Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vsgnj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T01:48:15.489Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Annihilation or salvation? A philosophical case for preferring universalism to annihilationism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2020

JOHN KRONEN  and
ERIC REITAN Open the ORCID record for ERIC REITAN [Opens in a new window]
JOHN KRONEN*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, 2115 Summit Avenue, University of St. Thomas, St. PaulMN 55105, USA
ERIC REITAN*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Oklahoma State University, StillwaterOK 74708, USA
*
e-mail: jdkronen@stthomas.edu
e-mail: eric.reitan@okstate.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In God's Final Victory: A Comparative Philosophical Case for Universalism, we argue that for every version of the doctrine of hell there is a version of the doctrine of universal salvation that, granted traditional Christian teachings, is more philosophically defensible. This article explores whether a parallel case can be made for preferring universalism to annihilationism. While assuming for the sake of this article that the chief arguments for favouring universalism over the doctrine of hell, developed in God's Final Victory, are strong, we argue that a comparably strong parallel case for favouring universalism to annihilationism can indeed be made.

Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 138 - 161
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, Marilyn McCord (1993) ‘The problem of hell: a problem of evil for Christians’, in Stump, Eleonore (ed.) A Reasoned Faith (Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press), 301–327.Google Scholar
Aquinas (1820) Summa contra gentiles (Turin: Marielli).Google Scholar
Aquinas (1948) Summa theologica, Fathers of the English Dominican Province (tr.) (Westminster: Christian Classics).Google Scholar
Augustine (2006) The City of God, Dods, Marcus (tr.) (New York: Barnes & Noble).Google Scholar
Aulen, Gustaf (1948) The Faith of the Christian Church, Wahlstron, Eric H. and Everett Arden, G. (tr.) (Philadelphia PA: Muhlenberg Press).Google Scholar
Brown, Claire & Walls, Jerry L. (2010) ‘Annihilationism: a philosophical dead end?’, in Buenting, Joel (ed.) The Problem of Hell: A Philosophical Anthology (Farnham: Ashgate), 45–64.Google Scholar
Charnock, Stephen (1979) Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House).Google Scholar
Dorner, I. A. (1887) System of Christian Ethics, Mead, C. M. & Cunningham, R. T. (tr.) (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).Google Scholar
Fudge, Edward W. (2011) The Fire that Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3rd edn (Eugene OR: Cascade Books).Google Scholar
Fudge, Edward W. (2012) ‘Death and Separation’, <https://edwardfudge.com/2012/03/death-as-separation/> [accessed 25 January 2019].+[accessed+25+January+2019].>Google Scholar
Gerhard, John (2007) Theological Commonplaces, Commonplace II: On the Nature of God and On the Holy Mystery of the Trinity, Dinda, Richard J. (tr.) (Saint Louis MO: Concordia Publishing House).Google Scholar
Griffiths, Paul J. (2007) ‘Self-annihilation or damnation? A disputable question in Christian eschatology’, Pro Ecclesia, 16, 416–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hick, John (2001) ‘An Irenaean theodicy’, in Davis, Stephen T. (ed.) Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy (Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox Press), 38–51.Google Scholar
Hollaz, David (1722) Examen Theologicum Acroamaticum (Rostock & Leipzig).Google Scholar
John of Damascus (1958) An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith in St. John of Damascus: Writings, Chase, Frederic H. (tr.) (New York: Fathers of the Church).Google Scholar
John of Damascus (1981) ‘On the virtues and vices’, in Palmer, G. E. H. et al. (trs & eds) The Philokalia, II (London: Faber and Faber), 334–342.Google Scholar
Kronen, John & Reitan, Eric (2011) God's Final Victory: A Comparative Philosophical Case for Universalism (London: Continuum).Google Scholar
Kvanvig, Jonathan L. (1993) The Problem of Hell (Oxford: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm (1951) ‘Ethical definitions’, in Leibniz Selections, Weiner, Phillip P. (ed.) (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), 564–570.Google Scholar
