Punishment, Forgiveness, and Divine Justice

Abstract

According to a long theological tradition that stretches back at least as far as St Augustine, God's justice and mercy are distinct, and in many ways quite different, character traits. In his great epic poem, Paradise Lost, for example, John Milton goes so far as to suggest a conflict, perhaps even a contradiction, in the very being of God; he thus describes Christ's offer of himself as an atonement this way: No sooner did thy dear and only Son Perceive thee purpos'd not to doom frail Man So strictly, but much more to pity inclin'd, Hee to appease thy wrath, and end the strife Of Mercy and Justice in thy face discern'd Regardless of the Bliss wherein hee sat Second to thee, offer'd himself to die For man's offence.

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