Tag Archives: hell

An Open Letter to Fr James Dominic Rooney

Posted on 23 February 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Dear Fr Rooney, In response to my twenty-five premises article on uni­ver­salism and hell, you write: First, what you are listing are almost all con­clu­sions, with practically none of the relevant sup­porting premises for those conclusions. The issue then is … Continue reading →

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The Infernal Quarantine of Love

Posted on 29 January 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

I am the way into the city of woe, I am the way into eternal pain, I am the way to go among the lost. Justice caused my high architect to move: Divine omnipotence created me, The highest wisdom, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Aquinas, Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

How Hot is Hellfire? The Retributive and Choice Models of Hell

Posted on 20 January 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

For almost two millennia, especially in the Western Churches, everlasting damnation has been understood and justified as an expression of retributive punishment: God justly con­demns the reprobate because of their sins. The 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, in its entry “Hell” authored … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 122 Comments

Do Universalists Dream of Eclectic Hells?

Posted on 10 January 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

The emergence of hopeful universalism in the 20th century is a fascinating phenomenon. Whereas universalists in the past have forthrightly affirmed the proposition that God will, necessarily and indubitably, reconcile all sinners to himself within the Trinitarian life of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Inescapable Love of God: Saved by the Gehennic Christ

Posted on 27 December 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology, Thomas Talbott | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

The Inescapable Love of God: Hell Lite

Posted on 21 December 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

I think it is is accurate to say that over the past 100 years the free-will theodicy has become the go-to defense of the doctrine of hell. Its popularity crosses ecclesial boundaries. Even Baptists (maybe not many but some) can … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology, Thomas Talbott | Tagged , , , , , | 35 Comments

The Inescapable Love of God: The Absurdity of Eternal Damnation

Posted on 17 December 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

“The very idea of someone freely rejecting God forever,” writes Thomas Talbott, “is deeply incoherent and therefore logically impossible.”1 Given that eternal damnation—whether considered as the infliction of unbearable pain or maximal privation of happiness and satisfaction—represents a fate that no … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology, Thomas Talbott | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Inescapable Love of God: Human Freedom and the Incoherency of Self-Damnation

Posted on 14 December 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

God does not coerce! Without question, this is the most popular, and perhaps most powerful, objection raised against the universalist hope, at least in those circles where the retributive construal of damnation does not hold sway. God has given human … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Eschatology, Thomas Talbott | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments