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Sense and Nonsense about Heaven and Hell
Thinking Clearly and Biblically about Eternity, Afterlife, and Death Did you know that the original biblical languages use several words for heaven and hell that mean different things? Did you know that there are different beliefs about how many heavens and hells there are? To make matters still more confusing, other religions and philosophies have contributed their own ideas to the mix until it's hard to separate sound biblical teaching from speculation, falsehood, and folklore. Sense and Nonsense about Heaven and Hell by Kenneth Boa—author of spiritual formation bestseller Conformed to His Image —helps you cut through the clutter to see what the Bible really reveals about heaven and hell, salvation, and judgment. In this book, you'll Get ready for some surprises! This book will help you set aside your preconceptions and pierce through the myths and misinformation to gain an accurate, truly biblical perspective on heaven and hell.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2007
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59 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth D. Boa
104 books51 followersKenneth Boa is an author, a speaker, and the president of Reflections Ministries. He is the author of over fifty books, including Conformed to His Image, Faith Has Its Reasons, Face to Face, and Rewriting Your Broken Story. He is a contributing editor to the Open Bible, the Promise Keepers Men's Study Bible, and the Leadership Bible, and is the consulting editor of the Zondervan NASB Study Bible.
Boa earned a BS from Case Institute of Technology, a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, a PhD from New York University, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He teaches a weekly Bible and Faith study at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he resides with his wife.
Boa earned a BS from Case Institute of Technology, a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, a PhD from New York University, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He teaches a weekly Bible and Faith study at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he resides with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 26, 2012
It was okay.
It gave a pretty broad overview of Heaven and Hell. I found it's arguments against conditionalism (i.e. the actual biblical view) not particularly strong. That said, while they don't seem to have a full grasp of some of the implications of many conditionalist arguments, the authors are at least more aware of them (e.g. the connection between Isaiah 34:9-10 and Revelation 14:9-11) than many books on Hell.
In regards to the other topics, it's a bit more balanced and even-handed than many others. Though they do affirm the traditional Christian view of the soul living on past the body after death, they take a more balanced approach to the relevant texts. For example, they are aware that the Hebrew "nephesh," translated as "soul," in most cases (or as some would argue, all), refers to biological life, or the general life force of a being. Little things like this make this give the book a greater degree of insight than many longer books on Heaven and Hell.
Overall, it's worth reading if you like to keep up on what's going on in evangelical theology today.
It gave a pretty broad overview of Heaven and Hell. I found it's arguments against conditionalism (i.e. the actual biblical view) not particularly strong. That said, while they don't seem to have a full grasp of some of the implications of many conditionalist arguments, the authors are at least more aware of them (e.g. the connection between Isaiah 34:9-10 and Revelation 14:9-11) than many books on Hell.
In regards to the other topics, it's a bit more balanced and even-handed than many others. Though they do affirm the traditional Christian view of the soul living on past the body after death, they take a more balanced approach to the relevant texts. For example, they are aware that the Hebrew "nephesh," translated as "soul," in most cases (or as some would argue, all), refers to biological life, or the general life force of a being. Little things like this make this give the book a greater degree of insight than many longer books on Heaven and Hell.
Overall, it's worth reading if you like to keep up on what's going on in evangelical theology today.
May 31, 2025
Great Introduction to the Topic
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The discussion of heaven and hell can often divulge in to emotional statements that are not supported Biblically. This book looks at the issues unemotionally, providing evidence (or counter-evidence) for the authors’ theological stances AND for popular theological stances within Christianity and the world. The book is sourced well, so further research is easy to accommodate.
The book did focus a significant amount of time on Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness theology. It wasn’t too much that it overshadowed the various Christian arguments, but it was unexpected. That being said, I did enjoy reading those parts and wish we could’ve added more religions to this.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a Biblically based discussion of heaven and hell. You can easily get the reasons behind various viewpoints as well as the reasons for the authors’ opinions.
This is my fourth book by Kenneth Boa and I recommend all of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The discussion of heaven and hell can often divulge in to emotional statements that are not supported Biblically. This book looks at the issues unemotionally, providing evidence (or counter-evidence) for the authors’ theological stances AND for popular theological stances within Christianity and the world. The book is sourced well, so further research is easy to accommodate.
The book did focus a significant amount of time on Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness theology. It wasn’t too much that it overshadowed the various Christian arguments, but it was unexpected. That being said, I did enjoy reading those parts and wish we could’ve added more religions to this.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a Biblically based discussion of heaven and hell. You can easily get the reasons behind various viewpoints as well as the reasons for the authors’ opinions.
This is my fourth book by Kenneth Boa and I recommend all of them.
October 30, 2018
Theologically strong but a bit dry and plodding in places.
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January 11, 2020I haven't quite finished; I'm only about 2/3rds of the way through. But, the writing arrangement isn't very good. The content is fine, but I find myself not caring about the specifics he addresses and wishing he was talking about another aspect of the same topic.
I listen to Robert Bowman via The Theology Program (by Renewing Your Mind ministries) (iTunes / Other Podcasters XML Bowman does an excellent job (in the Podcasts) presenting all sides of view (e.g. quoting Mormons own theologians) and soberly looking at issues.
But again, I didn't care for how the book flowed.
I listen to Robert Bowman via The Theology Program (by Renewing Your Mind ministries) (iTunes / Other Podcasters XML Bowman does an excellent job (in the Podcasts) presenting all sides of view (e.g. quoting Mormons own theologians) and soberly looking at issues.
But again, I didn't care for how the book flowed.
April 22, 2017
An analysis of Biblical verses depicting and describing Hell. Does a good job of stripping myth and conjecture from what the Bible tells us.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews