Taken from Kenneth Einar Himma's article in Faith and Philosophy: The Problem of Unresolved Wrong-Doing, 405.
Many Christians believe that, because of divine grace, any person who repents of sin, accepts Christianity, and has genuinely authentic faith in God is forgiven for her sins and spared completely of the torments of hell. Even the most evil person can be saved, getting nothing by way of divine punishment. Indeed, a genuine conversion occurring during a person's dying breaths is sufficient, on the traditional view, to be spared of divine punishment and enjoy the infinite benefits of salvation. However, the violation of an obligation creates a moral debt that requires correction by compensation, punishment, and/or forgiveness; a wrong that is never punished, compensated, or forgiven perpetuates a continuing injustice by leaving a debt unpaid. If it is true that one person's forgiveness cannot release the wrongdoer of a moral debt owed to someone else, then God's forgivenesss cannot release a wrongdoer from the moral debts she owes to human victims of her wrongs. Something must be done, as a moral matter, to deal with those existing moral debts before a saved sinner can enjoy eternal bliss promised to the faithful.
Many Christians believe that, because of divine grace, any person who repents of sin, accepts Christianity, and has genuinely authentic faith in God is forgiven for her sins and spared completely of the torments of hell. Even the most evil person can be saved, getting nothing by way of divine punishment. Indeed, a genuine conversion occurring during a person's dying breaths is sufficient, on the traditional view, to be spared of divine punishment and enjoy the infinite benefits of salvation. However, the violation of an obligation creates a moral debt that requires correction by compensation, punishment, and/or forgiveness; a wrong that is never punished, compensated, or forgiven perpetuates a continuing injustice by leaving a debt unpaid. If it is true that one person's forgiveness cannot release the wrongdoer of a moral debt owed to someone else, then God's forgivenesss cannot release a wrongdoer from the moral debts she owes to human victims of her wrongs. Something must be done, as a moral matter, to deal with those existing moral debts before a saved sinner can enjoy eternal bliss promised to the faithful.
CASE STUDY: HITLER
Hitler's immediate salvation would leave many unpaid moral debts in the world. Given that (1) Hitler's wrongdoing has not been forgiven by each of his victims, (2) Hitler's victims have not been compensated for the wrongs they experienced, and (3) Hitler receives no punishment, his salvation leaves tremendous moral debt in the world that would, if the traditional view is correct, remain forever unpaid.
RESPONSE: First, if Hitler genuinely was repentant, sorrowful, and apologetic for the wrongs he committed against mankind, and indeed, was given the opportunity to apologize to all those he wronged, then we have the beginnings of balancing the moral ledger with respect to (1) above. In fact, it may become morally obligatory for Hitler's victims to forgive Him, if God has forgiven Him. All this would be the case even if Hitler's victims did not except his apology.
Second, God surely has the resources to adequately compensate Hitler's victims appropriately for the injuries done to them. Thus, the moral ledge with respect (2) can be taken care of as well. The chief difficulty lies with (3) because genuine repentance and compensation are not always enough to restore the balance of the moral ledger. Sometimes, in addition to (1) and (2), punishment is also required, but on Christianity, it seems that Hitler completely escapes (3) above. This is where peoples intuitions cry foul.
There are 3 functions of punishment: Retribution, Deterrence, and Rehabilitation. Retribution is retaliation for a wrong or evil committed. Deterrence is inhibition of future immoral behavior through fear, shame, or guilt. Rehabilitation is to restore to a good and healthy condition, or a state of virtue. I submit that it is obvious on the Christian scheme that Hitler will experience deterrence and rehabilitation in heaven from committing evils. So then, we have finally isolated the form of punishment that Hitler seems to escape, and which violates peoples intuitions about justice; retributive punishment.
