We need more books on the Doctrine of Hell

Joshua Lieder said:

I would begin with WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HELL? by John Blanchard.

That's a good book, and it would be good to see it in Logos (the publisher has several books in Logos now, so perhaps this one will come one day).

In the meantime, you may like this one: http://www.logos.com/product/26689/hell-under-fire-modern-scholarship-reinvents-eternal-punishment

I doubt you'll like this one, but it's an important book: http://www.logos.com/product/20263/the-fire-that-consumes-a-biblical-and-historical-study-of-the-doctrine-of-final-punishment-3rd-ed

"Hell? Yes? (And Other Outrageous Truths You Can Still Believe)" by Robert Jeffress (Water Brook Press) has a wonderful chapter called "God Sends Good People to Hell." It is excellent. D. James Kennedy called the book "...a most provocative work..." It should be in Logos.

I find it very interesting that "Four Views on Hell" from the Counterpoints Series by Zondervan (William Crockett, Gen. Editor) is not available. At least 21 of the other Counterpoints books are on Logos, but not this one. Why not this topic?  Of course, with the price of Zondervan books on Logos it is definitely cheaper in print! I paid $6.99 for my copy. Counterpoint books are $14-$16 in sets on Logos!  Hey, Logos, can I buy the "paperback" edition?

Tony Evans preached a really good sermon called: "You Can Go to Hell!" The subtitle put it into perspective: "or You Can Go to Heaven."

My favorite sermon, however, is from the late Dr. Ken Connolly. In quiet tones of Scottish brogue he spoke simply on the Rich Man in Luke 16. He never raised his voice, he never shed a tear. But I wept for the Rich Man when he was finished.

Spurgeon mentioned "Hell" 9,860 times in my Logos collection on Spurgeon. He said this: "There are some ministers who never mention anything about hell. I heard of a minister who once said to his congregation, 'If you do not love the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be sent to that place which it is not polite to mention.' He ought not to have been allowed to preach again, I am sure, for he could not use plain words."
[C. H. Spurgeon, 2,200 Quotations: From the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon : Arranged Topically or Textually and Indexed by Subject, Scripture, and People, ed. Tom Carter (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995). Exported from Logos Bible Software 5, 3:53 PM May 19, 2013.]

Spurgeon concluded another sermon this way:
I have not shunned to preach of hell with all its horrors, until I have been laughed at, as if I always preached upon it. I have not shunned to preach upon the most sweet and pleasing themes of the gospel, till I have feared lest I should make my preaching effeminate, instead of retaining the masculine vigour of a Boanerges. I have not shunned to preach the law; that great commandment has wrung in your ears, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” I have never feared the great, nor have I courted their smile; I have rebuked nobility as I would rebuke the peasantry, and to everyone of you I have dealt a portion of meat in due season. I know that this much can be said of me—“Here stands one that never feared the face of man yet;” and I hope never will. Amidst contumely, and rebuke, and reproach, I have sought to be faithful to you and to my God. If then, you will be damned, let me have this one thing as a consolation for your misery, when I shall think of so frightful a thought—that you are not damned for the want of calling after; you are not lost for the want of weeping after, and not lost, let me add, for the want of praying after. In the name of him who shall judge the quick and dead according to my Gospel, and of him that shall come in the clouds of heaven, and by that fearful say when the pillars of this earth shall totter, and the heavens shall fall about your ears—by that day when “Depart, ye cursed,” or “Come, ye blessed,” must be the dread alternative, I charge you, lay these things to heart, and as I shall face my God to account for my honesty to you, and my faithfulness to him, so remember, you must stand before his bar, to give an account of how you heard, and how you acted after hearing; and woe unto you if, having been lifted up like Capernaum with privileges, you should be cast down like Sodom and Gomorrah, or lower still than they, because you repented not.
Oh! Master! turn sinners to thyself; for Jesus sake! Amen.

[C. H. Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, Vol. IV (London; Glasgow: Passmore & Alabaster; James Paul; George John Stevenson; George Gallie, 1858). Exported from Logos Bible Software 5, 4:14 PM May 19, 2013.]

Charles Spurgeon and Jesus Christ both had great results from preaching on Hell!

They also already have:

• Hell: A Hard Look at a Hard Question by David J. Powys
• The Other Side of the Good News: Contemporary Challenges to Jesus' Teaching on Hell by Larry Dixon
• Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) by Brian Jones (on Vyrso)
• Who Goes There: A Cultural History of Heaven and Hell by Rebecca Price Janney (on Vyrso)
• Eternal Punishment by Arthur Pink
• Death and the Afterlife: The Biblical Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul and Eternal Conscious Punishment by Robert Morey
• The Doctrine of Endless Punishment by William G. T. Shedd
• Death and Afterwards by H. A. Ironside
• Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World in the Old Testament by Nicholas Tromp

It seems like a good time to review the rules of the forum.  

[:)]

Tommy Miller said:

"Hell? Yes? (And Other Outrageous Truths You Can Still Believe)" by Robert Jeffress (Water Brook Press) has a wonderful chapter called "God Sends Good People to Hell." It is excellent. D. James Kennedy called the book "...a most provocative work..." It should be in Logos.

Robert Jeffress (pastor, FBC Dallas) and D. James Kennedy?

