Birth as a Grave Misfortune: The Traditional Doctrine of Hell and Christian Salvific Exclusivism

"Birth as a Grave Misfortune: The Traditional Doctrine of Hell and Christian Salvific Exclusivism in Appearing in Joel Buenting, THE PROBLEM OF HELL (Ashgate Publishing, 2010)

35 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2015

See all articles by Kenneth Einar Himma

Kenneth Einar Himma

University of Washington - School of Law

Date Written: February 1, 2009

Abstract

Christians typically view it as morally good for married persons to have children, although some believe that there are limits to how many children it is good to have. In this essay, I wish to argue from the standpoint of ordinary moral intuitions that if Christian exclusivism and the traditional doctrine of hell are true, then this view is mistaken. In particular, I argue that it is morally wrong, given these traditional Christian doctrines, to bring a child in the world when the odds that he or she will spend an eternal afterlife suffering the torments of hell are as significantly high as they would be if these two doctrines are true.

Keywords: hell, exclusivism, philosophy of religion, theism, Christian fundamentalism

Suggested Citation

Himma, Kenneth Einar, Birth as a Grave Misfortune: The Traditional Doctrine of Hell and Christian Salvific Exclusivism (February 1, 2009). "Birth as a Grave Misfortune: The Traditional Doctrine of Hell and Christian Salvific Exclusivism in Appearing in Joel Buenting, THE PROBLEM OF HELL (Ashgate Publishing, 2010), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2567114

Kenneth Einar Himma (Contact Author)

University of Washington - School of Law ( email )

William Gates Hall
Seattle, WA 98195-3020
United States

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