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Razing Hell: Rethinking Everything You've Been Taught about God's Wrath and Judgment
The idea of hell can haunt dreams and disturb sleep. Many wonder at the justice (or injustice) of it all, feeling confounded by a God who deems it necessary to send the majority of humanity to burn there forever. Seventy percent of Americans believe in hell, as do ninety-two percent of those who attend church every week. Clearly, it's a hot topic. Baker offers readers a sa...more
Paperback, 222 pages
Published
August 23rd 2010
by Westminster John Knox Press
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Should I be nice and compassionate or brutally nasty? Hmmmmmmm? Mostly NASTY. :D
I cannot believe that Sharon Baker is a professor of theology ANYWHERE. (Although it does say "assistant" on the back cover of the book.) In order to be a proper Christian theologian - you do have to deal with the Bible as a whole - and that is the problem with this silly little book.
To sum up her thinking: There is no Hell or eternal punishment (mostly?). We would all realize this if we just read the Bible through H...more
I cannot believe that Sharon Baker is a professor of theology ANYWHERE. (Although it does say "assistant" on the back cover of the book.) In order to be a proper Christian theologian - you do have to deal with the Bible as a whole - and that is the problem with this silly little book.
To sum up her thinking: There is no Hell or eternal punishment (mostly?). We would all realize this if we just read the Bible through H...more
In Razing Hell, Sharon Baker, who teaches theology at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, argues against the traditional Christian doctrine of hell. She argues that hell is not a place of eternal torment. Instead, she views the language of hell as largely metaphorical: the biblical passages that speak of hell refer to a purifying experience of judgment; although she does not state it explicitly, her view of hell seems to be, in some ways, similar to the concept of purgatory: hell cleanses...more
In the opening of this convoluted mess the author states "I am very concerned about remaining faithful to scripture; but am more concerned about remaining faithful to the God of love..." (xiv) which proves extremely telling on the author's bias. Baker hates the idea of retributive justice in the Bible and yet does very little to really deal with the texts that suggest such a model. While many texts are uncomfortable to read (especially when they convict me) we can't throw things out because they...more
Somewhat in the same vein as Rob Bell's Love Wins --- a re-exploration of the mainstream thought on the Christian Hell and a reinterpretation that focuses on God's grace and inclusive reconciling. In some ways, a deeper work than Bell's (think of it as a 12 week Sunday school class compared to Bell's sermon series), but also quite repetitive. The framing notion of the author speaking to three of her friends about the subject felt awkward to me. However, some of the arguments --- especially those...more
A new perspective on the doctrine of Hell. I liked it. The style was very conversational. Only negative is that I think it takes a long to for her to build her case for a "restorative" understanding of punishment in hell rather that the traditional "retributive" view.
This book is more than meets the eye. Not only does Sharon help us take a second look at what we believe about hell, but her understanding of justice is worth the price of admission alone. Great book!
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This is the book Rob Bell's Love Wins should of been, and could have been had he not written in such a "cutesy" style. It is a serious examination of the doctrines involved, and a positive re-imagination.
a very accessible book on the 'problem of hell', advocating a restorative view of hell and thus a universalist solution to the problem of hell. This is done in a conversational style (aimed at a general public), from an evangelical point of view, with that confessional audience in mind.
Courageous woman to write this book.
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