outlines the history of conditionalism since the Reformation and its increasing popularity despite attempts by traditionalists to stamp it out, and the evolution of the doctrine of eternal torment into something much more moderate than would be recognizable to Christians of the past.

Sep 30, 2018 • 2h 35min
Episode 113: Date and Quient vs. Richardson and Lauriston Debate Review
Rethinking Hell contributors Chris Date and Nick Quient join Joey Dear to review their recent debate with Damon Richardson and Elce Lauriston.

Sep 24, 2018 • 3h
Episode 112: "Does the Bible Teach Eternal Conscious Torment?" Date and Quient Debate Richardson and Lauriston
A live-streamed debate between Damon Richardson of UrbanLogia Ministries and Elce Lauriston (affirmative), and Chris Date and Nick Quient of Rethinking Hell (negative). The debate was held on September 10, 2018.

Apr 16, 2018 • 55min
Episode 111: Rethinking "Hell Theology" in the Raw
Plenary speakers Preston Sprinkle and Chris Date record a joint episode of the "Theology in the Raw" and "Rethinking Hell" podcasts on Day 2 of the 2018 Rethinking Hell Conference in Dallas–Fort Worth. They discuss their and other speakers' presentations, answer audience questions, and more.

Jan 29, 2018 • 2h 28min
Episode 110: "Hell Under Fire" Under Fire, Part 8: Annihilationism Under Fire
Rethinking Hell contributors Peter Berthelsen and Mark Corbett join Chris Date for the eighth and last of a series of episodes reviewing Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, edited by Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson. This eighth episode in the series reviews chapter 9, "Annihilationism: Will the Unsaved Be Punished Forever?" by Christopher Morgan.

Jan 16, 2018 • 2h 49min
Episode 109: "Hell Under Fire" Under Fire, Part 7: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved?
Part 7 of our series of episodes reviewing Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, edited by Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson. This seventh episode in the series reviews chapter 8, "Universalism: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved?" by J. I. Packer.

Dec 3, 2017 • 1h 57min
Episode 108: Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Brian Godawa on Conditionalism and Orthodox Preterism
Writer and filmmaker Brian Godawa joins Rethinking Hell contributor Chris Date to discuss his biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Apocalypse, and how orthodox preterism can inform the debate between the doctrines of conditional immortality and eternal torment.
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