Publisher's Synopsis
Traditionalists holding to the Doctrine of Soul Immortality, or the Immortality of the Soul, have also held to a firm belief in the eternal, conscious torment of wicked unbelievers in the lake of fire and brimstone. A movement, led by Edward Fudge, among others, has sought to challenge the notion that the wicked burn day and night, forever and ever. Conditional Immortality has always had its share of advocates throughout the church, even as early as the second century, but it has always been a minority position. In her latest book, Terror of the Lord, Arminian author Deidre Richardson responds to conditional immortalist Edward Fudge and his work, The Fire That Consumes, offering some thought-provoking responses for the traditionalist view that blend both theology and philosophy. Having a 5-year Master of Divinity in Christian Apologetics (Philosophy) degree under her belt, she makes the case that nowhere in the Scriptures is there any evidence for the conditional immortalist proposition of physical annihilation for unbelievers. Richardson's responses cover a wide variety of topics, from passages used to advocate conditional immortality, to the discussion of the philosophy of language, the nature of the soul, the nature of Hades and its role as soul station, as well as Jesus' own philosophical-theological teachings on the subject of the human soul from the New Testament Gospels. When it comes to the soul, Richardson asserts that, while the Apostle Paul and the New Testament writers, including the Apostle Peter, spent time discussing a future with Christ involving immortal bodies, they assumed that humans already have immortal souls. Arminian author Deidre Richardson undertakes here what few would expect: though an Arminian apologist and theologian, she sides with traditionalists on the Immortality of the Soul while leaving conditional immortalists with questions they cannot answer. In the final analysis, believers who believe in the "terror of the Lord" will come face to face with what traditionalists have always believed -- and want to evangelize and warn unbelievers in the process. Deidre Richardson is an undergraduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A. History, Music) and a graduate of Southeastern Seminary (Master of Divinity, Christian Apologetics). She spent four years in the seminary's Master of Theology (ThM) postgraduate program, where she studied Inclusivism and Theology of Religions under Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach author Dr. Kenneth Keathley. Richardson is the author of five other books, including Short-Sighted Faith: Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) and the Doctrine of Perseverance, and the informal Arminian Theology Lydia's Heart: The Case for Prevenient Grace. Her next work is soon to arrive on the market: a book on the world's first Reformed Arminian acronym (forthcoming, Christmas Day 2019).