Top scholars on the subject, I'm sure. [:#]

Meanwhile, here's an interesting book worth reading and having in Logos: The Formation of Hell: Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but Hell Under Fire is a pretty good book on the topic, with a good perspective of opinions. I read a few essays from it a few years ago. Has anyone else read it?

https://www.logos.com/product/26689/hell-under-fire-modern-scholarship-reinvents-eternal-punishment

Joshua Lieder said:

Its me Joshua the poster for this thread.....

i am preaching on What Jesus said about Hell and Why it Still Matters.

The title may give everyone an idea where I am headed "Their Worm Does Not Die"

The third essay in Hell under Fire specifically deals with Jesus' teachings on Hell, however, the writer (Robert W. Yarbrough) comes at it from a strongly anti-Jesus Seminar angle, rather than a general teachings-of-Jesus perspective. It's probably not what you're looking for for the purpose of your sermon. Chapter 10, written by Sinclair Ferguson, gives a pastoral theology on preaching and the subject of Hell. It might be more useful to you since it's a look at biblical theology on the matter.

Good luck!

Bruce Dunning said:

MJ. Smith said:

If you guys would cut the negative junk out of the above posts and simply ask for / give reasonable suggestions

My observations is that most are not able to simply comment or suggest without showing their personal opinions on the matter and that often can come across as negative. We all must be careful to present our opinions/convictions in a way that is positive. Thanks for the reminder.

NB.Mick said:

MJ. Smith said:

• Death and Afterlife: A Theological Introduction by Terence Nichols

This is in Vyrso, btw.

An absolutely lovely and helpful book that I very much appreciated!              *smile*

Psalm 29:11

MJ. Smith said:

You know you need more time when you check the book out on Vyrso only to discover you already own it. More time is obviously a better solution than less resources.

It was a freebie in June last year.  God bless Logos & Vyrso for their charitable deeds [H]

For the sake of balance (and having my own views represented), I'll suggest the following:

• Thomas Talbott - The Inescapable Love of God
• Gregory MacDonald - The Evangelical Universalist
• Robin Parry - Universal Salvation?: The Current Debate

Rob Bell's "Love Wins" would probably be a reasonable addition, at least to Vyrso, due to its popularity. Bell isn't a universalist, and the type of universalism he leaves open in his book is (IMHO) too heavily tied to the typically thin American definition of free will, but it's gotten a lot of conversations going.

And Bonda - The One Purpose of God.

Joshua Lieder said:

Mitchell thanks for your humorous reply. I read Francis Chan instead. 
I am interested in having Christ's views represented in my sermon.

It sounds like you read the book whose conclusion you already agree with. I wonder, are you truly seeking Christ's views, or merely looking to bolster your own?

This is not the time nor place to dive into this debate, but my views are 1) rooted in Scripture, which I believe to be the final rule of faith and practice and 2) consistent with historic orthodoxy as attested by the creeds, confession, and church fathers. I'm not absolutely committed to the universalist position, but it seems to require less hermeneutical gymnastics than the alternatives (Calvinism and Arminianism, primarily). I'm always open to a respectful discussion, so if you're interested in talking more please let me know and I'll get you my contact info. I mean this quite sincerely, I would love to hear you out on this if you're up for a civil conversation.

EDIT: Just to avoid confusion, I do believe hell exists, I just don't exclude the possibility (probability even, given the repeated promises of God's total victory) that it will, in the very long term, be empty due to sinners repenting and turning to Christ. If I thought there was no hell at all, your accusation of ignoring Christ's teaching would be entirely appropriate, but a quick reading of any of the book I mentioned would assure you that Evangelical Universalists believe no such thing.

Not the classical view, but I recommend Edward Fudge's The Fire That Consumes.

Mitchell probably could teach us all a thing or two about Hell because he has the letters "H-E-L-L" (in that order, with no intervening letters) in his name. [:)]

This posts means nothing at all; I just love word play.

Let this then be our sacred rule, to seek to know nothing concerning it, except what Scripture teaches us: when the Lord closes his holy mouth, let us also stop the way, that we may not go farther. 

Calvin, J., & Owen, J. (2010). Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans (354). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Giovanni Baggio said:

You make me laugh dude, isn't the Bible enough for you to read about hell and what Jesus said about it? Go read it and you might just get what you're looking for it's been there for a little over 2K years    aaaah and by the way the Bible is available in Logos and is more important than any other book collection you can get  so important that even Satan thinks it's good to quote it  

blessings my little children!

Giovanni

Great point. My entire Logos collection, excluding Bibles, is now up for sale.

Giovanni Baggio said:

You make me laugh dude, isn't the Bible enough for you ...

I frequently fall short, and at the risk of steering off coarse a little, I always appreciate (and need) instruction ... ACTS 8:26ff

The people back then believed in hell, there was no need to teach the doctrine. But how to escape it did need teaching.

Joshua Lieder said:

I mean this sincerely and not offhandedly....God bless you Mitchell. 

Thank you Joshua. You as well.

Thanks Milford.  [:)]

I guess I'm lost on Edwin's comment.

Edwin Bowden said:

Ask yourself, if we do not find "hell" used in Paul's writing and the recorded messages in Acts, how much was it emphasized in the NT church? 

George Somsel said:

I understand that it operates on the Raid Roach Motel principle (the bug killer)—you can check in, but you can't check out.

hmmm, I understood that it operated like "Hotel California" where "You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave!" [;)]

George Somsel said:

tom said:

George Somsel said:

I understand that it operates on the Raid Roach Motel principle (the bug killer)—you can check in, but you can't check out.

hmmm, I understood that it operated like "Hotel California" where "You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave!" 

Same principle.

Not quite. Your version is missing the pun: "check out" is a euphemism for "die."