The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

IV. Frederick Ash Freer-Stalwart Supporter of White and Petavel

FREDERICK ASH FREER (1837-1917), of Bristol, England, gifted advocate of Conditional Immortality and learned author of To Live or Not to Live? (1900), was the translator from the French of Dr. Emmanuel Petavel’s classic, The Problem of Immortality. He also wrote the biography of Conditionalist Dr. Edward White-Edward White: His Life and Work (1902). He was the son of a Baptist minister. Freer was facile in French, German, and Italian, as well as Hebrew and Greek. He had traveled widely. At one time he had been a civil service Inland Revenue official. In the 1850’s he espoused the teaching of Life Only in Christ. More at home with the pen and in the editorial chair than on the public platform, he was nevertheless a pleasing speaker, and presented able papers before various Conditional Immortality Conferences in England. He was a contributor of merit to several Conditionalist journals, such as The Rainbow, The Faith, and Words of Life. CFF2 621.5

Having gone to London in 1855, pursuant to his government appointment, and hearing of Dr. Edward White’s unique teaching and preaching concerning Life Only in Christ, Freer moved to the vicinity of White’s church, St. Paul’s Hawley Road Chapel, in London. Finding White’s teaching to be Biblically sound and irrefutable, he joined White’s church. Freer’s conviction became established that only God has absolute immortality inherent in Himself; that man is mortal, and must die the second and eternal death if not rescued by our divine Saviour. By union with Christ the believer obtains eternal life as the free gift of God, which is the glad message of the gospel. Through this concept scripture became harmonized with scripture as never before, and the gospel was made clear and harmonious. Indeed, this concept produced an entire revolution in his attitude toward the gospel. CFF2 622.1

1. MAKES MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONDITIONALIST CAUSE

Although Freer left London in 1877, his friendship with Dr. White deepened through the years, and he was finally asked to prepare White’s biography, which was published in 1902. Freer chose the modest position of a strong behind-the-scenes supporter of Dr. White, of London, and Dr. Petavel of Lausanne, on the Continent, the outstanding Conditionalists of the time. He, like Aaron of old, was staying up Moses’ hands (Exodus 17:12). (Pictured on page 625.) CFF2 622.2

Freer helped Petavel in the preparation of his masterful two-volume work Le Probléme de l’Immortalité (“The Problem of Immortality”), published in 1891 and 1892. Then he translated it at the author’s request for the English public in 1902. Dr. Weymouth, of Mill Hill, pronounced it a very “scholarly work.” The first of Freer’s numerous periodical articles appeared in The Rainbow in 1883, the last in Words of Life in 1916. ¹¹¹ He lived for a time in Bristol, where he was a member of the Committee of Management of the oldest Baptist College of England. He was an able and dedicated advocate of Conditionalism. CFF2 622.3

Freer’s own To Live or Not to Live? is a veritable multum in parvo. A popular treatise, only 164 pages in length, it is nevertheless packed with facts and condensed philosophic, historical, and Biblical information. It scintillates with veritable gem statements. He also deals effectively with objections. And his tabulation and evaluation of all the Conditionalist writers of his day in Britain, on the Continent, and in America, are invaluable. His writings bear all the marks of accurate, documented scholarship. CFF2 623.1

2. A SYNTHESIS OF THE FREER CONTRIBUTION

Freer’s To Live or Not to Live? comprises twelve terse chapters. Its scope and objective can perhaps be seen at a glance from the chapter headings:
“What Is Meant by Conditionalism”
“Philosophic Conditionalism”
“Christian Conditionalism”
“Biblical Interpretation and Conditionalism”
“Biblical Data and Conditionalism”
“Augustinianism and Conditionalism”
“Universalism and Conditionalism”
“Indecision and Conditionalism”
“Objections Urged Against Conditionalism”
“Representatives of Conditionalism”
“Religion and Science Harmonized in Conditionalism”
“Advantages of Conditionalism.” CFF2 623.2

Freer’s treatise is characterized by impressive expressions. For instance, he stresses the distinction between “an endless life of loss [eternal torment, instead of an endless loss of all life [destruction].” ¹¹² And speaking of Augustinianism, Freer says penetratingly, “When once the assumption of man’s innate immortality is put aside, the fabric founded upon it crumbles to pieces.” ¹¹³ A As to the claims of Universalism, he comments: CFF2 623.3

“From the Conditionalist point of view, therefore, it is evident that the ‘restitution of all things’ when God shall be ‘all in all’ may be attained by the elimination of all uncongenial elements, the destruction of all impenitent human beings.” ¹¹⁴ CFF2 624.1

Note some gem statements:
As to the eternal punishment of the wicked, it is a question only of “whether its endless duration is that of a process never to be completed or of a work irreversible and complete.” ¹¹⁵ CFF2 624.2

“The eternal punishment mentioned here [Matthew 25:46], and here only, like the ‘eternal judgment’; and the ‘eternal redemption’ of Hebrews vi. 2 and ix.12, is eternal, not as an unfinished process but as a finished work.” ¹¹⁶ CFF2 624.3

Conditionalism, Freer explains, “combines and harmonizes all the passages which are so often supposed to be irreconcilable with each other as well as with other Scripture teaching.” ¹¹⁷ CFF2 624.4

As to the penalty for sin, “The sufferings, however, are not themselves the penalty of sin; the penalty is the death in which these issue.” ¹¹⁸ Again: “The second death cannot be totally unlike the first, or it would not be a second.” ¹¹⁹ CFF2 624.5

“The fundamental position of Conditionalism as to the constitution of man” is that he is “capable of either destiny, immortality or death.” ¹²⁰ CFF2 624.6

And this he stresses:
“Notwithstanding the predominance of the philosophical theory of immortality of all souls, the belief that endless life is to be had through Christ alone was never utterly extinguished in the Christian Church.” ¹²¹ CFF2 624.7

The change came in the “middle of the [nineteenth] century” from a “negation of eternal life in suffering as the penalty of sin,” to a “positive form” as a “doctrine of life.” ¹²² And sagely, he further states that Conditionalism is “a synthesis which sets the various doctrines of the gospel in their true light and their just relations.” “That was Freer’s contribution. He shared White’s and Petavel’s views. ¹²³ CFF2 624.8

Picture 2: Frederick Ash Freer, Charles Byse
Left: Frederick Ash Freer (d. 1917)—not eternal torment but endless loss of life. Right: Charles Byse (d. 1885), biblical languages expert—tried and condemned for “heresy” of Conditionalism.
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