Luther, Martin (2015a) A Sermon on the Meditation of Christ's Holy Passion, Lange, Dirk G. (tr.), in Wegert, Timothy J. (ed.) The Annotated Luther, I (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press), 167–178.Google Scholar
Luther, Martin (2015b) Heidelberg Disputation, Beilfeldt, Dennis (tr.) in Wegert, Timothy J. (ed.) The Annotated Luther, I (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press), 67–119.Google Scholar
Luther, Martin (2015c), The Freedom of the Christian, in Wengert, Timothy J. (ed. & tr.) The Annotated Luther, I (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press), 467–538.Google Scholar
Luther, Martin (2015d) The Large Catechism, Stjerna, Kirsi I. (tr.) in Stjerna, Kirsi I. (ed.) The Annotated Luther, II (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press), 279–415.Google Scholar
Luther, Martin (2015e) Confession of the Articles of the Faith, Jensen, Gordon (tr.) in The Annotated Luther, II (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press), 251–277.Google Scholar
Martensen, Hans L. (1871) Christian Ethics, Spence, C. (tr.) (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).Google Scholar
Martensen, Hans L. (1890) Christian Dogmatics, Urwick, William (tr.) (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).Google Scholar
Maximos the Confessor (1981a) ‘Four hundred texts on love’, in Palmer, G. E. H. et al. (trs & eds) The Philokalia, II (London: Faber & Faber), 52–113.Google Scholar
Maximos the Confessor (1981b) ‘Two hundred texts on theology’, in Palmer, G. E. H. et al. (trs & eds) The Philokalia, II (London: Faber & Faber), 114–163.Google Scholar
Melanchthon, Philip (1965) Loci Communes 1555, tr. as On Christian Doctrine, Manschreck, Clyde L. (tr.) (Oxford: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Mueller, Richard A. (2003) Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics, III: The Divine Essence and Attributes (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Academic).Google Scholar
Parry, Robin [writing as MacDonald], Gregory (2006) The Evangelical Universalist (Eugene OR: Cascade Books).Google Scholar
Pinnock, Clark H. (1990) ‘The destruction of the finally impenitent’, Criswell Theological Review, 4, 243–259.Google Scholar
Quenstedt, J. A. (1701) Theologia didactico-polemica (Wittenberg).Google Scholar
Reitan, Eric (2007) ‘A guarantee of universal salvation?’, Faith and Philosophy, 24, 413–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schleiermacher, Friedrich (1928) The Christian Faith, Mackintosh, H. R. et al. (tr.) (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark).Google Scholar
Schmid, Heinrich (1905) The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hay, Charles A. & Jacobs, Henry E. (trs) (Philadelphia: Lutheran Publishing Society).Google Scholar
Spencer, Jeff (1998) ‘The destruction of hell: annihilationism examined’, Christian Apologetics Journal, 1, 1–20.Google Scholar
Stott, John R. W. (2014) ‘Judgment and hell’, in Date, Christopher M., Stump, Gregory G., & Anderson, Joshua W. (eds) Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Eugene OR: Cascade Books), 48–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suarez, Francisco (2002) ‘Disputation 21’, in On Creation, Conservation, and Concurrnece: Metaphysical Disputations 20–22, Freddoso, A. J. (tr.) (South Bend IN: St. Augustine's Press), 107–148.Google Scholar
Suarez, Francisco (2015) De deo uno et Trino (London: Forgotten Books).Google Scholar
Talbott, Thomas (1990) ‘The doctrine of everlasting punishment’, Faith and Philosophy, 7, 19–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Talbott, Thomas (2014) The Inescapable Love of God 2nd edn (Eugene OR: Cascade Books).Google Scholar
Turretin, Francis (1992) Institutes of Elenctic Theology, I, Giger, Goerge M. (tr.) (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing).Google Scholar
Walls, Jerry L. (1992) Hell: The Logic of Damnation (Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walls, Jerry L. (2004) ‘A hell of a choice: reply to Talbott’, Religious Studies, 40, 203–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge (1932) Studies in Theology (London: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar