Persistent sinning without end would never result in anything like the traditional hell (whether understood as a lake of fire, the outer darkness, or any other condition revealing the full horror of separation from God).
Hell(as used in theology and religious philosophy)
In Christian and other religious traditions, a place or state of punishment or separation from God that comes after death as a consequence of sin.
Lake of fire(as used in Christian theology)
A biblical image of hell described in Christian scripture as a lake burning with fire, representing eternal punishment.
Outer darkness(as used in Christian theology)
Another biblical image of hell from Christian scripture, symbolizing complete separation and isolation from God's presence.
Persistent sinning(as used in Christian theology and ethics)
Continuously committing sins (actions considered morally wrong in religious tradition) without stopping or repenting.
Separation from God(as used in Christian philosophy and theology)
In Christian theology, the state of being cut off from a relationship with God, often considered the deepest aspect of spiritual punishment or damnation.
So the idea of irreparable harm—that is, of harm that not even omnipotence could ever repair—is critical at this point. It is most relevant, perhaps, in cases where someone imagines sinners freely choosing annihilation (Kvanvig), or imagines them freely making a decisive and irreversible choice of evil (Walls), or imagines them freely locking the gates of hell from the inside (C. S. Lewis). But proponents of the so-called escapism understanding of hell can plausibly counter that hell is not necessarily an instance of such irreparable harm, and Raymond VanArragon in particular raises the possib...