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Hell
Is There a Literal Hell? Will There Be Degrees of Punishment in Hell? The Soul After Death Who Will Spend Eternity in Hell? Why I am Thankful That I Am Not Going to Hell Demons The Devil
- GenresTheologyChristianity
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 22, 2013
A book that ends with a passionate plea for the unbeliever, as well as the offer for free reading materials for those who accept Jesus, can't be all bad.
That said, there wasn't much else to redeem this book. Aside from making the same bad arguments that other books make in an attempt to prove the traditional doctrine, a few things stand out about this book:
- In Chapter 3, we are told that the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 cannot be a parable because that would make Jesus a liar. The argument isn't just that it must be based on the real order of things or else Jesus would be a liar (which is already a bad argument). No, it cannot be a parable at all because Jesus used names (Lazarus and Abraham). Since he used names, it must be a true story, or else Jesus would be a liar. Using that same reasoning, just about every fiction story would be a lie, since they use names...
Also, I'll just throw this in there, the fact that there is a "certain rich man" doesn't mean it is not a parable. Several stories in Luke that no one would say are true stories begin that way (e.g. Luke 14:16, 15:11, 18:2). Luke 16:1, in the parable of the shrewd servant, even speaks of "certain rich man. And many parables, including some of the above, do not explicitly cal themselves parables.
- Chapter 6, on demons, turns into a rant about women dressing immodestly and how they are what usually leads to the sins men commit. By dressing immodestly, we don't just mean not just with things like bikinis and halter tops, but with such evil things as sundresses and shorts. I'm a complementarian, but even I feel this section was a bit sexist (like how I find stepping on a nail a bit painful).
Also, if you say it's okay to drink one beer with a meal, you'll inevitably become an alcoholic.
And don't forget, pg. 103, the increase in sex crimes at the time the book was written came about because of immodest clothing. I'm sure that would go over real well with the 100,000+ women who get raped ever year in America...
- Annihilationists, like myself, are called "false ministers" who are "ordained by him [the devil]" at the end of Chapter 3. Really? Are we really going to go there? Not every annihilationist is a liberal or a Jehovah's Witness, ya know.
- In chapter 4, a reference is made to the spirit being eternally tormented. A reference to the resurrection there, or anywhere int he book, would have been nice. You might think he believes the wicked live just as souls for eternity, which is unbiblical (Daniel 12:2, John 5:29), and kinda flies in the face of biblical Christianity. Does he think this? Who knows, but if not, in light of all the talk of eternal spirits, it would have helped had he said so.
- Hell is at the center of the earth, based on assumptions about some hardly explicit passages of scripture about Sheol. This isn't 1450...
This book appears to be out of print, but don't worry too much. You aren't missing anything.
That said, there wasn't much else to redeem this book. Aside from making the same bad arguments that other books make in an attempt to prove the traditional doctrine, a few things stand out about this book:
- In Chapter 3, we are told that the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 cannot be a parable because that would make Jesus a liar. The argument isn't just that it must be based on the real order of things or else Jesus would be a liar (which is already a bad argument). No, it cannot be a parable at all because Jesus used names (Lazarus and Abraham). Since he used names, it must be a true story, or else Jesus would be a liar. Using that same reasoning, just about every fiction story would be a lie, since they use names...
Also, I'll just throw this in there, the fact that there is a "certain rich man" doesn't mean it is not a parable. Several stories in Luke that no one would say are true stories begin that way (e.g. Luke 14:16, 15:11, 18:2). Luke 16:1, in the parable of the shrewd servant, even speaks of "certain rich man. And many parables, including some of the above, do not explicitly cal themselves parables.
- Chapter 6, on demons, turns into a rant about women dressing immodestly and how they are what usually leads to the sins men commit. By dressing immodestly, we don't just mean not just with things like bikinis and halter tops, but with such evil things as sundresses and shorts. I'm a complementarian, but even I feel this section was a bit sexist (like how I find stepping on a nail a bit painful).
Also, if you say it's okay to drink one beer with a meal, you'll inevitably become an alcoholic.
And don't forget, pg. 103, the increase in sex crimes at the time the book was written came about because of immodest clothing. I'm sure that would go over real well with the 100,000+ women who get raped ever year in America...
- Annihilationists, like myself, are called "false ministers" who are "ordained by him [the devil]" at the end of Chapter 3. Really? Are we really going to go there? Not every annihilationist is a liberal or a Jehovah's Witness, ya know.
- In chapter 4, a reference is made to the spirit being eternally tormented. A reference to the resurrection there, or anywhere int he book, would have been nice. You might think he believes the wicked live just as souls for eternity, which is unbiblical (Daniel 12:2, John 5:29), and kinda flies in the face of biblical Christianity. Does he think this? Who knows, but if not, in light of all the talk of eternal spirits, it would have helped had he said so.
- Hell is at the center of the earth, based on assumptions about some hardly explicit passages of scripture about Sheol. This isn't 1450...
This book appears to be out of print, but don't worry too much. You aren't missing anything.
Displaying 1 of 1 review