St. Augustine's Doctrine of Eternal Punishment : His Biblical and Theological Argument

229 Pages·2010·9.59 MB·English

by  Cho

ST. AUGUSTINE'S DOCTRL,..
OF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
His Biblical and Theologica.i Argument
Dongsun Cho
With a Foreword by
Robert Bernard
The Edwin Mellen Press
Lewiston.Queenston•Lampeter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cho, Dongsun.
St. Augustine's doctrine of eternal punishment : his biblical and theological argument!
Dongsun Cho ; with a foreword by Robert Bernard,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.(cid:9) ) and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-3676-3 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7734-3676-6 (alk. paper)
1. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. 2. Hell--Christianity--History of doctrines--
Early church, ca. 30-600. 3. Future punishment--Christianity--History of doctrines--
Early church, ca. 30-600. I. Title. 11. Title: Saint Augustine's doctrine of eternal
punishment.
BR65.A9C43 2010
236'.25--de22
2010009812
hors serie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover: Painting depicting the rich man suffering in hell © Darlene Slavujac Thau,
Deerfield Beach, Florida. Website: http://wnmbiblicalartist.netioriginaloils.html
Copyright C 2010 Dongsun Cho
All rights reserved. For information contact
(cid:9)
The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press
(cid:9)
Box 450 Box 67
(cid:9)
Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario
(cid:9)
USA 14092-0450 CANADA LOS ILO
The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA48 8LT
Printed in the United States of America
To Kyunghee,
my beloved partner,
to Giyong and Wolhee Chos,
my faithful parents,
and to Hanuri Church and the Korean Baptist Church of Laredo,
my supporters
Table of Contents
Foreword by Robert Bernard
Acknowledgments
(cid:9)
List of Abbreviations vii
Introduction
Chapter 1
The Modern Debate Over
Augustine's Doctrine of Eternal Punishment(cid:9) 5
Modern Rejection of the Traditional Understanding(cid:9) 6
of Eternal Punishment
Contemporary Nontraditionalists' Objections to Augustine(cid:9) 8
And Contemporary Traditionalists' Responses
Conclusion(cid:9) 28
Chapter 2
The Historical Context of
Augustine's Formulation of Eternal Punishment(cid:9) 31
Augustine's Critiques of the Platonic Immortality of the Soul(cid:9) 32
Augustine's Alleged Platonic Anthropology in(cid:9) 33
Relation to the Immortality of the Soul
Augustine's Evaluations of the Platonic Immortality(cid:9) 38
of the Soul from the Perspectives of Christian Doctrines
Augustine's Appropriation of the Church Tradition(cid:9) 52
Eternal Punishment (cid:9) 53
Universalism(cid:9) 58
Annihilationism(cid:9) 63
Conclusion(cid:9) 67
Chapter 3
Biblical Foundations of Eternal Punishment(cid:9) 73
Hermeneutical Presuppositions for Augustine's(cid:9) 75
Literal Exegesis of Hell
The Literal Reality of Biblical Narratives(cid:9) 75
Biblical Conspicuousness of the Destiny of Sinners(cid:9) 79
Love of God and Neighbor as a Hermeneutical Key(cid:9) 81
Augustine's Exegesis of Hell(cid:9) 85
The Eternity of Hell(cid:9) 86
The Second Death as Eternal Punishment (cid:9) 89
The Nature of Fire, Worms, and Darkness(cid:9) 94
Augustine's Exegetical Corrections of His Christian(cid:9) 99
Opponents' Readings of the Bible
(cid:9)
Augustine's Exegetical Corrections of Origenists 99
(cid:9)
Augustine's Exegetical Corrections of Antonomians 106
(cid:9)
Conclusion 110
Chapter 4
Theological Foundations of Eternal Punishment (cid:9) 115
Hell in Augustine's Theology of God(cid:9) 116
The Almighty Power of God(cid:9) 116
The Justice of God(cid:9) 119
The Love of God(cid:9) 124
Eternal Punishment in Augustine's Theology of Salvation(cid:9) 127
Eternal Punishment for Those Who Do Not Posses(cid:9) 127
Explicit Faith in Christ
Eternal Punishment for Those Who Do Not Posses(cid:9) 132
The Grace of Predestination
No Postmortem Salvation in Hell(cid:9) 137
Eternal Punishment in Augustine's Theology of the Church(cid:9) 140
Eternal Punishment for Those Outside the Church(cid:9) 141
Pastoral Functions of the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (cid:9) 144
Conclusion(cid:9) 147
Chapter 5
Conclusion(cid:9) 157
Learning from Augustine(cid:9) 157
Going Beyond Augustine(cid:9) 165
Appendices
(cid:9)
