Conditional immortality
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Conditional immortality, or conditionalism, is the Christian doctrine that the human soul is naturally mortal, and that immortality is granted by God as a gift. Immortality, therefore, is conditional; this viewpoint stands in contrast to the more popular doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The British Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report states the doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".[1]
Proponents of conditional immortality ("conditionalists") point to Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, where the Tree of Life is mentioned. It is argued that these passages, along with Genesis 3:22-24 teach that human beings will naturally die without continued access to God's life-giving power.
As a general rule, conditionalism goes hand in hand with annihilationism; that is, the belief that the souls of the wicked will be destroyed in hell rather than suffering eternal torment. The two ideas are not exactly equivalent, however, because in principle God may annihilate a soul which was previously created immortal. While annihilationism places emphasis on the active destruction of a person, conditionalism places emphasis on a person's dependence upon God for life; the extinction of the person is thus a passive consequence of separation from God.
In secular historical analysis, the doctrine of conditional immortality reconciles the ancient Hebrew view that humans are mortal with the Christian view that the saved will live forever.
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[edit] Arguments against natural immortality
Conditionalists commonly argue that the doctrine of natural (or innate) immortality stems not from Hebrew thought, as presented in the Bible, but rather from Greek philosophy and the teachings of Plato in particular.
It is further noted that St. Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 that "God ... alone is immortal," while in 2 Timothy 1:10 he writes that immortality only comes to human beings as a gift through the gospel.
[edit] Literature
Biblical Scholar Edward W. Fudge has written an authoritative treatise on conditional immortality entitled The Fire That Consumes. 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 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.
[edit] Secular outlook
In secular historical analysis, the doctrine of conditional immortality reconciles two seemingly conflicting traditions in the Bible: the ancient Hebrew concept that the human being is mortal with no meaningful existence after death (see sheol and Ecclesiastes), and the later Jewish and Christian belief in the resurrection of the dead and personal immortality after Judgment Day.
[edit] References
[edit] External Links
- Sleep of Death Resources online articles and audio/video teachings
[edit] Bibliography
- The Nature of Hell. A report by the Evangelical Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals (ACUTE), copyright 2000 Evangelical Alliance. The "Conclusions and Recommendations" (pages 130-135) are available online.
