abstract
A little over a decade after Edward Fudge invited critical readers of The Fire That Consumes to ‘measure this work by every proper standard’, Robert Peterson responded in a paper presented at the 1994 ETS Convention entitled ‘TheHermeneutics of Annihilationism: The Theological Method of Edward Fudge’. In his paper Peterson alleges to ‘have pointed out deficiencies in [Fudge’s] methodological approach’ and concludes that ‘evaluated in terms of hermeneuticsand theological method, [Fudge’s] case appears to be weak’. This paper presents a case for conditional immortality and the annihilation of the finally impenitent, arguing that they—and not the traditional view—result from exegesis done according to accepted hermeneutical principles, responding to Peterson’s critique along the way.
