It is frequently claimed that an all-loving and good God cannot permit anyone to end up in hell. In this book, the author shows that this issue of God's permission of hell has an intimate connection with age-old questions regarding why God would permit sin. Indeed, focus on why an all-loving and good God would permit hell is the best lens through which to explain sin.
Many arguments against the possibility of hell require affirming that God permits sin because God could not achieve goods for us without allowing sin. The author argues that we have independent philosophical reasons to reject that sin is necessary for us in any way, and, further, we have similar reasons to hold that hell is necessarily possible if the God of classical theism exists. In the end, understanding why an all-loving and good God would permit hell reveals that there is always hope for us, even when things appear most hopeless.
The book will appeal to those working in metaphysics, theology, philosophy of religion, and medieval philosophy.
1: Hellish Conditions and Confusions 2: Persons, Not Parts 3: A Fresh Start 4: Merely Foreknown 5: Predestined to Hope
Biography
James Dominic Rooney is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University, a fellow of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute (Rome, Italy), and research fellow of the HKBU Centre for Sino-Christian Studies. A Dominican friar of the Province of St. Albert the Great (Chicago, IL), he works primarily in metaphysics, medieval philosophy, and Chinese philosophy. He also has significant research interests in philosophy of religion and political philosophy. His most recent book is Beyond Classical Liberalism: Freedom and the Good (2024, co-edited with Patrick Zoll).
"Few issues in Christian theology are as electrically charged as is the issue of universalism. Opponents of universalist doctrine generally find themselves on the defensive, since everlasting damnation seems unworthy of both the God who allows it and the creature who chooses it. In this illuminating and boldly constructive book, James Dominic Rooney examines the main claims of universalists and shows that a different path is necessary. Metaphysically sophisticated and judicious in its treatments of divine permission and human personhood, this book is urgently needed."
Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
“To understand contemporary debates about universal salvation, one needs genuine philosophical precision. James Dominic Rooney is the ablest champion of the traditional Catholic position, and his arms include modal metaphysics, possible world semantics, and a mastery of the texts of St. Thomas Aquinas. An extended defense of the “metaphysical minimum” required for negative reprobation, Not a Hope in Hell is indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to follow these debates and will continue to be so for years to come. “
Trent Pomplun, University of Notre Dame
“Christian hope partially lies in the moral plausibility of its claims about the afterlife. Debates over universal salvation and the doctrine of Hell are not merely an intellectual puzzle to be solved. They have a serious existential weight. Not a Hope in Hell offers a significant contribution to this ongoing debate. Father Rooney takes readers through these difficult topics with clarity and rigor. Theologians will profit greatly from reading this work. ”
R.T. Mullins, University of Lucerne
"Starting from a minimalist metaphysics of hell, Fr. Rooney succeeds in three not easy objectives: he shows that universalism rests on premises about the nature of God that lead irremediably to make him the necessary author of sin; he elaborates a Thomistic theory of the permission of sin that allows complete providential control without making sin necessary; he proposes a defense of the benevolence of God that places the unconditional love for persons as the fundamental reason for God's permission of sin and eternal damnation. All this makes this book a must-read not only for anyone interested in the problem of evil but also in the philosophy of religion in general."
Agustín Echavarría, Universidad de Navarra
