I fear that if annihilationism is widely accepted by Christians, that will hinder the missionary enterprise. Many people have devoted their lives to bringing the gospel to the unsaved around the globe. Would they continue to do so if they really thought that the worst fate awaiting those who reject Jesus is final extinction? I seriously doubt it. Annihilationists can argue that the obliteration of the wicked is a terrible fate if measured against the bliss of the righteous. But when compared to suffering in hell forever, it is simply not that bad to cease to exist.
— Robert Peterson (b. 1948), Evangelikaler Theologe, Professor für Systematische Theologie und Buchautor
Topics: Eternity & Hope Beyond Death, Witness & Mission, Doubt & Hard Questions
Occasions: For Reflection
Robert Peterson
Robert A. Peterson (* 1948) ist ein US-amerikanischer presbyterianischer Theologe und lehrte über viele Jahre als Professor für Systematische Theologie am Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Er vertritt eine dezidiert reformierte Bundestheologie und profilierte sich insbesondere mit Schriften zur Heilslehre sowie der Verteidigung der traditionellen Lehre von der ewigen Verdammnis. Für Bibelleser bietet sein Werk eine systematisch strukturierte Erschließung zentraler Themen wie der Rechtfertigung, der Heilsgewissheit und der göttlichen Adoption.
All quotes by Robert Peterson (14)
I ask myself: what does hell mean? I maintain: it is the inability to love.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
God has put eternity into our hearts and filled it with longing.
John Piper
C.S. Lewis
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot
Martin Luther King Jr.
Whoever knows Easter cannot despair.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Helmut Thielicke
Charles Haddon Spurgeon