The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

III. Active Discussion in Leading Periodicals in 1878-1879

1. DR. DALE REAFFIRMS CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY POSITION

Almost continuous discussion over the nature and destiny of man continued during 1878-1879. Dr. R. W. Dale, writing in The Christian World of April 5, 1878, on “The Future Destiny of the Wicked,” sketched the background of the current discussion, which he said was started by the writings of two clergymen, Baptist H. H. Dobney (On the Scripture Doctrine of Future Punishment) and Congregationalist Edward White (Life in Christ). Dale then referred to the Congregationalist novelist, George Macdonald, even stating that his religious fiction had done perhaps even more to destroy “the traditional faith in the endlessness of Future Punishment than my friend Mr. White by his logic and exegesis.” CFF2 442.3

Believing that “the time has come” for “settlement of the controversy,” Dale speaks of the widespread “anxiety” and “restlessness” over the question in the religious world. The Congregationalists and Baptists, he says, are “open” on the issue, while the Wesleyan Methodists and Presbyterians hold rigidly to the “traditional position.” He refers to four schools of thought on the fate of the wicked—those who cling to Eternal Torment, those who believe in a second chance, the Restorationism of the Universalists, and those teaching Conditional Immortality, which latter, Dale adds, “I have publicly preached for many years.” Eternal Life, he maintains, is only for the regenerate. The unregenerate “will come to an end.” This he declared to be the “teaching of Holy Scripture.” He had also expressed similar views in the New York Christian Union. So it was a transatlantic discussion. CFF2 442.4

2. “CONTEMPORARY REVIEW” AIRS ALL VIEWS

The April Contemporary Review began the first in a series of papers by “eminent writers” dealing with “Future Punishment,” presenting the three variant views. Canon Farrar’s rejection of Eternal Torment opened the discussion. Professor Jollett, Bishop Butler, and William Arthur contended for the old view. Baldwin Brown and John Hunt discussed the annihilation of the wicked, and Edward White restated his Conditionalist view of the ultimate and utter destruction of the impenitent. Dr. Salmond, meanwhile, maintained a neutral position. CFF2 443.1

3. SYMPOSIUMS APPEAR IN VARIOUS JOURNALS

In the next year or two, at least four journals—North American Review and Christian Union of New York, and the London Contemporary Review and the Homiletic Magazine—published symposiums, or series of articles, on the question, various writers expressing their several points of view. And there was a growing recognition of the propriety of such expression. CFF2 443.2