A. JUSTIN MARTYR & IRENAEUS 171
ON ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
(cid:9)
B. CLEMENT & GREGORY OF NYSSA 179
ON UNIVERSALISM
(cid:9)
Bibliography 183
(cid:9)
Author Index 207
Foreword
Augustine of Hippo has provided a foundation for theological discussions
since the fifth century of our era. He has been seen as the 'doctor of grace'; he
formulated a hermeneutic based upon love that is still influential; and he provided the
Church with a comprehensive view of history in his monumental City of God. A
thesis has recently arisen claiming that Augustine also formulated the basic
arguments on hell and eternal punishment, which derive from his Neo-Platonism and
have no basis in Scripture. Chief among Augustine's critics are annihilationists, who
argue that Scripture speaks of the total destruction of the wicked, and universalists.
In response to those arguments, Dongsun Cho has presented a very comprehensive
study of the arguments concerning the views of Augustine of Hippo on hell and
eternal punishment. He examines the critiques of Augustine from the standpoints of
annihilationism and universalism as well as other viewpoints. In response to the
objections to eternal punishment and the argument that Augustine formed the basis
of that doctrine, Dongsun Cho presents Augustine's theology in a clear and coherent
manner.
In particular, he marshals strong arguments both in defense of Augustine and
in defense of the doctrine of eternal punishment in opposition to the views of
annihilationists and universalists. To do so, he examines the scriptural bases of that
doctrine, as well as Augustine's own statements, and he shows that theological and
scriptural bases, rather than simply philosophical foundations, lie at the root of
Augustine's teachings. In plumbing the depths of the arguments from universalists
and annihilationists as well as from other standpoints, furthermore, he shows that
their attacks on Augustine's doctrine of eternal punishment are overly simplified. He
11
thus clarifies the role of Augustine in helping to formulate an important
eschatological doctrine and answers the charges that he was an innovator in this area.
He demonstrates that, far from being an innovator, Augustine was helping to
articulate a doctrine that was already present in the church. His subject is appropriate
and timely, and he has provided clear analyses both of the views of Augustine and
those of his opponents.
One of the major contributions of this work is Dongsun Cho's placing
Augustine in a framework being formed before the bishop's career, but which
Augustine articulated and developed, particularly in his City of God. A reader can
thus appreciate Augustine's role in theology as that of bringing into focus major
themes that were developing before his time; as formulated by the bishop, those
themes became dominant characteristics of theology, particularly in the West.
Another major contribution is Dongsun Cho's placing the arguments in a
contemporary context. He makes the important point that the similarity of a
theological doctrine to a philosophical view does not indicate dependence of the
former upon the latter. The examination of a theological point requires one to review
both Scripture and contributions by theologians as well as the relevant philosophical
works.
Yet another important feature of Dongsun Cho's work is his own examination
of the views of Justin Martyr (100-165). Dr. Cho demonstrates that Justin's thought
is far more complex than at least one prominent theologian presents it; in particular,
Justin cannot be seen as fostering only the doctrine of annihilationism. In this
presentation, Dongsun Cho carefully examines the nuances ofJustin's thought. Like
Augustine after him, Justin did not condemn pagan philosophy, but he neither did he
embrace it completely. Dongsun Cho's analysis here demonstrates his careful
approach not only to Justin's thought but also his treatment of the controversy
surrounding Augustine.
It was my pleasure to serve as Dongsun's adviser, and I appreciate the
contribution that he has made in his discussion of a difficult but critical issue. I
ill
commend this work to anyone interested in Augustine's theology, particularly in the
area of eschatology.
Robert W. Bernard, Ph. D.
Associate Professor,
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Fort Worth, TX