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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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eternal conscious torment

Hell, Annihilationism, and Eternal Conscious Torment: An Interview

May 19, 2020 by Randal

Here is an interview I recorded today with Zac of the Adherent Apologetics YouTube channel.  

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Adherent Apologetics, annihilationism, apologetics, eternal conscious torment, hell

Eternal Conscious Torment and Modern Sentimentalism

November 28, 2019 by Randal

Christians who defend the doctrine of hell as eternal conscious torment often accuse critics of the doctrine of “modern sentimentalism”. What, like the “sentimental” ideas that slavery and torture are wrong? That animal suffering is morally significant? That armies in military conflicts shouldn’t target non-combatants? That prisons should seek to reform and not merely to […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eternal conscious torment, hell, theology

The Nature of Hell: A friendly debate

May 21, 2019 by Randal

I just finished recording four podcasts with Catholic apologist Trent Horn in San Diego. As I speak, I’m preparing to board a plane to fly back to Edmonton. In the interim, Trent just uploaded the first episode. It was also videotaped and apparently will be made available on YouTube. Here is the link to the […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: annihilationism, eternal conscious torment, hell, interview, Trent Horn

Why Every Christian Should Be a Hopeful Universalist

January 16, 2019 by Randal

Here is a new video I uploaded to YouTube in which I discuss the concept of hopeful universalism. For further discussion, see chapter 20 of my book What On Earth Do We Know About Heaven? which is currently only $3.99!

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eternal conscious torment, heaven, hell, hopeful universalism, universalism

Depersonalizing the Damned: Hell and the humanity of those who go there

March 27, 2018 by Randal

Let’s return to a discussion of the doctrine of hell and in particular, the concept of hell as eternal conscious torment. According to this concept, to end up in hell is to end up in a state of eternal alienation from God, one which results in unimaginable physical and spiritual/psychological torment. And that torment never ends. […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: C.S. Lewis, eternal conscious torment, hell

N.T. Wright and the Universalist Strawman

March 20, 2018 by Randal

Christian universalism is the doctrine that eventually all creatures will be reconciled to God and each other through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. While universalism has been a minority report throughout the history of the church it has often been misunderstood and even caricatured by non-universalist Christians. This trend continues unabated into our own […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eschatology, eternal conscious torment, hell, N.T. Wright, universalism

TWU Today Archives Part 2: A Defense of Annihilationism

May 22, 2016 by Randal

This article, published in the TWU Today Newspaper on January 23, 1996, represents one of my first forays into theological writing. Provocatively titled “Who in hell lives forever?”, the article provides a succinct summary and defense of the case for annihilationism, the doctrine that the reprobate cease to exist in hell.

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: annihilationism, eschatology, eternal conscious torment, hell

The Problem with Hell in One Cartoon

April 20, 2016 by Randal

I’m a long time fan of Gary Larson’s comic strip The Far Side and this cartoon is one of my favorites. Not only does it capture the bizarre, off-beat humor for which The Far Side is justly famous, but it also succinctly summarizes a problem with the conception of God punishing people eternally in hell. How so? Well, let’s start with […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: cartoon, eternal conscious torment, hell, punitive punishment, retributive justice, The Far Side

The Unimaginable Torments of Hell

March 11, 2016 by Randal

On January 3, 2015 the Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh was burned alive by ISIS. A video of the murder was later released online, evoking horror and outrage worldwide. The other day I was in a conversation with a friend who told me he had watched the video of Al-Kasasbeh’s murder … and immediately regretted it. […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: damnation, eschatology, eternal conscious torment, hell

Sin Junkies: addiction, punishment, and the new problem of hell

January 26, 2016 by Randal

In December, 2015 America’s new drug czar, Michael Botticelli, gave a revealing interview with 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley. The interview included this exchange: Scott Pelley: Are you saying that the way we have waged the war on drugs for more than 40 years has been all wrong? Michael Botticelli: It has been all wrong. Blunt force didn’t […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: addiction, eternal conscious torment, hell, Michael Botticelli, sin

Hell and Holiness

November 17, 2015 by Randal

Last year I wrote an article titled “Hell, right doctrine, and right character” in which I explored the link between the formulation of right doctrine and the process of sanctification. The idea, in short, is this: correct doctrine ought to encourage the process of sanctification (aka becoming Christlike). Thus, if acceptance of a particular doctrine tends to undermine the process […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: doctrine, eternal conscious torment, hell, sanctification, Unfundamentalist Christians

Debriefing Calvinism and an article on hell

September 28, 2015 by Randal

Yesterday I posted an article posing the question: “If the God of Calvinism exists, would you worship him?” My answer is, yes, of course! Why? Because within Calvinism (as within Christian orthodoxy generally) God is understood to be morally perfect, and it is right and proper to worship a morally perfect being. Of course, I […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Calvinism, eternal conscious torment, hell, Unfundamentalist Christians

Damning the disordered? An argument against eternal conscious torment

July 8, 2014 by Randal

Paul Bernardo is one of Canada’s most infamous rapists and serial killers. While his litany of crimes is too extensive to list here, the court evidence against the man was absolutely overwhelming and included video tapes of the crimes he filmed with the help of his equally psychopathic wife. Suffice it to say, anybody with a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eschatology, eternal conscious torment, hell, judgment, theology

Hell and the so-called liberal mind

April 22, 2014 by Randal

In his essay “Where are we going?” Ted Peters describes the modern skepticism about the traditional doctrine of hell as eternal conscious torment. He writes: “Over the last two centuries, liberal minds have been bitten by a moral conscience that finds such threat-discourse undignified and revolting. We modern people with more gentle standards of morality […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: eternal conscious torment, ethics, Francis Chan, hell

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