Anselm formulated his version of this argument in his famous account of the purpose of the atonement of Christ. In the Christian tradition, Augustine, Aquinas, Anselm, and Jonathan Edwards are among those who have formulated influential arguments in favor of this conception of hell. Many notable traditional theologians have conceived of hell as an eternal punishment that is justly imposed on sinners. The view that came to predominate in Christian theology -also based on numerous New Testament texts -is that all will be resurrected, but that the wicked, perhaps constituting the majority of humanity, will be banished from the presence of God and forever lost in the misery of hell. In the New Testament scriptures there is also significant diversity, and some texts appear to teach that the wicked will be annihilated whereas others appear to teach that all will eventually be reconciled to God. In extrabiblical literature, heaven and hell have been matters of considerable speculation among rabbis during both the time before the rise of Christianity and Islam, and after. Belief in a double resurrection -of the wicked as well as the righteous, after which the wicked will be punished -emerged later in some Jewish scriptural texts. Increasing awareness of the injustices of this world led to calls for moral distinctions in the afterlife that would rectify the wrongs of this life, of which the book of Job is perhaps the most famous example. While the possibility of punishment for disobedience to the covenant was always recognized, such punishment was understood as confined to this world. A more developed view of the afterlife grew out the Jewish understanding of their covenant with God. Sheol, the place of the dead, was conceived to be a place of shadowy existence without clear moral distinctions.

And even where that belief occurs, it is not always clear that there is a distinction between the fate of the righteous and that of the wicked. Historical Developments of the DoctrinesД«elief in an afterlife is either absent or ambiguous in early Jewish scripture.

But the point for emphasis is that belief in heaven and hell are not peripheral to theology, but are integral to traditional theistic faith, whether Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. In other words, one's beliefs about the nature and conditions of salvation will be closely connected to one's conception of heaven and hell. Of course the details differ in important respects, especially with respect to the crucial issue of the conditions for achieving heaven. The fundamental logic of these beliefs is not unique to Christianity and European culture -it is common to Judaism and Islam as well. Not only have they served as moral sanctions that assure people that they are ultimately accountable for their actions, but heaven and hell also have been central to the majestic vision of life and its meaning that flows from belief in a God of perfect character and infinite power. So understood, heaven and hell have provided an important moral source for European culture for the better part of two millennia. But the flip side of this is also possible -namely, that people may fail to achieve this relationship with God and thereby come to utter ruin and misery, a condition that is also believed to be eternal. Indeed, that is just what human beings were created for: an eternal relationship with God that will fulfill humankind's best potentialities and aspirations. According to Christian theology, the world is such that humans can experience perfect happiness, delight, and satisfaction, and do so forever. Christian theology has returned the striking answer that the possibilities are truly extreme. One of the most basic and existentially engaging of all questions has to do with the possibilities for human happiness and fulfillment on the one hand, and misery and loss on the other.

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