Skip to main content

Choosing Hell

  • Chapter
The Concept of Hell

Abstract

How can the world be filled with evil and suffering if there is a God who is all-powerful and perfectly good? The problem of evil, as it is usually called, is one of the biggest philosophical problems there is, leading some to abandon belief in God altogether and provoking others to reflect on and to rethink their faith. It is a very old problem, aptly posed by Epicurus and fiercely discussed ever since; and a highly complex problem as well, one that takes many shapes.1 Defeat one version and — like a hydra — two more spring up in its place. In this essay I will wrangle with one of the particularly nasty heads of this monster of a problem. Our world offers plenty of examples of evil and suffering, but arguably none that compare with the plight of the damned in Hell. The problem of Hell is the problem of evil at its very worst.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • M. M. Adams and R. M. Adams (eds) (1990) The Problem of Evil (New York: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • M. M. Adams (1999) Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (Ithaca: Cornell University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Evans (2013) The Problem of Evil: The Challenge to Essential Christian Beliefs (New York: Broadman).

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Frances (2013) Gratuitous Suffering and the Problem of Evil (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • C. S. Lewis (2001) The Chronicles of Narnia (New York: HarperCollins).

    Google Scholar 

  • C. S. Lewis (2007) The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: HarperCollins).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. P. McBrayer and D. Howard-Snyder (2013) The Blackwell Companion to The Problem of Evil (Malden: Wiley Blackwell).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • R. A. Parry and C. H. Partridge (eds) (2003) Universal Salvation? The Current Debate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Stump (1986) “Dante’s Hell, Aquinas’s Moral Theory, and the Love of God,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 16: 2, 181–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Stump (2010) Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • T. Talbot (2014) The Inescapable Love of God, 2nd edition (Eugene: Cascade Books).

    Google Scholar 

  • P. van Inwagen (2008) The Problem of Evil (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • J. L. Walls (1992) Hell: The Logic of Damnation (Notre Dame: The University of Notre Dame Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Williams (2001) Descent into Hell (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Wolterstorff (1998) Reason within the Bounds of Religion (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2015 Randall M. Jensen

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jensen, R.M. (2015). Choosing Hell. In: McCraw, B., Arp, R. (eds) The Concept of Hell. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455710_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics