00 Buis - Doctrine of Eternal Punishment

The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment by Harry Buis 01 The Teaching of the Old Testament 02 The Inter-Testamental Period 03 The Teaching of the New Testament 04 The Pre-Reformation Period 05 Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought 06 Post-Reformation Thought 07 Denials and Their Answers 08 Present-Day Conservative Position 09 Infant Salvation or Damnation 10 The Heathen Who Have Not Heard The Gospel 11 Denial By The Cults The Reverend Harry Buis in a comprehensive yet popular treatment demonstrates this conclusively. Written to meet a very real need in church and school, the discussion traces belief in the doctrine of eternal punishment historically from the age of the Old Testament to the present. The Biblical position is well-expounded and numerous variations therefrom in past and contemporary thought are cited. The treatment should be of benefit to many.

M. EUGENE OSTERHAVEN Professor of Systematic Theology Western Theological Seminary Holland, Michigan About the Author

Mr. Buis was born in Fairlawn, New Jersey. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in America, he has studied at the Graduate School of Theology of Oberlin College. Mr. Buis’ first pastorate was at the Brooklyn Community Reformed Church in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He is now the pastor of the Vriesland Reformed Church of Zeeland, Michigan.

Preface This book is not written because the author takes delight in the subject. The thought of hell terrifies. It ought to make us all shudder. But it is a fact taught in God’s Word. To deny or to ignore any Scriptural teaching is a serious matter.

We have been led to a serious study of this subject for several reasons. One is that there is no other doctrine that is clearly taught in Scripture which is so generally denied or ignored in our modern theological world. In our generation we have witnessed an increased belief in the deity of Christ and in the authority of the Word of God. We have witnessed a trend toward orthodoxy with regard to many other cardinal doctrines. But the doctrine of eternal punishment is strongly denied by many.

During the preparation of this book, the doctrine of eternal punishment was publicly denied by several leaders in the church in Norway. Bishop Kristian Schjelderup of Hamar declared that "The doctrine of eternal punishment is not at home in a religion of love." The resulting controversy still rages. Even in the Roman Catholic church there are some who question this doctrine. An example of this is the recently publicized statement of the late Giovanni Papini, well known as the writer of the Life of Christ. His statement expressed some doubt with regard to the commonly accepted teaching of the Roman Catholic church.

Many theological libraries contain numerous books denying the doctrine, but very few that defend it. In fact, to our knowledge, no major work has been printed in defense of the doctrine in recent years. Some of the best books on the subject, written many years ago, are no longer accessible to the Bible student. Dr. Pusey’s book What is of Faith as to Eternal Punishment (1880) is an important work, yet the writer found it very difficult to obtain a copy, and when one was finally located in a seminary library, it was discovered that it had only been checked out on two occasions, in 1902 and in 1912! (see note below) But more serious than the widespread denial of the doctrine is the attitude of many evangelicals toward it. Many dare not preach it; while others go to the opposite extreme, describing hell in such gross and lurid terms that they often do more harm than good. As Robert Mackintosh says: in The Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, "Besides all these changes or innovations in belief, the growing reticence, and one may say reluctance, among those who maintain full traditional orthodoxy is even more significant."1

Another reason for our writing on the subject is that the man on the street fails to take this doctrine seriously, as is shown by his constant use of the word "hell" in a thoughtless and meaningless way. That keen European thinker Berdyaev says, "It is remarkable how little people think about hell or trouble about it. This is the most striking evidence of human frivolity."2 Schilder makes a similar and more detailed analysis of the situation when he says, "What is hell? When you place this question before the modern cosmopolitan man of our day, who is satiated with hyper-culture, then his answer is ready: Hell is a figment of the imagination! Hell? Well, this shadowy frightfulness which is implied in the word, as man says, can’t be anything other than a notion of founders of religions and of priests and lying prophets, wherewith they deceive the masses, and the world which wants to be deluded, in order to fill their empty pockets in this life with the preaching of the total emptying of the sinner in the hereafter . . . they tell you bluntly, that the world doesn’t believe any more in hell."3 For these reasons, we write on the subject of hell, with the earnest prayer that our work on the subject may be used of God in keeping some precious souls from experiencing hell’s terrible reality.

1. R. Mackintosh, in Hastings The Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, II "Universalism" (Edinburgh, T. and T. Clark, 1909), p. 785.

2. N. Berdyaev, The Destiny of Man (New York, Charles Scribners’ Sons, 1937), p. 338.

3. K. Schilder, Wat Is De Hel? (Kampen, J.H. Kok, 1920).

Webmaster’s Note: Dr. Pusey’s book is held by 136 libraries