The solution to this paradox lies with the notion of vicarious suffering. A deserves to be punished; B undergoes hard treatment, which hard treatment constitutes A’s being punished; and so A no longer deserves to be punished. Vicarious punishment is genuine punishment when it is the case that one’s loved one is suffering because of one’s wrongful action. Imagine that the person you love the most suffers an excruciating death all because of some wrong you committed. Would you experience genuine punishment? Indeed you would. Some would even say that the best way to punish someone like a Hitler would be to take the person he loved more than anything, and punish that person to the same extent that he punished others loved ones. That form of retributivist punishment is called vicarious suffering, and it only works when person A genuinely loves person B. But therein lies our answer to how it is Hitler doesn't escape retribution. Hitler's punishment is accomplished through the vicarious suffering of Jesus’ crucifixion. Assuming Hitler comes to love God above all else, then the suffering and death of Jesus, which was necessitated by Hitler’s immoral life, would cause extreme vicarious suffering for Hitler. I would also add that someone like Hitler would experience a greater degree of vicarious suffering than someone like Mother Teresa, and that Mother Teresa would receive greater rewards than Hitler. This then, is part of the reason that in heaven we are told that our bodies will be made without blemish, save the scars of crucifixion on Jesus' body. Imagine that you got your most loved one crucified and try to tell me that that wouldn't cause you to suffer. The beauty of this solution, is that it only works if Hitler really loves Christ above all else, which genuine Christians in fact do. So, while this hypothetical situation is conceivable, it probably isn't feasible because it is very difficult to imagine Hitler coming to genuinely love Christ above all else given the life he lived. But if he did, he would not slip through the cracks of justice. He would experience just vicarious suffering.
Hitler's immediate salvation would leave many unpaid moral debts in the world. Given that (1) Hitler's wrongdoing has not been forgiven by each of his victims, (2) Hitler's victims have not been compensated for the wrongs they experienced, and (3) Hitler receives no punishment, his salvation leaves tremendous moral debt in the world that would, if the traditional view is correct, remain forever unpaid.
RESPONSE: First, if Hitler genuinely was repentant, sorrowful, and apologetic for the wrongs he committed against mankind, and indeed, was given the opportunity to apologize to all those he wronged, then we have the beginnings of balancing the moral ledger with respect to (1) above. In fact, it may become morally obligatory for Hitler's victims to forgive Him, if God has forgiven Him. All this would be the case even if Hitler's victims did not except his apology.
Second, God surely has the resources to adequately compensate Hitler's victims appropriately for the injuries done to them. Thus, the moral ledge with respect (2) can be taken care of as well. The chief difficulty lies with (3) because genuine repentance and compensation are not always enough to restore the balance of the moral ledger. Sometimes, in addition to (1) and (2), punishment is also required, but on Christianity, it seems that Hitler completely escapes (3) above. This is where peoples intuitions cry foul.
There are 3 functions of punishment: Retribution, Deterrence, and Rehabilitation. Retribution is retaliation for a wrong or evil committed. Deterrence is inhibition of future immoral behavior through fear, shame, or guilt. Rehabilitation is to restore to a good and healthy condition, or a state of virtue. I submit that it is obvious on the Christian scheme that Hitler will experience deterrence and rehabilitation in heaven from committing evils. So then, we have finally isolated the form of punishment that Hitler seems to escape, and which violates peoples intuitions about justice; retributive punishment.
The solution to this paradox lies with the notion of vicarious suffering. A deserves to be punished; B undergoes hard treatment, which hard treatment constitutes A’s being punished; and so A no longer deserves to be punished. Vicarious punishment is genuine punishment when it is the case that one’s loved one is suffering because of one’s wrongful action. Imagine that the person you love the most suffers an excruciating death all because of some wrong you committed. Would you experience genuine punishment? Indeed you would. Some would even say that the best way to punish someone like a Hitler would be to take the person he loved more than anything, and punish that person to the same extent that he punished others loved ones. That form of retributivist punishment is called vicarious suffering, and it only works when person A genuinely loves person B. But therein lies our answer to how it is Hitler doesn't escape retribution. Hitler's punishment is accomplished through the vicarious suffering of Jesus’ crucifixion. Assuming Hitler comes to love God above all else, then the suffering and death of Jesus, which was necessitated by Hitler’s immoral life, would cause extreme vicarious suffering for Hitler. I would also add that someone like Hitler would experience a greater degree of vicarious suffering than someone like Mother Teresa, and that Mother Teresa would receive greater rewards than Hitler. This then, is part of the reason that in heaven we are told that our bodies will be made without blemish, save the scars of crucifixion on Jesus' body. Imagine that you got your most loved one crucified and try to tell me that that wouldn't cause you to suffer. The beauty of this solution, is that it only works if Hitler really loves Christ above all else, which genuine Christians in fact do. So, while this hypothetical situation is conceivable, it probably isn't feasible because it is very difficult to imagine Hitler coming to genuinely love Christ above all else given the life he lived. But if he did, he would not slip through the cracks of justice. He would experience just vicarious suffering.
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