The Problem of Hell, Efficacious Grace, and Skeptical Infernalism

Abstract

For Christian philosophers, the putative existence of hell poses a particularly acute version of the problem of evil. The two most prevalent responses to this problem appeal to either God’s justice or creaturely freedom as the countervailing goods which justify God’s permitting the suffering of created persons in hell. In this paper, I argue that an Augustinian theology of grace renders both of these responses untenable and briefly sketch out an alternative response, based on Augustine’s appeal to the mysteries of the divine will when explaining why God gives efficacious grace to some and not to others. I call this response skeptical infernalism, since it parallels the skeptical theist response to the problem of evil.