Some might say there’s nothing quite like a good discussion about fire and brimstone during the Christmas season. And Christian actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron serves it up as critics quickly swoop in ready with their Bibles to challenge his apparent, evolving position on the issue.
So, what happened? Cameron recently reignited an old debate — mostly among fellow evangelicals — after publicly questioning the traditional doctrine of hell, which has been well known for three words: eternal, conscious torment. In the Dec. 3 episode of The Kirk Cameron Show, Cameron and his son, James, specifically questioned whether the traditional Christian view of hell lines up with the Old Testament.
During the podcast, Cameron shared how he now sees a biblical argument for annihilationism. He contends the Old Testament describes the fate of the wicked with words that include “destroy,” “perish” and “die,” not the traditional view of eternal torment and suffering. He also points to Edward Fudge, a theologian who wrote “The Fire That Consumes,” and that ancient philosophy may have had more of a hand in the concept of an immortal soul than Scripture. He also noted that annihilationism seems to fit better with the biblical concepts of justice and mercy.
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‘Sincere’ but wrong
Critics of the annihilationism argument weren’t having it. Fellow evangelist Ray Comfort, founder of Living Waters ministry, described Cameron as a friend and former ministry partner who is “sincere” and “the real deal” in his Christian faith, but noted Scripture clearly rejects annihilationism.
“While we believe Kirk is sincere, we believe that conditional mortality and annihilationism are erroneous views, and that the Bible’s clear teaching on hell is known as eternal conscious torment,” he said. “We firmly believe that this is the only correct, biblical view.” Comfort also added he had spoken to Cameron after the controversial podcast and said Cameron noted he “is not settled on the matter and has asked for further discussion.”
Heresy?
Popular apologetics expert Wesley Huff also jumped into the debate with a post on the social media platform X:
“With @KirkCameron announcing his position on conditionalism, I’m seeing a lot of people attempting to critique it. I hold to ECT (eternal, conscious torment), but I do understand the topic of conditional immortality, and I have yet to see anyone actually give a rebuttal that shows me they’ve interacted with the arguments and biblical reasoning from the other side. To condemn conditionalism/annihilationism as heresy is to say that John Stott, Edward Fudge, F.F. Bruce, potentially even Athanasius of Alexandria, are all heretics. This is, with all due respect, ridiculous. While the position might be unorthodox it is not heresy.”
Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also challenged Cameron’s views as “sad” and warned his apparent shift on this issue rejects New Testament teaching.
“Theologically and biblically, there is nothing new here. It’s old hat and worn-out arguments,” Mohler wrote in an article published by World News Group. “What makes this podcast noteworthy is the fact that it is the Kirk Cameron Show and many evangelicals have looked to Kirk as a celebrity, a family man, an evangelist, and what we now call an ‘influencer.’ In this case, the influence is not good, very not good, and it needs to be addressed.”
He noted, “The New Testament evidence for hell as eternal conscious punishment is clear, as Jesus declared in Matthew 25:46: ‘And these will go away unto eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ … Annihilation is not part of the picture. Hell is not a passage into non-existence, but the torment of the wicked. The truth is horrible, so the warnings are stark.”
Related headlines:
The deadly danger of remodeling hell -Al Mohler/World News Group
Kirk Cameron changes stance on doctrine of Hell, says he no longer believes in ‘eternal conscious torment’ -Christian Post
Kirk Cameron Reignites the Debate Over Eternal Punishment -Charisma Magazine
Kirk Cameron Takes Heat for His Annihilationist View on Hell – ChurchLeaders
Kirk Cameron adopts annihilationist view of hell – World News Group
The links above are a sampling of headlines related to the story and are not an endorsement of all viewpoints or reporting.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was compiled by Shawn Hendricks, content editor for The Baptist Paper, from various news reports.
