221. Sin as Punishment for Sin and Eternal Punishment

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Sin as Punishment for Sin (Article 2) #

• Apparent Problem: Punishment is meant to lead men to virtue, but sin leads away from virtue. How can sin punish sin?
• The Distinction: Thomas distinguishes per se vs. per accidens causation
  • Per se: Sin cannot be punishment per se because punishment is against the will, while sin proceeds from the will
  • Per accidens (accidentally): Sin can be punishment in three ways

Three Ways Sin Punishes Per Accidens #

1. On the side of the cause (through removal of grace)

   • Causes inclining to sin (passions, demonic temptation) are impeded by divine grace
   • When grace is withdrawn as punishment, subsequent sins follow as effects
   • Scripture reference: Romans 1:24—God “handed them over to the desires of their hearts”

2. On the side of the substance of the act

   • The act itself induces an affection or effect (exhaustion, labor, suffering)
   • Interior acts like anger and envy; exterior acts like oppression and grave loss
   • Scripture: Wisdom 5:7—“We have become exhausted in the way of iniquity”

3. On the side of the effect

   • Sin produces fouling or defilement of the soul
   • This fouling can be punishment both preceding and following further sin

The Irreparability Principle #

• When the beginning (principium) of an order is corrupted, the disorder becomes irreparable of itself
• The beginning of the order to God is the last end, to which man adheres through charity
• When sin destroys charity, it destroys the principle of the entire spiritual order
• Analogy: If the principle of vision is corrupted, sight cannot be repaired except by divine power

Eternal Punishment for Temporal Sin (Article 3) #

Apparent Problem: How can a temporal sin merit eternal punishment if justice requires proportional punishment?

The Solution:

• Punishment is proportional not in duration but in the order perverted
• Sin has two aspects:
  • Aversion (turning from God): infinite because God is infinite
  • Conversion (turning toward changeable goods): finite
• From the side of aversion, eternal punishment is owed because one turns from infinite good
• From the side of conversion, finite punishment corresponds to the finite act

The Role of Irreparability:

• If the disorder is irreparable (the will remains fixed in sin), punishment must be eternal
• Mortal sin destroys the principle (charity/grace); venial sin does not
• Only sins that corrupt the beginning merit eternal punishment
• Scripture: Matthew 25:46—“These will go into eternal punishment”; Mark 3:29—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not have remission “in aeternum”

Distinction: Mortal vs. Venial Sin #

• Mortal sin: Perverts the order to the ultimate end (God)
• Venial sin: Causes disorder only regarding means to the end, not the end itself
• Only mortal sin destroys the principle of order and merits eternal punishment
• Venial sin merits temporal punishment because the disorder is reparable

Key Arguments #

Against Eternal Punishment (Objections) #

1. Justice requires proportional punishment: A temporal act cannot merit infinite punishment

   • Response: Proportionality is in the order perverted, not the duration of the act. The infinity of punishment corresponds to the infinity of the good offended.

2. Punishment should be medicinal: No medicine should be infinite because it is ordered to an end

   • Response: Eternal punishments serve as warning to others and consideration of them leads to abstention from sin. Punishment need not benefit the punished; it can benefit others.

3. God does not delight in loss: God would not punish eternally because He does not delight in the perdition of men

   • Response: God delights in the order of His justice, not in punishment per se.

4. Punishment is parachitans: Since punishment is contrary to nature, it cannot be eternal

   • Response: Punishment is per accidens relative to nature, but it is per se relative to the disorder. As long as the disorder remains, punishment must remain.

