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Philosophical challenges to the conditionalist view of eternal punishment being nonexistence

by | Oct 12, 2018 | Annihilationism, Minor Groups & Issues

Those who hold to conditional immortality state that God’s everlasting punishment is God’s act of annihilating the wicked. Is non-existence the same thing as everlasting punishment? Conditionalists cannot logically defend the idea that a person who does not exist is undergoing any form of punishment. Therefore, to maintain their position, the conditionalist must shift the definition of eternal punishment from the action of God’s judgment to the finished result of God’s judgment. This means that the person does not experience any punishment at all.

“’Eternal judgment’ does not mean that the judging will last forever, but that its outcome will. ‘Eternal redemption’ does not mean that the process goes on without end— for the redemptive work was done once and for all— but that its issue will have no end forever.”1

First of all, to say that eternal judgment means that the judging will not last forever, but only the outcome will, is to beg the question. It is an opinion that they assert is true. The conditionalist assumes his position (of eternal extinction) is the right one and therefore he must define punishment so that it agrees with his presupposition. Even though there are Scriptures that they use to support their view such as people being destroyed by God (Matt. 10:28, See Matthew 10:28, destroy both body and soul in hell), the nature of the destruction within those verses is not proven by the contexts to mean non-existence. But that doesn’t stop them from saying that it does.

Second, as you can see from the above quote, the definition of God’s punishment is shifted from the act of punishing to their perceived non-continued result of God’s judgment. This means that God’s punishment is defined as a person’s non-existence. They must do this in order to hold their position. This is a problem that I will tackle below.

Third, comparing God’s judgment to God’s redemption the way they do, by saying that the process of redemption is not continually experienced, is problematic. Where there might be a similarity or two, there are huge differences. Again, because the continuationist must define punishment in terms of the result, that is why the definition is stretched to say that ” the process goes on without end.”  But, there is a logical problem here.

The only place where the phrase “eternal redemption” occurs in the Bible is in Hebrews 9:12

Hebrews 9:12, “and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

If ‘eternal redemption’ is not eternally experienced, then why is it called eternal? If it is the result of eternal redemption is that people experience it, then that is problematic for the conditionalist since it would imply that people would also experience eternal punishment. But a person cannot experience it if he does not exist! The conditionalists are inconsistent. They say that the result of eternal redemption is the focus, not the experience of it. But does Hebrews 9:12 necessitate a focus on the result and not the experience? No, it doesn’t. In fact, we know that eternal redemption is experienced eternally. So, why isn’t eternal punishment also experienced eternally? The conditionalists are inconsistent.

Table 1
Comparing Eternal Punishment (nonexistence) and Redemption
Eternal Punishment (conditionalist view) Eternal Redemption
An action of God (He punishes) An action of God (He redeems)
Non-existence of a person Existence of a person
Not continually experienced by a person Continually experienced by a person
Based on God’s Law Based on God’s Grace

As you can see, comparing eternal punishment to eternal redemption by focusing on the result, where the result of one is experienced, and the result of the other is not, is a flawed association. Yes, they are similar in that both are the action of God. But the emphasis is misplaced in the quote above which states that both eternal judgment and eternal redemption occur once for all with the continued effect. But this is flawed reasoning because according to conditionalist thought, eternal punishment is not continually experienced by a person where redemption is. They are significantly different.

Capital punishment

Conditionalists often compare the judgment of annihilation to capital punishment. They say that just as the effect of capital punishment is forever since it stops biological life, in the same way, the result of eternal punishment is forever since it stops spiritual life.2 They routinely say that eternal destruction does not mean that punishment will be ongoing, but that a person’s annihilation, once accomplished, will be ongoing.

“This destruction [of Matt. 25:46] is not accidental, nor is it self-inflicted. It is the penal outcome of God’s judgment. It is punishment, in this instance capital punishment. And, unlike even the capital punishment man may inflict, it is irreversible capital punishment. It is, truly, “everlasting” or “eternal” punishment, “everlasting destruction,” the second death from which there is no resurrection or return forever.”3

To reiterate, they conclude that the punishment of stopping biological life in capital punishment is comparable to the punishment of God stopping one’s spiritual life in annihilation. So, the same way a person’s execution is not ongoing, the conditionalists say the spiritual execution of the person is also not ongoing. And, finally, they say that just as the effect of execution of a person is ongoing, so too the effect of God’s judgment upon a person unto nonexistence is also ongoing.

