Troubled Paradise
Limited Salvation and the Problem of Heavenly Grief
- Theology
- Publisher: Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2024
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Publisher's Description
Grief over the loss of those we love is one of the most painful parts of life. But Christianity has long offered consolation to those who grieve in the form of the Easter promise. Death is not the end. Beyond it lies a realm of perfect joy, where mourning is no more and every tear is wiped away. But won't this promise have limits if, as Christians have traditionally believed, some of God's creatures are eternally lost? Can I really be perfectly happy in heaven if, say, my children are damned or annihilated? And what about the Christian teaching that those in heaven are morally sanctified? Doesn't this mean they will be perfected in a love so wide it includes even our enemies--and hence the lost? While delving deeply into the nature of grief and its relation to Christian ethics, this book explores the reasoning that generates this "problem of heavenly grief," examines purported solutions, and invites deeper reflection on a frequently dismissed idea that avoids the problem altogether: the universalist notion that there are no limits to Easter's promise because all are ultimately saved.
Endorsements (2)
“Can we genuinely enjoy heaven if some of the people we love are damned? In Troubled Paradise, Eric Reitan argues compellingly that the answer is no. He further contends that the best way to address this issue is by embracing the doctrine of universal salvation. The book is philosophically sophisticated and theologically informed, yet sure to be profitable to specialists and generalists alike. A true achievement that deserves to be read by all who are interested in questions concerning universalism, the afterlife, and the character of God.”
“Eric Reitan’s latest book, Troubled Paradise: Limited Salvation and the Problem of Heavenly Grief, is without question the most thorough and detailed exploration of this topic now available, even as it leaves open the possibility that, in the end, ‘all of God’s precious children will, like the prodigal son, finally come home.’”
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