The Eternality Of Hell
Mark Rudolph2023, The Eternality of Hell
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
"Is the punishment of the wicked eternal?" is a common question. The answers to questions about hell's eternality contain weighty implications about the nature of God. Largely leaning on Charles Hodges's Systematic Theology, together with the use of computerbased language tools, this paper demonstrates that the place or condition of eternal punishment is a biblical reality.
Key takeaways
- There are three words in view in this paper: the Old Testament Hebrew sheol and the New Testament Greek words hades and gehenna.
- Therefore, as noted, whereas the words sheol and hades can be understood equivocally as a generic realm of the dead and as a place for the wicked, gehenna unequivocally refers to the place, state, or condition of those who have died without Christ's atonement.
- Heaven and gehenna are conditions of eternity, with the condition of the wicked being relatively inferior to those who are righteous.
- Unfortunately for me, the word gehenna never appears in Revelation.
- Understanding the phrase "forever (and ever)" is a much easier task that understanding the differences between sheol/hades and gehenna.
Related papers
Forever Present To Curse: Establishing the Christian Doctrine of Hell
Hell is a place where, after death, the souls of unrepentant sinners are eternally tormented by the unmediated presence of God, manifested in his wrath. This claim is confirmed through (i) an exegetical study of the words used to indicate “hell” in the Bible, (ii) a biblical-theological overview of the presence of God manifest in either blessing or cursing throughout the Scriptures, and (iii) a consideration of matters componential to a proper systematic theology of hell.
IS HELL ETERNAL? A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE NEW CONDITIONAL VIEW OF HELL
2003
It is the conviction of the writer of this paper that the evidence presented from both the New Testament and its conservative scholar’s exhibits that the doctrine of the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked held by orthodox Christians for over 2000 years is the only option for a conservative Bible-believing Christian. Some may mock at the idea that humans often need contrasts to learn and to be grateful for the blessing they have received. Nevertheless, often it is only when one sees that someone else did not receive a blessing which he has received is he able to view things from a perspective of thankfulness. When Scripture has its proper place as the final authority for faith and practice, many issues can be resolved. Likewise, how the Holy Spirit assisted orthodox exegetes to interpret texts over the last 2,000 years can also assist Bible students in not wandering into the error of many American based cults.
Chapter 2: HELL – and Its Other Side
Justice That Transforms: Restorative Justice – "Not Enough!" , 2024
The doctrine of hell necessarily arises in the context of a Christian consideration of violence. For a theological discussion of violence inevitably brings one to the most extreme instance of violence in God, if the traditional, most dominant, Western doctrine of hell is indeed “biblical” — namely, eternal conscious punishment of the unbeliever. This paper, inclusion of which also is in large part is in Volume Three of this series: "WAR AND HELL – and Exception-Clause Footnote Theology."
The Problem of Hell Revisited: Towards a Gentler Theology of Hell 93 The Problem of Hell Revisited: Towards a Gentler Theology of
2016
The doctrines of hell and the existence of God seem to pose a formidable paradox for both Christianity and Islam. The paradox can be stated as follows: Given that God is perfect in every sense, how can he allow any of his creatures to suffer eternal perdition? In this paper, I undertake a critical examination of the arguments for and against the doctrine of hell and conclude that on balance, arguments against the existence of hell heavily outweigh those for its existence. This calls for a radical revision of the traditional doctrine of hell. I contend that what is needed is a gentler and more sinner-friendly theology of hell that recognizes God’s mercy and infinite patience. Nevertheless, belief in hell can serve the social function of deterring potential sinners from sinning.
Hell and the Problem of Evil
The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil, 2014
1. Introduction While accounts of the nature of hell vary within and between religious traditions, formulations of the traditional doctrine include at least the following five elements. E1 Some persons do or will reside in hell and will be there for an infinite period of time. E2 Hell is the residence of those persons who have failed to satisfy some condition(s) dictated by God as necessary to avoid hell and enjoy heaven. E3 The cumulative well-being and well-being at any moment of any resident of hell is negative. E4 Those in hell are blocked from leaving. E5 Those in hell are consigned to hell as punishment for either failing to satisfy the condition(s) God requires for one to avoid hell or for actual sins committed or both. In this essay we explain why the doctrine of hell poses a problem of evil for traditional theists in the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and how some have responded to the problem. Our focus is entirely on recent work in analytic philosophical theology. Given that the recent philosophical debates over hell have largely transpired within the context of the Christian theistic tradition, Christian theism provides the backdrop for how we frame the problem and some of the responses in much of what follows. However, this should not be taken as an indication of the problem as unique to traditional Christianity or even that the responses to the problem considered are only available to those who are working from within the Christian tradition. In what follows, we first summarize the case for why the doctrine of hell poses a problem of evil. Next, we consider recent traditionalist responses to the problem. Finally, we examine some non-traditionalist strategies that involve dispensing with one or more of the five elements of the traditional view. 2. The Problem Stated Some philosophers have argued that the conception of hell that follows from (E1)-(E5) is inconsistent with the traditional conception of God. In particular, it poses a problem for theists who (a) believe in an afterlife and (b) believe that some persons will reside in hell forever. Such theists affirm the following two theses: (i) God exists, and is essentially omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly good. 1 Similar reasoning can be found in Adams (1975), Hick (1978, chapter XVI), and Talbott (1990). 2 We are not using the same numbering as Adams and we have substituted 'God' where Adams has 'He'.
