Product Overview
As Christians, what should we believe about hell?
Instead of offering a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all answer, Ronald Allen and Robert Cornwall guide the reader through the historical interpretation of hell. They begin with the voices of the Hebrew Bible, extrabiblical, and New Testament texts and the voices of the early, medieval, Reformation, and modern church, pointing out the three main Christian views today—literalism (hell exists, and those there will suffer for eternity), annihilationism (the punishment of hell is limited and leads to the extinction of the sufferer), and universalism (everyone is saved, so hell does not exist). They include multiple contemporary theological positions on hell, such as those of liberation theologians and process theologians. Through describing and explaining these different points of view, Allen and Cornwall allow the reader to decide what view(s) of hell make the most theological and ethical sense to them, and they conclude by offering their personal thoughts on hell.
The book includes a study guide, making it an excellent resource for group study. An online resource to help preachers engage the notion of hell in the pulpit is available at www.wjkbooks.com/Hell. The resource includes a general orientation to the subject and suggestions for sermon series based on biblical texts and topics.
Reviews
"Anyone who has had second thoughts about hell will appreciate Ronald J. Allen and Robert D. Cornwall’s efforts in this book to help us understand better what we believe about this and why. They have done their homework (on a vast literature), written clearly and succinctly (on difficult associated concepts), and treated a full range of views charitably and yet without avoiding the critical questions from other perspectives. If Second Thoughts about Hell does not prod you to change your mind, it will at least equip those with pastoral and teaching responsibilities to engage and also facilitate important conversations about a Christian doctrine with deep roots in the theological tradition."—Amos Yong, Chief Academic Officer, Dean of the School of Mission and Theology, and Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary
"When people say, ‘Go to hell,’ few know more than it is not a nice placen. What happens after we die? Is hell real? What does it have to do with God? In clear, simple language, Allen and Cornwall faithfully review what the Bible and theologians through the ages have said, opening a surprising range of possibilities for readers to consider. No study is more helpful than this for both preachers and laypeople in seeking answers."
—Paul Scott Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Homiletics, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto
"Allen and Cornwall describe historical and contemporary understandings of the afterlife, deftly demonstrating how social/cultural contexts inadvertently invite the church to embrace one understanding over another. But this volume is not simply an academic, ivory tower exploration. The authors know that what we believe about last things, about heaven and hell, strongly inform our understandings of the mission of the church, the purposes of worship and preaching, and the ways we provide care and hope to our congregations and wider communities. It is a very important conversation. (Or we might say a hell of a conversa