The Basics of Traditionalism

Last week I started going into more detail on each of the three views held by christians historically on the nature of hell by covering the basics of conditionalism. This week we'll look at traditionalism.

The three main views historically held on the subject alphabetically:

Conditionalism - The belief that the unrepentant will experience a second death of both body and soul in hell passing out of being.

Traditionalism - The belief that the unrepentant will experience conscious torment of both body and soul in hell for all eternity

Universalism.- The belief that the unrepentant will experience conscious torment of both body and soul in hell until they repent and are saved.

Traditionalism gleans its name from the fact that for most of Christian history it has been the majority view held by the church. It is the official position of the Catholic, Orthodox, and various Protestant branches as well as prominent Christian leaders presently and historically. Many evangelical traditionalists lament the name because it can be misunderstood to mean they hold this view because it is tradition whereas they think it is the clear view of Scripture. To clarify their position succinctly, they most often use the shorthand of 'eternal conscious torment'.

Here are some of the key texts they use for support:

Dan 12:2 NIV "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."

Mt 25:41-46 NIV "41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”"

Mk 9: 47-48 NIV "And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,and the fire is not quenched.’"

2 Thess 1:9 NIV "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might "

Rev 14:9-11 NIV " A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”"

Rev 21:10-15 NIV "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

Traditionalists (aka most interpreters) have concluded that these texts imply immortality (or at least ongoing existence) for the unrepentant on the basis of these texts' terminology such as eternal, everlasting, and forever and ever in relation to aspects of the punishment. It is said that the lost will experience ongoing contempt for God and the saved, perpetual punishment, that their torment will go on forever and ever, that they will have no rest, and will be shut out from the presence of the Lord. In order to assemble these various statements into a coherent whole, they have used various approaches. Historically, the traditional view held that there was a literal lake/place of fire where the lost would burn forever in a fire that could never be quenched or put out, but would last forever. In this model the darkness and sometimes the undying worm were taken as analogies.

More recently, however, there has a been a major shift in which nearly all texts are taken as figurative analogies describing the agony of eternal separation from God. This has come to be known as the metaphorical view as apposed to the literal view. Unsurprisingly there are many variations within this mode of expression ranging from God actively tormenting people to their being full of remorse for their self exclusion by rejecting the gospel. The move is significant in that it allows for a wider range of views within the scope of eternal conscious torment while still holding what many consider the core aspects of the traditional view. This change isn't without it's detractors (most often the literalists), however, who say it isn't right to replace God's active wrath with a sinner's self exclusion, 'torture' with torment, etc.

I think part of the reason for this shift has been the evangelical emphasis on personal repentance and belief in the gospel to achieve personal salvation by key figures such as Billy Graham. He articulated a view of hell that was essentially based being separated from God forever; having no personal relationship vs having a personal relationship with God.  C.S. Lewis also articulates something of this sort in his writings going so far as to say that hell is a place "locked from the inside." However, I think that a larger reason for this shift could have to do with cultural pressure to square the justice of God with the love of God. Answering the question of 'How could a loving God send people to an eternity in hell"' lead to many people coming to the same conclusion: Hell is a ultimately not a place God vindictively tortures people, but a choice made by those who reject him which he reluctantly honours by separating them from himself.

Regardless of whether one takes the  texts about fire, worms, and darkness literally or metaphorically, all traditionalists defend their view of endless torment by appealing to the God's infinite nature, or man's total depravity, or both. Man has sinned against an infinitely holy God of infinite worth, which deserves an infinite punishment.  Man, being totally depraved (incapable of not sinning without divine intervention), will continue to sin in hell thereby incurring more wrath and punishment so that the amount of torment 'due' is never exhausted; payment will be in perpetuity. The good news is that Jesus has paid this in full on the cross in our place and we can receive forgiveness through him because of it. How is this possible since he never went to hell forever? It is because he, being God, is infinite and his suffering is of infinite worth and therefore an infinite payment.

Traditionalists believe that the unrepentant will be tormented in hell and remain conscious and aware of their state without end. They believe this to be a just punishment for sinning against an infinitely holy God.