‘A Child of Strawberry’: Thomas Barrett and Lee Priory, Kent (original) (raw)
Related papers
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.
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.
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...
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 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'.
The Eternality of Hell, 2023
"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.
Issuant views of hell in contemporary Anglo-American theology
2014
This problem of hell is a specific form of the problem of evil that can be expressed in terms of a set of putatively incompatible statements: 1. An omnipotent God could create a world in which all moral agents freely choose life with God. Issuantist Views of Hell in Contemporary Anglo-American Theology ii the problem of hell as those advanced by issuantists, thus rendering some of the issuantist critique of non-issuantist perspectives on hell unfounded. iii ABSTRAKT Helvetets problem är en specifik form av ondskans problem som kan uttryckas med hjälp av följande till synes oförenliga påståenden: 1. En allsmäktig Gud skulle kunna skapa en värld där alla moraliska varelser frivilligt väljer att leva i gemenskap med Gud. Issuantist Views of Hell in Contemporary Anglo-American Theology iv löser helvetets problem lika bra som de olika issuantistiska teorierna. En del av issuantisternas kritik mot icke-issuantistiska uppfattningar om helvetet framstår därmed som ogrundad. much-needed research grant in the final phases of writing this dissertation. Furthermore, I am grateful to the ecumenical community at Bjärka-Säby. In keeping with the words Ora et Labora on one of the stained glass windows, it was the perfect environment for praying and working. Finally, I dedicate this work to two people who will probably never read it. To my wife Kay and son David-life with you has been heaven when I've spent so much time thinking about hell.
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.