Would a good God allow some people to be lost to hell due to the bad luck of their circumstances (such as never hearing the Christian gospel)? Do some who are lost
slip through the cracks
(i.e., they would have freely chosen to be saved if only God had placed them into different circumstances)? After surveying and responding to other significant objections within the so-called
soteriological problem of evil,
this groundbreaking new work identifies the above as the most difficult soteriological challenge for Christian theism and explores it in great depth. Finding William Lane Craig’s famous solution to this problem insightful but ultimately inadequate, the book proposes an alternative solution that upholds Christian exclusivism (the view that one must hear and respond to the gospel to be saved) and is both biblically consistent and philosophically plausible. It offers an intriguing possibility for how God might ensure that all people have an opportunity to be saved and that none who are lost slip through the cracks in a way that is inconsistent with God’s goodness. Additionally, the book reveals how its response to this soteriological problem has much value for addressing key aspects of the broader problem of evil.