Is this sound reasoning?  No, it is not. A punishment that renders a person nonexistent is not an everlasting punishment because nonexistence isn’t anything.  It is nothing.  Nothingness cannot be not a state of punishment. Let me illustrate.

Table 2
Comparing conditions of existence
Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3 Condition 4 Condition 5
Non-existence Conscious Existence Soul Sleep or non existence Conscious Existence Non-existence
Before being born After being born After physical death Resurrection After judgment

You will notice that Condition 1 (non-existence) is identical to Condition 5 (non-existence).  In logic, if the attributes of X are exactly equal to the attributes of Y, then X is Y.  Condition 1, which is nonexistence, is exactly equal to condition 5 which is also nonexistence. So, since condition 1 has no attributes and condition 5 has no attributes, they are exactly identical in their “nothingness” and condition 1 is identical to condition 5.  However, the conditionalists say that Condition 5 is actually punishment.

If Condition 5 is punishment, then why is Condition 1 not also punishment since they are identical? Now, I understand the conditionalists will say that Condition 5 is the result of God’s judgment that occurs after Condition 4. But again, if Condition 5 is the nonexistence as a result of God’s judgment, then they are equating God’s judgment with non-existence. But that would mean that Condition 1 is also judgment because it is also nonexistence – but that can’t be right. Remember, the exact nature of non-existence in Condition 1 is identical to the exact nature of non-existence in Condition 5. Condition 5 being the result of something makes no difference if it is exactly equal to Condition 1: nothingness. They have a problem.

Are eternal punishment and eternal non-existence equal?

Conditionalists say that God’s eternal punishment results in a person’s eternal nonexistence.  If this is so, then how can God’s eternal punishment (Matt 25:46) be eternal if his act of annihilating someone is not eternal?  It can’t be.  So, the annihilationists say that eternal punishment is the punishment of God upon a person that is eternal.  That means that eternal punishment is equal to eternal nonexistence. But, God’s eternal punishment and peoples’ nonexistence are different. Please consider the following.

Table 3
Are God’s Eternal Punishment and a person’s Non-existence equal?
Eternal Punishment Non-existence
An action Not an action
Is the cause of non-existence Is the result of the punishment
Occurs in time Does not occur in time
Completed in time Not completed in time
Momentary Eternal nothing has no ‘moment’

Once a punishment is carried out, there is no more punishment to be administered – especially if the recipient does not exist anymore. It is finished. The cause of nonexistence (God’s punishment) is not the same thing as the effect (non-existence). Nonexistence is nothing. But punishment is something. Punishment is an action. Non-existence is not.  Punishment is momentary (or ongoing). Nonexistence is not. Therefore, they are not the same thing and the conditionalists are making a mistake when they equate the two.

But, conditionalists will say I am misrepresenting their position.  Again, they say that nonexistence is the result of God’s punishment and they are, therefore, different. Let me quote myself from above.

“…how can God’s eternal punishment (Matt 25:46) be eternal if his act of annihilating someone is not eternal?  It can’t be.  So, the annihilationists say that eternal punishment is the punishment of God upon a person that is eternal.  That means that eternal punishment is equal to eternal nonexistence. But, God’s eternal punishment and peoples’ nonexistence are different.”

 Conditionalists try and shift the definition from the experience of the person to the result of God’s action.  Is there any place in scripture where punishment is not experienced? I know of no instance.

Conclusion

When Jesus speaks of eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46), the conditionalists claim that he means eternal nonexistence. But they have a problem because they also admit that God’s work of punishment is the momentary act of Him carrying out a judgment (annihilating people) with the result of their eternal nonexistence. So, how can the temporary action of judging also be the same thing as the eternal effect? It can’t. They fail to see that this judgment of God would not be eternal punishment upon a person. It would be a finite punishment because the punishment ends – you can’t punish what does not exist. The annihilationist switches the focus from the action of God to the result upon the person and says that eternal punishment is eternal nonexistence which makes no sense. The conditionalist get it wrong.

Return to Annihilationism Page

References

References
1 Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 1140-1141). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
2 When I say ‘spiritual life’ I am referring to the totality of human existence that includes body and soul in one’s relationship to God.
3 . Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 1148-1151). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition. underline added

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