Infinite Evil?
Before we speak, therefore, of an infinite sin, or an infinite evil, we should consider the capacity of those beings to whom this evil is attributed; if the acting agents are infinite in their nature and character, the effects of their operations may be so too, but if they are finite, their actions can lay no claim to an infinite effect. Sin is the consequence of the infraction of moral law; if this infraction be made by an infinite being, the criminality would be like the being who made it, that is of an infinite quality; but if the infraction be made by an imperfect being, the criminality is finite, and limited in its essential nature. It follows, of course, as man is a finite and imperfect agent; if he cannot do an infinite act, he is incapable of an infinite evil, and does not deserve an infinite punishment; consequently, the idea of eternal death is unjust and unreasonable. --Elihu Palmer (1764-1806), Principles of Nature; or, A Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and M