Divine Judgement
full-proof.org
Theological debate seldom makes it into the churches. Perhaps practical and ethical issues step into the spotlight, but the finer points of doctrine rarely see the pulpit. However, recently amongst evangelical Christians there has been one topic which has received renewed and vigorous attention -the doctrine of hell. When John Stott 1 (and at other times a small number of other prominent evangelicals 2 ) tentatively suggested that hell may not be everlasting conscious torment, but that those in hell will ultimately be annihilated, many evangelicals were up in arms. Books were written, conferences were held, invitations were withdrawn, and the fire and brimstone sermon returned.
Making Sense of Hell
Themelios, 2021
Christian universalism (the view that all people are eventually saved) is largely predicated upon a negative reaction to the traditional doctrine of hell. It is therefore a "second option" to those who see hell as illogical, unnecessary, and/or cruel. In this article, I will argue that hell is not only logical and just but that it is also conceivably necessary. I will do this by way of a theological examination of those who occupy hell's harrowing halls. This is essential because the loss of the traditional doctrine of hell can mean the loss of souls along with it. Doubting hell is playing with eternal fire.
Heaven, Hell, and the Human Soul: Questions Concerning the Nature of Eternal Things
For as long as anyone can remember, the promise of an eternal Heaven, the threat of an eternal Hell, and the doctrine of the eternal human soul have been heralded from virtually every sacred space. To believe otherwise is not only unthinkable but heretical as well, if one claims to believe The Bible. Oddly enough, though, when one simply takes the time to examine the Scriptures, one is irrevocably thunderstruck by the inconsistency of believing in said eternal nature of Heaven, Hell, and the human soul. It is the goal of the following introductory work to bring those inconsistencies into sharp focus. But, mind you, when I introduce the following inconsistencies, I’m not at all suggesting that the Godhead itself is to be lumped into this investigation of the “eternal” nature of such things. That’s because I’m entirely convinced, based on the testimony of both Scripture and Nature, that God is eternal in every sense of what that word implies. What I will be questioning, however, is whether … Heaven, Hell, and the human soul bear any intrinsic resemblance to the Godhead Who created them.
The Differentiated Divine Presence Model of Hell: Reconciling Eternal Justice with Divine Love
2024
This paper presents the Differentiated Divine Presence (DDP) model of hell, offering a refined perspective that integrates theological tradition with contemporary philosophical thought. The DDP model posits that heaven, purgatory, and hell are not separate locations but different experiences of God's unchanging presence, perceived according to each soul's moral and spiritual state. For the blessed, this presence is the Beatific Vision, a state of ultimate joy. For the damned, it is experienced as divine wrath, the natural consequence of their rejection of God's love. The model introduces the concept of natural happiness for the damned-a state of contentment within the natural order, reflecting a life that is good on the whole despite eternal separation from supernatural joy. Through this framework, the DDP model offers a nuanced understanding of divine justice, emphasizing that even in damnation, God's love and justice ensure that every soul's existence remains meaningful and aligned with their freely chosen path.
John Wesley Hanson - The Bible Hell - A study of the four words translated with Hell: Sheol, Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna.
The Bible Hell - John Wesley Hanson , 1888
Does the Bible teach the idea commonly held among Christians concerning Hell? Does the Hell of the Bible denote a place of torment, or a condition of suffering without end, to begin at death? What is the Hell of the Bible? Manifestly the only way to arrive at the correct answer is to trace the words translated Hell from the beginning to the end of the Bible, and by their connections ascertain exactly what the divine Word teaches on this important subject. It seems incredible that a wise and benevolent God should have created or permitted any kind of an endless hell in his universe. Has he done so? Do the Scripture teachings concerning Hell stain the character of God and clothe human destiny with an impenetrable pall of darkness, by revealing a state or place of endless torment? Or do they explain its existence, and relieve God's character, and dispel all the darkness of misbelief, by teaching that it exists as a means to a good end? ................................. The brief excursus on the word "Hell" contained in this volume, aims to treat the subject in a popular style, and at the same time to present all the important facts, so fully and comprehensively that any reader can obtain in a few pages a birds-eye-view of "The Bible Hell." The author ventures to hope that any one who will read candidly, not permitting the bias of an erroneous education to warp his judgment, will not fail to agree with the conclusions of this book,----that the doctrine of unending sin and woe finds no support in the Bible teachings concerning Hell.
