 |
GetTextbooks.co.uk
Compare Prices & Save up to 90% |
|
|
|
| Login | Sign up | My Wish List |
 | | A Theodicy of Hell (Studies in Philosophy and Religion) by C. Seymour ISBN-10: 9780792363644 ISBN-10: 0-7923-6364-7 ISBN-13: 9780792363644 ISBN-13: 978-0-7923-6364-4 Hardcover 2000-08-31 Springer Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description In A Theodicy of Hell Charles Seymour tackles one of the most difficult problems facing the western theistic tradition: to show the consonance between eternal punishment and the goodness of God. Medieval theology attempted to resolve the dilemma by arguing that any sin, no matter how slight, merits unending torment. Contemporary thinkers, on the other hand, tend to eliminate the retributive element from hell entirely. Combining historical breadth with detailed argumentation, the author develops a novel understanding of hell which avoids the extremes of both its traditional and modern rivals. He then surveys the battery of objections ranged against the possibility of eternal punishment and shows how his `freedom view of hell' can withstand the attack. The work will be of particular importance for those interested in philosophy of religion and theology, including academics, students, seminarians, clergy, and anyone else with a personal desire to come to terms with this perennially challenging doctrine. | ||
Reviews | ||
If 200 Pages = 100 Dollars, Then Yes There is a Hell. Despite my sarcastic title, I think this is a very good book. It begins with a discussion of what an adequate theodicy will provide and moves into a brief dicussion of the history of hell, both within and outside of the Christian tradition. The book first considers the objection from justice, the most powerful objection against the traditional doctrine of hell in my opinion. So, the objection: all sin is finite in seriousness; no sin deserves more punishment than it deserves; but hell provides everlasting punishment, which is more than the seriousness of sin; hence, no hell. Seymour looks at responses by Augustine, Aquinas, Gregory the Great, Anselm, and Edwards. He finds all of their answers wanting, and he provides his own response. His own view, the freedom view of hell, is that human sins are finite in seriousness and the only reason hell would be eternal is that people keep on sinning, and so are thus punished by continuing to be in hell (on this view, Seymour is not a separationist and thinks punishment is the damned's just desert). The next chapters deal with arguments by Thomas Talbott and Marilyn Adams which argue against hell on the basis of divine love, and second, from free human choice. Following, Seymour considers alternative views of hell, particularly Kvanvig's and Walls'. Last, he *briefly* considers whether there are theological implications of his theodicy that would not be considered orthodoxily cosher. He does this last thing in 3 pages, which I suspect is not the most thorough of jobs. I think this book is very well argued. I was pretty disturbed by some of his arguments and found them difficult to criticize on points. I think a serious engagement with this doctrine will require looking at many of his arguments. Of course, this is to be expected from a doctoral work at ND with advisors like Philip Quinn and Thomas Flint. One quibble with the book that struck me as immediately disappointing. Seymour notes three assumptions in the introduction that he will use throughout the book. What are they? (1) Denial of Reformed theology; (2) humans have libertarian freedom; (3) God has middle knowledge. I bought this book hoping to find a theodicy I could use, but I reject each of his assumptions, which are, btw., quite big assumptions to make. Of course, he can't defend everything. But if I knew that he would use these assumptions throughout for constructing his own theodicy, I might have put this book off until a later time. In any case, I'm glad I worked through the book and recommend it to others that are equally puzzled by the doctrine of hell. | ||