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'Hell': A Hard Look at a Hard Question
The Fate of the Unrighteous in New Testament Thought
Paternoster Biblical Monographs
Foreword by Graham N. Stanton
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
PATERNOSTER BIBLICAL MONOGRAPHS
Series Preface
One of the major objectives of Paternoster is to serve biblical scholarship by providing a channel for the publication of theses and other monographs of high quality at affordable prices. Paternoster stands within the broad evangelical tradition of Christianity. Our authors would describe themselves as Christians who recognise the authority of the Bible, maintain the centrality of the gospel message and assent to the classical credal statements of Christian belief. There is diversity within this constituency; advances in scholarship are possible only if there is freedom for frank debate on controversial issues and for the publication of new and sometimes provocative proposals. What is offered in this series is the best of writing by committed Christians who are concerned to develop well-founded biblical scholarship in a spirit of loyalty to the historic faith.
Series Editors
I. Howard Marshall
Richard J. Bauckham
Craig Blomberg
Robert P. Gordon
Tremper Longman III
David Powys was educated at The University of Melbourne. He gained degrees in arts and social work, studied theology at Ridley College, and was ordained in 1981. Dr Powys has ministered in four Melbourne parishes. He is an Examining Chaplain to the Archbishop of Melbourne and a member of Archbishop in Council and National Synod. He was awarded the Doctor of Theology by the Australian College of Theology in 1994 for his "The Hermeneutics of 'Hell'." The present volume is a slightly abbreviated version of that dissertation.
"I welcome this rigorous examination of some of the many questions which are raised by the doctrine of hell. At a time when it is rare to hear even heaven spoken about in our churches, it is encouraging that this sober theme is once more in our sights. It was plainly often on the lips of Jesus."
- Nigel M. de S. Cameron,
Trinity International University
"Dr Powys has pursued a rigorous examination of the Scriptures . . . He rivets our attention on what the New Testament actually says about the fate of the unrighteous. This is a seminal work."
- David Claydon, Federal Secretary,
CMS, Australia
"The author, writing from a position of biblical conservatism, has presented a powerful, convincing and scholarly case for the view that the unrighteous will forfeit resurrection life in the Kingdom of God. It is, in my judgment, the most thorough treatment of the issue in recent years."
- John W. Pryor, Macquarie University
"This book is an impressive, thorough discussion of a thorny question. Dr Powys is at home in many branches of biblical studies . . . He examines the biblical evidence carefully and sets his case out lucidly and with real insight, showing convincingly how ill-founded are many ancient and many recent views on the fate of the unrighteous. His own solution of a set of complex exegetical and theological issues is judicious and clearly the end result of careful thought."
- from the Foreword by Graham Stanton, University of Cambridge
"David Powys has made a significant contribution to an increasingly important debate. His book's real strength lies in its very careful study of New Testament teaching in the light of a comprehensive analysis of the Old Testament and Jewish literature. This literature is rightly seen not merely as background but as the key to a right understanding of the New Testament teaching. I wish that such a clear discussion had been available when I first began engaging with these questions."
- Stephen Travis, St John's College, Nottingham