Sin

Three main positions concerning hell can be distinguished. First, the Augustinian view of hell as place of eternal punishment, which stamped the Western tradition, with the variation of a purgatory (Roman-Catholic) or without it (Protestant). Second, in the Eastern tradition, universalist tendencies rendered hell a transitional phase after which all shall be saved. Third, annihilationism states that while believers live eternally, the damned are destroyed forever. Diverse interpretations of Biblical Scripture lead to a proliferation of all three options. Meanwhile, modern humanism has put the Augustinian option under pressure.

• Eschatology

The concept of justification is central in Protestant theology. Its theological meaning differs fundamentally from its meaning in non-theological language. In everyday language, the term refers to the act of explaining, or accounting for, a particular behavior or action before another entity. Within theology, it designates the relationship between human beings and God. It designates a divine act through which God frees human beings from the injustice of their sins and bestows righteousness on them. Questions about how God justifies, to what extent justification is an act of divine grace, whether and in what way human beings can contribute to their justification, and what constitutes the healing power of righteousness have been the subject of theological reflection and debate since ancient times.