On 4 January 2015, Sha, an Amazon reviewer, wrote the following in his review for the volume Four Views on Hell (1996)[1]: ‘One thing is for sure, whatever hell is I don’t want to go there. I lean towards the traditional view, even if we find it hard to understand for many reasons. I reject the annihilation view [sic] in that I believe man has an eternal spirit/soul.’[2] In response, I wrote: ‘Where do you get the notion that humans possess eternal/immortal souls or spirits from Scripture?’ (24 Apr. 2015). Today, over six months later, I decided to check and see what might have become of Sha. As it turns out, he has since gone on to review several other products. It would appear that death has not prevented him from communicating. Nevertheless, I have yet to receive a response from him.
The truth is that Scripture never utilises terms like ‘immortal/incorruptible’ (aphthartos) or ‘eternal’ (aidios, aiōnios) to describe the human soul (psuchē) or spirit (pneuma). In fact, the only time we read of an ‘eternal spirit’ in Scripture, the designation most likely refers to either the Holy Spirit or the pre-existent, pre-incarnate spirit of Christ (pneumatos aiōniou, Heb. 9.14). Suffice it to say, such language is never employed by the scriptural authors to describe some aspect of human nature that is incapable of dying or insusceptible to perishing.
The reason why the question of common or innate immortality is so pertinent to the discussion of final punishment is simple: once two destinies, the irreversiblility of divine judgement, and human immortality are admitted as biblical data, the exegesis of any and all texts pertaining to the future and final punishment of the unrighteous can be taken in no other way than as lending support to the conventional teaching of endless torment.
The reason why the question of common or innate immortality is so pertinent to the discussion of final punishment is simple: once two destinies, the irreversiblility of divine judgement, and human immortality are admitted as biblical data, the exegesis of any and all texts pertaining to the future and final punishment of the unrighteous can be taken in no other way than as lending support to the conventional teaching of endless torment.
Believers who adhere to the doctrine of final annihilation do not dispute that there will be two destinies for humankind or the irreversible nature of divine judgement in the age to come. Some will inherit final salvation; others will be condemned. We only call into question the notion that all humans are (or will be) endowed with immortality.
As for Sha’s belief that humans possess eternal souls or spirits, we are only left to ponder why he chose not to defend this notion from a single text or citation from Scripture. My suspicion as to why Sha remained silent in the face of the rather simple question posed to him is because no such scriptural text exists.
2. See Sha’s review and my original comment: <https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RGQFMT5QWEH39/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0310212685>. (As from January 2021, Amazon has eliminated the comment feature on reviews. My comment is therefore no longer present [9 Oct. 2021].)
Copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022. All rights reserved.
Latest revisions: 6 November 2015 (minor alterations); 13 November 2015 (subtitle added); 12 May 2016 (minor emendation made to note); 7 October 2016 (emended title and book citation slightly; two minor emendations made to par 2.); 1 November 2016 (hyphenated two terms in par. 2); 15 January 2017 (minor punctuational alterations made to par. 3); 23 February 2018 (one note added; one colon converted to a full stop; altered subtitle slightly); 28 February 2018 (added one preposition to par. 3); corrected the phrase ‘call in to question’ to ‘call into question’ in par. 3 (1 Aug. 2021); emended nn. 1 and 2 (9 Oct. 2021); added a paragraph break (5 Oct. 2022).
Conclusion
Sha is to be commended for his candidness in admitting (in so many words) that his acceptance of the presupposition of universal human immortality is what has led him to exclude even considering the possibility of final annihilation as the fate of the unrighteous. Sadly, not all proponents of the conventional view are quite so forthcoming (or self-aware). Here we have a clear example of one’s understanding of anthropology determining one’s view of eschatology.As for Sha’s belief that humans possess eternal souls or spirits, we are only left to ponder why he chose not to defend this notion from a single text or citation from Scripture. My suspicion as to why Sha remained silent in the face of the rather simple question posed to him is because no such scriptural text exists.
Notes
1. William Crockett (ed.), Four Views on Hell, 1st edn, Counterpoints: Bible and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 1996).2. See Sha’s review and my original comment: <https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RGQFMT5QWEH39/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0310212685>. (As from January 2021, Amazon has eliminated the comment feature on reviews. My comment is therefore no longer present [9 Oct. 2021].)
Copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022. All rights reserved.
Latest revisions: 6 November 2015 (minor alterations); 13 November 2015 (subtitle added); 12 May 2016 (minor emendation made to note); 7 October 2016 (emended title and book citation slightly; two minor emendations made to par 2.); 1 November 2016 (hyphenated two terms in par. 2); 15 January 2017 (minor punctuational alterations made to par. 3); 23 February 2018 (one note added; one colon converted to a full stop; altered subtitle slightly); 28 February 2018 (added one preposition to par. 3); corrected the phrase ‘call in to question’ to ‘call into question’ in par. 3 (1 Aug. 2021); emended nn. 1 and 2 (9 Oct. 2021); added a paragraph break (5 Oct. 2022).
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