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awilsonmomof2's review against another edition
3.0
Another very easy read by Francis. Didn't agree with everything but for the most part I do. I like that he is bold enough to keep his mouth shut about what the Bible DOESN'T say about Hell.
elijah_renz's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
solid read. not a lot of new information to me personally, but a really healthy reminder of the necessity and urgency of sharing the gospel. respect chan
nicholaspoe_'s review against another edition
4.0
As I'm studying about Hell, this book was incredibly important and grounding for me. It wasn't important because it shed brilliant new light on the doctrine that convinced me in either direction. In fact, I wish it would have spent more time examining eternal torment vs annihilationism. It was important to me because it grounded me in what hell means, what it points to, and why it is important.
It is so easy to get lost in the weeds of a doctrine. To get lost trying to intellectually understand something. This book re-grounded me in the idea that Hell is a real place. That real people can go to. It emphasized why the Biblical authors and Jesus were so concerned about this doctrine and why we should be too. Because people can actually go there. It showed how hell makes the cross shine brighter and forces us into dependence on the gospel.
It also was incredibly challenging, especially in the last two chapters. It confronted me with the idea that I'm not the potter and I have no right to say what the potter should do. It's easy to forget that when studying this doctrine because we all have ideas of what we would do if we were God and what is the fair thing to do. But we aren't the potter, we're the clay. It was far more convicting than I expected.
Because of the conviction of not reading my own sense of what I think God should do into this doctrine and the re-grounding of my study in why this doctrine is so important, this book was essential. I don't know if it will convince anyone of one view or the other, but I don't think it's any less important to read because of that.
It is so easy to get lost in the weeds of a doctrine. To get lost trying to intellectually understand something. This book re-grounded me in the idea that Hell is a real place. That real people can go to. It emphasized why the Biblical authors and Jesus were so concerned about this doctrine and why we should be too. Because people can actually go there. It showed how hell makes the cross shine brighter and forces us into dependence on the gospel.
It also was incredibly challenging, especially in the last two chapters. It confronted me with the idea that I'm not the potter and I have no right to say what the potter should do. It's easy to forget that when studying this doctrine because we all have ideas of what we would do if we were God and what is the fair thing to do. But we aren't the potter, we're the clay. It was far more convicting than I expected.
Because of the conviction of not reading my own sense of what I think God should do into this doctrine and the re-grounding of my study in why this doctrine is so important, this book was essential. I don't know if it will convince anyone of one view or the other, but I don't think it's any less important to read because of that.
jmay4th's review against another edition
5.0
Good reminder to take evangelizing seriously with all there is at risk.
mandapandagrace's review against another edition
5.0
Francis uses biblical truth to address a terrifying theology, tackling it with grace and hope. Not many other writers in Evangelical writing are as full of solid truth and God-centered grace. Thankful for the time I took to read this. It was a very short and quick read, easy and accessible.
jackgoss's review against another edition
1.0
I like how his whole premise is that you shouldn't just believe what your culture tells you is true or what you want to be true, instead you should study the Bible and see what it says. I like how he's completely unaware that the only reason he trusts the Bible is because it's part of his culture and he wants to believe it's true.
I also like how he goes back and forth between taking things literally and taking them as metaphors pretty much on a whim and each time it proves his point. And somehow each of these situations is also an example of how some other author that he's countering is wrong.
I also like how this was not really a book, but some kind of long book review of some other book and was more in the style of a self indulgent blog post than any kind of researched or scholarly work.
In his style, I will point out that I've used the word "like" 4 times, all for things that are clearly not likable, therefore for the rest of my life I only am allowed to use the word "like" to be a condescending expression of amused disdain.
I also like how he goes back and forth between taking things literally and taking them as metaphors pretty much on a whim and each time it proves his point. And somehow each of these situations is also an example of how some other author that he's countering is wrong.
I also like how this was not really a book, but some kind of long book review of some other book and was more in the style of a self indulgent blog post than any kind of researched or scholarly work.
In his style, I will point out that I've used the word "like" 4 times, all for things that are clearly not likable, therefore for the rest of my life I only am allowed to use the word "like" to be a condescending expression of amused disdain.
hannahdiggsking's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0