For Eternal Punishment (Authorities) #

• Gregory the Great: “Some sins are the punishment of sin”
• Scripture: Matthew 25:46; Mark 3:29
• Augustine, City of God 21: Justice does not require punishment to equal sin in duration; the emphasis is on removal from the society of the living
• Gregory the Great: “It is just that who has sinned in his own eternity against God would be punished in the eternity of God”

Important Definitions #

Principium (Beginning/Principle) #

• Every order has a beginning through which one participates in that order
• In the spiritual order, the beginning is the last end (finis)
• Charity is the virtue that adheres man to God as his ultimate end
• Loss of the principium makes disorder irreparable

Irreparable vs. Reparable Disorder #

• Irreparable: Corruption of the principle itself; cannot be repaired by creature’s power alone; merits eternal punishment
• Reparable: Disorder regarding means; the principle remains intact; merits temporal punishment

Aversion (aversio) vs. Conversion (conversio) #

• Aversion: Turning away from God as the unchangeable good; the infinite aspect of sin
• Conversion: Disordered turning toward changeable goods; the finite aspect of sin

Examples & Illustrations #

Don Giovanni (Mozart’s Opera) #

• Don Giovanni constitutes his end in sin (sexual pleasure)
• His will is fixed eternally on this disordered end; he cannot repent
• He descends to hell consumed by fire, representing eternal punishment of irreparable disorder
• The other characters, witnessing his fate, are moved to reform—showing how eternal punishment serves as warning to others

The Philosopher and the Axioms #

• If a philosopher loses the principle of non-contradiction, he loses the foundation of all reasoning
• Similarly, if a person loses charity (the principle ordering the will to God), the entire spiritual order collapses
• This irreparable loss of the beginning merits eternal punishment

Local Motion and Distance #

• When someone walks away, ceasing to walk does not restore closeness
• One must actively return through contrary motion
• Similarly, ceasing sin does not restore the soul to God; active return through contrition is required

Augustine on the Virgins #

• Some proud virgins, having fallen into sins of the flesh, became covered from their pride
• The temporal sin became a punishment against the greater sin of pride

Abortion and Consequences #

• Someone willing to commit abortion experiences terrible physical and mental consequences
• The act itself becomes a punishment through suffering and mental anguish

Notable Quotes #

“The cause remaining, the effect remains. When so long as the perverseness of the order remains, it is necessary that there remains the punishment.” — Thomas Aquinas, on the permanence of punishment with disorder

“The wicked wish to live without end, that they might remain without end forever in their iniquities.” — Gregory the Great, on the eternal orientation of the wicked will

“In no judgment is it required that a punishment be equal to guilt according to duration.” — Augustine, City of God 21, on proportionality in punishment

“Knowing when to stop is the supreme gift of the artist.” — Sherlock Holmes (via Berquist), on the perfection found in restraint

Questions Addressed #

Q: How can sin be punishment for sin when punishment leads to virtue? #

A: Sin is punishment per accidens (accidentally), not per se. Through removal of grace, the act of sin that follows becomes a punishment. The subsequent sin is not desired as punishment but becomes punishment through the removal of grace that permits it.

Q: How can a temporal act merit eternal punishment? #

A: Proportionality is not in duration but in the order perverted. Since aversion from God is infinite (God being infinite), and if this disorder is irreparable (the will remaining fixed in sin), eternal punishment is justified. The cause of the disorder persists eternally.

Q: Why is the loss of charity the decisive factor? #

A: Charity is the principle (principium) by which the will is ordered to God as the ultimate end. When mortal sin destroys charity, it corrupts the beginning of the entire spiritual order, making the disorder irreparable of itself. Loss of the principle means loss of all that depends on it.

Q: How does eternal punishment serve a medicinal purpose if the punished cannot repent? #

A: Eternal punishment serves as a warning to others, not to the damned themselves. Those who consider the eternal punishments of the reprobate are moved to abstain from sin—as shown in Don Giovanni when the other characters resolve to reform.

Q: Does the removal of sin’s guilt mean the removal of punishment’s obligation? #

A: No. The stain and guilt can be removed through grace, but the debt of satisfactory punishment (reatus poenae) may remain. This is why temporal punishment may be owed even after forgiveness in confession.