Kirk Cameron recently released an episode of his podcast titled Are We Wrong About Hell? In it, the popular actor known for his roles in the 1980s television show Growing Pains and the Way of the Master evangelistic training videos explains and defends his new beliefs about the doctrine of hell and its ultimate end in the annihilation of the wicked rather than in eternal conscious torment.
Cameron’s views are most popularly associated with theologians such as Edward Fudge, whom he cites, and John Stott. I remember interacting with Stott’s position in seminary. Their conclusions are not only out of step with the biblical picture that emerges when the passages on hell are considered together, but they are also out of step with the Christian tradition. The Athanasian Creed states, “Those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.” The Westminster Confession states, “The wicked shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting destruction.” Indirectly related, the Second Council of Constantinople condemned a form of universalism that advocated for temporary conscious punishment (as annihilationism does): “If anyone says or thinks that the punishment of demons and of impious men is only temporary, and will one day have an end, and that a restoration will take place of demons and of impious men, let him be anathema.”
On the podcast, Cameron explains why he, who has a history of defending the eternality of hell, has come to his new position. First, he suggests that conscious torment for eternity is out of proportion with the sinful actions of human beings. Second, he argues that various scriptures support the idea that hell is temporary. Third, he maintains that annihilation aligns more closely with the mercy of God than eternal torment.
Let us examine each of these objections.
Is Eternal Conscious Torment Just?
Cameron asks, “If the punishment was cruel and unusual punishment that went far beyond the severity of the crime, that would no longer be just. So is that really just an eternity of conscious torment for a limited lifetime of sin?”
Scripture gives many examples of God punishing wickedness in ways that appear harsh from a human perspective. In 2 Samuel 6:6–7 we are told that “Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.” Uzzah seemed to have good motives. He wanted to prevent the Ark of the Covenant from falling off the back of a wagon. Yet even the Levites who were charged with moving the Ark were warned that they would die if they touched it (Numbers 4:15).
Another example appears in the New Testament with the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). They gave from their wealth to the church, but lied about how much they possessed in order to appear more charitable than they were. Peter tells them that they lied to the Holy Spirit, and for this crime, they both died.
Ultimately, God sets the standard for what constitutes a just punishment. Because He is infinitely holy, He is far more offended by violations of His law than we are. It is not because He is evil that He sometimes punishes with a severity that troubles us, but because He is good. Furthermore, without redemption, “the mind set on the flesh” remains “hostile toward God” (Romans 8:7–8). Jesus describes the final punishment as a place where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30). The phrase “gnashing of teeth” refers to a seething anger that accompanies the suffering of the wicked. Sinners do not cease to sin after their sentencing. They continue in their rebellion for eternity.
Is Hell Temporary?
Cameron and his son James, who joins him on the broadcast, also cite a handful of verses they believe demonstrate that hell is temporary. Matthew 10:28 states: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus says in Matthew 3:12 that God “will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Psalm 37:20 says: “But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.”
These passages are used to support the idea that the punishment of Hell is temporary. As Cameron says regarding Matthew 3:12: “The fuel is destroyed.” Revelation 20:14 even says that death itself is “thrown into… the lake of fire.” Cameron further cites Matthew 25:46, which says: “these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life,” as evidence that whatever happens to the righteous, the opposite happens to the wicked. If the righteous are experiencing eternal life, then the wicked must be dead forever and therefore not conscious or tormented. Augustine, in contrast, concludes from this passage that “as the eternal life of the saints shall be endless, so too the eternal punishment of those who are doomed to it shall have no end.”
If all we had were these passages, it might be reasonable to assume that annihilation is possible. But these are not the only passages we have on hell, and neither are they inconsistent with an eternal process of active punishment. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says: “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction.” Robert Lewis Dabney asks regarding the annihilationist perspective on this passage: “How can punishment continue, when the subject of it has ceased to exist?”
It does not seem to cease for the Devil, whom Revelation 20:10 says, “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 14:11 also says that for those in hell “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night.” “Smoke” does not refer to the aftermath of a fire, but an ongoing fire with negative consequences for those in the midst of it. Robert Peterson says on this point that when Scripture refers to the fires of Hell, it does so in order to focus on “anguish, not extinction.” The imagery of Mark 9:48, which states “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched,” points to a process of perpetual decay.
Cameron’s explanation for why Christians traditionally hold to a belief in the eternality of Hell is that Plato’s view on the immortality of the soul, even for the wicked, was somehow uncritically imported into Christianity. This would mean the greatest theologians of the church were not motivated by Scripture’s teaching, but rather subverted by a pre-commitment to Platonic philosophy. If this is true, one wonders what other influences Plato has on Christians and whether we know it?
Is God Merciful?
Kirk Cameron affirms the mercy of God and the necessity of repentance and faith in Christ in order to avoid the judgment to come, even if he believes that judgment is temporary. Yet one of his major reasons for rejecting the eternality of hell is his belief that it would imply that God is not merciful. He states, “God is not some megalomaniacal person in the sky who all he wants to do is punish those who sin against him.” He also admits that it is easier to speak with nonbelievers who struggle with the idea of eternal punishment if one can assure them that God does not engage in such punishment.
It is true that “mercy triumphs over judgment,” as James 2:13 teaches, but that same verse also says, “Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy,” immediately after teaching that breaking God’s law at one point makes a person guilty of all. The mercy of God is extended to sinners only through the merits of Christ. Ephesians 2:4–5 tells us, “But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ.” Nowhere in Scripture do we find the mercy of God applied to sinners after their final guilty verdict, even though He shows them mercy throughout their earthly lives by withholding judgment and providing repeated opportunities to repent.
Conclusion
It is tempting to soften some of the teachings of the Bible that are not popular in our modern world. I understand the attraction to that. And if it seems that Scripture could possibly teach a less offensive doctrine, it would be right to adopt it. However, the doctrine of hell and its eternality are doctrines the church has affirmed since its inception because they flow from the plain reading of Scripture. The second death is presented as an eternal process, comparable to the eternal state of glory Christians enjoy.
This being the case, there is all the more reason to be active in the work of evangelism, knowing that God takes sin seriously. There is also all the more reason to rejoice that He saves sinners. I personally do not know what anyone is thinking in the moments before their death. My hope is that God reaches people I am not aware He is reaching in their final moments. I take comfort in knowing that God is good, but I cannot override or soften His justice.
