It's become a modern question because of the traditional doctrine: How can God be both loving and wrathful? In The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever, Thor Ramsey (an author, pastor, and comedian...but don't let that fool you) tackles this question by probing deeper. Avoiding the caricatures of God as either a Frankenstein out to crush you or a Santa Claus ready to grant your every wish (as long as you've been really, really good), he asks, "What changes about God if this traditional understanding of the doctrine of hell changes?" As it turns out, everything changes. If you think a God without hell is more loving, this book will surprise you. While many believe that by eliminating hell they're getting a new and improved God, this new thinking is more troubling than the old doctrine itself. The new doctrine of hell being sold today is only good news at the most superficial level, leaving us with a wrath-less God who tolerates evils that make even the average atheist cringe. What if hell itself is good news about God? What if hell highlights everything we find glorious about God? What if the loss of hell leaves the world with a smaller God? Discover why the church needs a new and different breed of hellfire-and-brimstone preacher in the pulpit today. If you can't imagine how the doctrine of hell could ever make you say, "Praise God," this book (often funny, but deadly serious) lays out the biblical vision.

How many souls have you won to Christ? How many are still walking with the Lord? All, some, a few? The facts are: Evangelical success is at an all-time low. We’re producing more backsliders than true converts. The fall-away rate—from large crusades to local churches—is between 80 to 90 percent. Why are so many unbelievers turning away from the message of the gospel? Doesn’t the Bible tell us how to bring sinners to true repentance? If so, where have we missed it? The answer may surprise you. One hundred years ago, Satan buried the crucial key needed to unlock the unbeliever’s heart. Now Ray Comfort boldly breaks away from modern tradition and calls for a return to biblical evangelism. If you’re experiencing evangelical frustration over lost souls, unrepentant sinners, and backslidden “believers,” then look no further. This radical approach could be the missing dimension needed to win our generation to Christ.

A stunning reexamination of one of the essential tenets of Christian belief from one of the most provocative and admired writers on religion today “A scathing, vigorous, eloquent attack on those who hold that that there is such a thing as eternal damnation.”—Karen Kilby, Commonweal The great fourth-century church father Basil of Caesarea once observed that, in his time, most Christians believed that hell was not everlasting, and that all would eventually attain salvation. But today, this view is no longer prevalent within Christian communities. In this momentous book, David Bentley Hart makes the case that nearly two millennia of dogmatic tradition have misled readers on the crucial matter of universal salvation. On the basis of the earliest Christian writings, theological tradition, scripture, and logic, Hart argues that if God is the good creator of all, he is the savior of all, without fail. And if he is not the savior of all, the Kingdom is only a dream, and creation something considerably worse than a nightmare. But it is not so. There is no such thing as eternal damnation; all will be saved. With great rhetorical power, wit, and emotional range, Hart offers a new perspective on one of Christianity’s most important themes.

Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.

Combines professional insights along with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when confronted with tragedy and suffering.

When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published. Religious and secular authorities saw it as a threat to faith, social and political harmony, and everyday morality, and its author was almost universally regarded as a religious subversive and political radical who sought to spread atheism throughout Europe. Steven Nadler tells the story of this book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired. A vivid story of incendiary ideas and vicious backlash, A Book Forged in Hell will interest anyone who is curious about the origin of some of our most cherished modern beliefs--Jacket p. [2].

Most contemporary Christians acknowledge the doctrine of hell, but they’d rather not think about how God punishes the wicked. The authors of Four Views on Hell meet this subject head-on with different views on what the Scriptures say. Is hell to be understood literally as a place of eternal smoke and flames? Or are such images simply metaphors for a real but different form of punishment? Is there such a thing as “conditional immortality,” in which God annihilates the souls of the wicked rather than punishing them endlessly? Is there a Purgatory, and if so, how does it fit into the picture? The interactive Counterpoints forum allows the reader to see the four views on hell—literal, metaphorical, conditional, and purgatorial—in interaction with each other. Each view in turn is presented, critiqued, and defended. This evenhanded approach is ideal for comparing and contrasting views in order to form a personal conclusion about one of Christianity’s key doctrines. The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Bible and Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.