CREED ABOVE ALL ELSE

In their book Two Views of Hell, conditionalist Edward Fudge says of his opponent, traditionalist Robert Peterson "Peterson belongs to and teaches for a denomination that requires him to defend a particular historical creed--the Westminster Confession of Faith...If someone raises a theological question, Peterson believes that the correct answer is found in a creed."

Peterson confirms Fudge's point in the very first paragraph of his response to Fudge's argument. He writes:

"In the spring of 1992 I taught for the first time what has become a favorite elective: Systematic Theology 658, Eternal Destinies. I will never forget the effect that reading the first edition of Edward Fudge's The Fire That Consumes had on my small group of students...As they began to read his book and consider his case for annihilationism, they came to class complaining of physical symptoms including headaches and churning stomachs. I gave them credit for not being dismissive but for earnestly considering Fudge's arguments."

Wow! Think for moment about that statement. It says two things about his students: 1) They were so attached to the orthodoxies they had been taught that a challenge to one of them made them physically ill. Mind you this was not a challenge that affected their own eternal destinies in any way, but merely argued that the future of the unsaved might be different than they believed. 2) They were upset to the point of illness at the thought of the vast majority of mankind not suffering unimaginable agony forever.

This admission is so incredible as to hardly require commentary--it says every bad thing that could possibly be said about the mindset of traditionalists all by itself. Fudge noted in his statement about Peterson's allegiance to his creed that "I am not suggesting that Peterson is engaged in any sort of duplicity or that his opinions arise out of any impure motives." Fudge was too kind. If Peterson's anything at all like his students--surely he started out as a young Bible student, too--then he too must have placed orthodoxy above all else. You would think someone would be glad to be proven wrong about a belief in an eternal torment, but you would be wrong. If it goes against their creeds, then even the horrible notion of people not burning in hell is something to be resisted at all costs. Clarity and comfort in one's position becomes more important than anything else. When it's threatened, fear takes over, the defenses go up, and the status quo must be defended--the teacher must come to the rescue to assure the students that their God--um, creed--was right all along.