Showing results for "hell" in Religion & Spirituality

When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published. In A Book Forged in Hell, Steven Nadler tells the fascinating story of this extraordinary book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired.

Even self-described Christians question whether God would consign anyone to hell. Msgr. Pope explains this false perception: “If it exists at all, it is largely empty, except perhaps for a few serial killers or genocidal maniacs like Hitler.” People who adopt this belief are ignoring Jesus’s teachings that instruct the exact opposite.

Is God a sadistic torturer? Coldhearted judge? Genocidal maniac? Unfortunately, our popular caricatures often make him out to be. God has some skeletons in the closet. At least, that's what many of us fear. "How can a loving God send people to hell?" "Isn't it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God?" "What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?" These are difficult questions that our family, our friends, our culture - even we ourselves - are asking.

The great fourth-century church father Basil of Caesarea once observed that, in his time, most Christians believed that hell was not everlasting, and that all would eventually attain salvation. But today, this view is no longer prevalent within Christian communities. In this momentous book, David Bentley Hart makes the case that nearly two millennia of dogmatic tradition have misled readers on the crucial matter of universal salvation.

Anthony DeStefano, the best-selling author of A Travel Guide to Heaven, takes us on an exploration of hell, the devil, demons, and evil itself.

There is a black hole at the center of Christian spirituality: the doctrine of hell. No matter how hard we try to believe in a loving God, the fear of eternal torment always lurks at the back of our minds, warping our sense of what love means. Worse still, many churches act as if the point of Christianity is not to follow Jesus but to secure a get-out-of-hell-free card—and to “save” everyone you know by converting them to your religion.

This is your wake-up call to resist the Hustle culture and embrace the slowness of Jesus. Our culture makes constant demands of us: Do more. Accomplish more. Buy more. Post more. Be more. In following these demands, we have indeed become more: More anxious. More tired. More hurt. More depressed. More frantic. What we are doing isn't working! In a society where hustle is the expectation, busyness is the norm and information is king, we have forgotten the fundamentals that make us human, anchor our lives, and provide meaning.

In Hell? No! Rick Lannoye masterfully unravels all the ploys used to perpetuate the fear of Hell, beginning with the history of its pagan origins, the process by which Christianity adopted Hades' Realm from Greek mythology and how the original gospels have been manipulated to keep the unfounded fear of Hell alive today. Most importantly, Lannoye provides practical advice to anyone--no matter how emotionally and spiritually abused--about how they can be set free and become absolutely certain there is no such place as Hell.

In A Divine Revelation of Hell, over a period of 30 nights, God gave Mary K. Baxter visions of hell and commissioned her to tell people still alive on earth to reject sin and evil and to choose life in Christ. Here is an account of the place and beings of hell contrasted with the glories of heaven. Follow Mary in her supernatural journey as she enters with Jesus into a gateway to hell and encounters the sights, sounds, and smells of that dark place of torment, including its evil spirits, cells, pits, jaws, and heart.

From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged.

Placed on a ventilator for lung failure in 1999, M.K. McDaniel fought for her life in a drug-induced coma for three weeks. Misfit in Hell to Heaven Expat is based on a story of M.K.’s experiences before, during, and after a dark near-death experience. Her family waited and prayed, totally unaware of the horrors M.K. was bravely facing and miserably enduring in a seemingly eternal hell, culminating in her eventual glimpse of heaven and chat with her deceased fiancé.

Sixteen equipping messages by Ray Comfort from the original series Hell's Best Kept Secret.

Why Hell? is meant to educate the interested listener without advocating for any one point of view. Steve Gregg provides food for thought for both trained theologians and serious Christian listeners who want all the data and then consider for themselves the consequences of three Christian perspectives on hell.

This book combines professional insights along with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when confronted with tragedy and suffering.

For centuries, many have been taught to believe that the Bible presents a vivid picture of a fiery Hell, where God sadistically torments most of humanity by burning their skin for all eternity. But is this really the picture Scripture paints? Were you raised to view Hell through the lens of the Augustinian-Calvinist tradition, perhaps too intimidated ever to question it? If so, this book is for you. In it, we will challenge the fundamentalist perspective on Hellfire by exploring the original context in which the biblical teachings on Hell were written.

The Dogma of Hell explores the basic Catholic doctrine on hell, purposefully awakening in the listener a profound realization of its reality and eternity of horrors. Eminent French theologian Fr. F.X. Schouppe, SJ, author of Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, has written here a similar but much smaller book.

Everlasting hell and divine judgment, a lake of fire and brimstone—these mainstays of evangelical tradition have come under fire once again in recent decades. Would the God of love revealed by Jesus really consign the vast majority of humankind to a destiny of eternal, conscious torment? Is divine mercy bound by the demands of justice? How can anyone presume to know who is saved from the flames and who is not?

Jesus declared war on an ancient enemy at the very beginning of His ministry. He hinted at the identity of this entity through the locations of His baptism, the Transfiguration, and the Olivet Discourse. This enemy was cast down from the mountain of God. He's deceived millions in sacrificing their children on his altars. And he returns from the bottomless pit at the end of the age—a prophecy encoded into the art and architecture of the United States Capitol. This entity may be more dangerous than Satan himself.

All of heaven is waiting for you to release these supernatural words. Wield the power of the tongue for the sake of the kingdom. Decree and declare words of victory over your life today!

Author Bill Wiese, also known as “the man who went to hell” presents hard facts regarding a topic many avoid today. Expounding on his 23 Minutes in Hell experience, Wiese shares the uncomfortable, but necessary truth about hell and what we all need to know. Subscribe and don’t miss the next episode!