Related topics
Related papers
The Agony of the Infinite: The Presence of God as Phenomenological Hell
Heaven and Philosophy, ed. Simon Cushing, 2018
Much recent academic literature on the afterlife has been focused on the justice of eternity and whether a good God could allow a person to experience eternal suffering in Hell. Two primary escapes are typically suggested to justify never-ending punishment for sinners: the traditional view focuses the blame for an individual’s condemnation away from God onto the sinner’s freely chosen actions; the universalist position denies the eternality of the punishment on the grounds that God’s inescapable love and eventual victory over evil will bring all souls into His presence. I propose a third option that hinges on the possibility of Heaven itself being experienced as eternal punishment to demonstrate that if God’s presence is both the blessedness of Heaven for some and the agony of Hell for others, then the biblical affirmation of the universal restoration of all with the eternal punishment of some need not remain paradoxical.
FOUR VIEWS ON HELL BOOK CRITIQUE A Theological Critique
A Theological Critique Submitted to Liberty Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion of the course, THEO 525 SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY I
The Development of Hell from Jewish to Christian Theology: a Biblical Guide to Hell and Its Existence
QUAERENS: Journal of Theology and Christianity Studies, 2022
According to the view that is relatively common in the wider Christian culture, heaven and hell basically deserve compensation for the kind of earthly life we lead. Good people go to heaven as a worthy reward for a virtuous life, and bad people go to hell as a just punishment for an immoral life; in that way, the scale of justice is sometimes considered balanced. But almost all Christian theologians regard such a view, however commonly it may be in popular culture, as too simplistic and unsampled; the biblical perspective, as they see it, is much more subtle than that. It is important to acknowledge the polemical and apologetic setting of its development. Judaism underwent modifications to protect the Jewish faith and chastise apostates in the face of invading Hellenism. For the early Christ-movement, continued growth was necessary to defend itself against both internal defection and first-century Judaism and Greco-Roman paganism. The early church fathers believed that using the dre...
Hell, Divine Love, and Divine Justice
Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 1999
Contemporary Shifts in the Christian Doctrine of Hell in Anglo-American Philosophical Theology
2015
This problem of hell is a specific form of the problem of evil. The possibility that perhaps a great number of people will end up in an eternal hell is a problem for the Christian who also confesses faith in an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God. In this paper, I shall introduce issuantist views of hell and show that the basic formulations of this perspective do not provide an adequate answer to the problem of hell. Issuantist scholars themselves, however, recognize this weakness and add a wide range of possible supplements to their basic perspective. Some of these supplemented versions succeed in presenting reasonable answers to the problem of hell. One of the key reasons for the shift in interpretations of hell is a perceived failure on the part of other interpretations of hell to give adequate answers to the problem of hell. It is my conclusion, however, that with the addition of some of the same supplements, versions of annihilationism/ conditionalism and hell as ete...
The Justice and Goodness of Hell
Faith and Philosophy, 2011
The paper considers the objections to Christianity raised by David Lewis, which accuse Christians of immorality on the grounds of their worshipping a monstrous being who punishes finite evils by the infinite punishment of hell. It distinguishes between the objection that God is a monster because such punishment would be unjust, and the objection that even if damnation is just, God is a monster because he wills or allows the dreadful evil of hell by creating beings that can be justly damned. It asserts that Aquinas's defence of the traditional Christian doctrine of hell provides an answer to this objection. The traditional doctrine is that those who die having committed serious sins for which they have not repented will be punished by endless mental and physical suffering in hell. Aquinas argues that the endless punishment of the damned is just because the damned endlessly and freely choose evil, and that it is good because the punishment of impenitent sinners, while bad for the sinners, is good absolutely speaking. The basis for his claim that the damned freely choose evil forever is his understanding of practical reason as ultimately motivated by a choice of a particular kind of life to live, and his view that all motivations that are independent of practical reason have a physical basis. The basis for his claim that the punishment of the damned is a good thing absolutely considered is his teleological view of good and evil. The paper defends these bases and their application to the question of damnation.
HELL, VAGUENESS, AND JUSTICE
Faith and Philosophy, 2008
Ted Sider's paper "Hell and Vagueness" challenges a certain conception of Hell by arguing that it is inconsistent with God's justice. Sider's inconsistency argument works only when supplemented by additional premises. Key to Sider's case is a premise that the properties upon which eternal destinies supervene are "a smear," i.e., they are distributed continuously among individuals in the world. We question this premise and provide reasons to doubt it.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.