z The Doctrine of Eternal

Punishment in
Perspective: An
Overview of the Main
Christian Perspectives
on Hell

Maverick Victor Witlouw

 The Books
z
z
The Three Main Views

 Infernalism, or the belief in eternal conscious torment:

 Metaphorical View
 Literalist View
 Dehumanization view (CS Lewis, NT Wright)

 Annihilationism or conditional immortality

 Universalism
 Hopeful Universalism
 Dogmatic Universalism
 Via Media Universalisms
z
The Question of Free Will

 Compatibilism (a will which is determined by one’s nature,

and/or the sovereign decree of God’s will) – Calvinism,
Amyraldianism, etc.

 Libertarianism (a will which is spontaneous free from anyone

inlcuding God’s coercion or imposition)

 Intellectualism (the view that ultimately one’s will is inclined to

one’s telos or the objective Good)
 z
Eternal Punishment?

And these will go

away into eternal
punishment, but the
righteous into eternal
life.” – Matthew 25:46
z
Ways of Dealing With This Text (And
Others)
 Discussions go into the meaning of the word ”eternal” as licitilly
being translated as simply “eternal,” ”everlasting” or “age
enduring” ”indefinite” or “of the age.”

 Eternal processes? Punishment or punishing?

 Parralellism: the duration must logically be the same with “life”

and “punishment”

(Matt 25:41, 46, 2 Thess 1:6-10; Jude 7; etc )

 z
The meaning of justice?
 Corrective or retributive?
z
z

Challenging my own assertions

 The Easter Hope of Universal Salvation: What does Chist definitively
accomplish in his atoning work?

 The logic of damnation: What’s the point?

 The meaning of personhood: What is a person? What does it mean to be

happy and complicit in the face of my neighbour?
z
Implications on Ministry

 Preaching the reality of hell

 The importance and value of personhood

 The importance of evangelism

z

 “We do not know if everyone followed Christ

when he rose from hell, nor do we know if
everyone will follow him to the eschatological
heavenly kingdom where he will become “all
in all.” … This is the never-extinguished hope
of all those who believe in Chist, who once
and for all conquered death, destroyed hell,
and granted resurrection to the entire human
race.” – Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev