<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Divine determinism, though affirmed by many Calvinists, implicates God in the decisions people make that ultimately damn them to the terrible destiny of hell. In this paper, the authors argue that this scenario is a problem for divine determinism. The article contends that determinism is inconsistent with God’s love and the Scriptures that explicitly state that God does not ‘desire’ anyone to go to hell. Even human love for others strongly suggests that God, who is ‘love’, will not determine anyone to hell. On the other extreme, those who argue for universalism, though appealing to Scripture, often do so with questionable exegesis.</p></abstract>

Divine determinism, though affirmed by many Calvinists, implicates God in the decisions people make that ultimately damn them to the terrible destiny of hell. In this paper, the authors argue that this scenario is a problem for divine determinism. The article contends that determinism is inconsistent with God’s love and the Scriptures that explicitly state that God does not ‘desire’ anyone to go to hell. Even human love for others strongly suggests that God, who is ‘love’, will not determine anyone to hell. On the other extreme, those who argue for universalism, though appealing to Scripture, often do so with questionable exegesis.

Divine Determinism and the Problem of Hell

Perichoresis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Divine Determinism and the Problem of Hell"}

Divine determinism, though affirmed by many Calvinists, implicates God in the decisions people make that ultimately damn them to the terrible destiny of hell....

Divine Determinism and the Problem of Hell

Published Online: Jun 22, 2018

Page range: 3 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2018-0007

Keywords
Molinism, determinism, Calvinism, the problem of hell, love

© 2018 Tim Stratton, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Divine Determinism and the Problem of Hell

Published Online: Jun 22, 2018

Page range: 3 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/perc-2018-0007

KeywordsMolinism, determinism, Calvinism, the problem of hell, love

© 2018 Tim Stratton, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Molinism, determinism, Calvinism, the problem of hell, love