One of the world’s foremost scholars on hell says he agrees with Rob Bell, that a loving God cannot allow people to burn and writhe in pain forever after they die.

But that is where their agreement ends.

Edward William Fudge, the author of The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, is an advocate of the annihilationist view of hell. He believes that hell is real and people are tortured in hell. But unlike the traditional view, he holds that the pain is temporary and those in hell eventually cease to exist. more >>

Not long after the Alpha course started introducing newcomers to the faith across the States, another export from the U.K. is hoping to have the same impact for Christ.

Faith foundations course Christianity Explored was developed by Rico Tice, a minister at All Souls Church, Langham Place, in London, where evangelical leader John Stott is rector emeritus.

Published by The Good Book Company, the course helps people think about the big questions of life and explore the life of Jesus Christ over a seven-week journey through the Gospel of Mark. more >>

“When my daughter came home from school one day saying that a classmate had two mommies, my response was, ‘Two mommies? How lucky is she?!’ What does it actually say in the bible that will cause some people to be upset by my line of thinking?”

That’s the question actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who practices Kabbalah, asked in her latest GOOP newsletter (an online publication that aims to “nourish the inner aspect”).

Her question was originally motivated by the story that broke last year about an Arkansas school board member, Clint McCance, who posted remarks urging gay youth to commit suicide in response to Spirit Day – a campaign to encourage support for gay youth. McCance later said he was sorry for his “ignorant comments” and he resigned from the school board. more >>

While he was a student at Oxford, James Innell Packer, better known as J.I., heard C. S. Lewis speak. Lewis’ influence on Packer was profound, and inspired him to enter full-time Christian ministry.

In sixty-plus years since then, Packer has exercised his considerable influence over Christian minds. He came to the attention of American Christians about the same time as his fellow countryman and Anglican clergyman, John Stott. It’s safe to say that, apart from Stott, Schaeffer and a just few others, no one has shaped the way American Christians think about their faith as much as J. I. Packer.

In its 2005 article on the “25 most influential evangelicals in America,” Time magazine named Packer and described him as offering Christians something “deeper” and “more embracing” than most of them previously encountered. more >>

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Respected theologian Chris Wright gave a challenging critique Saturday of the evangelical movement when he said a disturbing number of its leaders are guilty of idolatry.

God’s people today, like in the Old Testament, have fallen to worshiping the false gods and idols of the world, said the international director of U.K.-based Langham Partnerships as he spoke before the thousands attending the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangeliziation.

“Idolatry … is the biggest single obstacle to world mission,” said Wright, who will be the main drafter of the much-anticipated Cape Town Commitment that will come out of the weeklong gathering of mission-minded Christian leaders. more >>

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – To lively African drumbeats and against the lighted backdrop of the trademark African red sunrise, over 4,000 Christian leaders from over 190 nations gathered at the Cape Town International Convention Center to open the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization Sunday.

It was the first time in over 20 years that the Lausanne Movement, a global network of evangelical leaders who work together for world evangelization, held a global conference. The third Lausanne Congress, also known as Cape Town 2010, is described as the most diverse Christian gathering – in terms of ethnicity, denomination, profession, and gender – in the 2,000 year history of Christianity.

Congress participants represent 198 nations, nearly every stream of Christianity, a diverse age range (40 percent of participants are from 20 to 40 years old), and diverse professions (1,200 participants are pastors, 1,200 are scholars and in the academic field, and 1,200 are from the medical, business, and media fields). more >>