God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News Is Better than Love Wins [Paperback]

Mark Galli (Author), Randy Alcorn (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2012

Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins, has generated a national conversation about ultimate issues, such as the nature of hell, heaven, and the ultimate destiny of humankind. Yet, the book has also created unnecessary confusion. God Wins is a response to the provocative questions Love Wins has raised. In God Wins, Mark Galli explores the important questions that are left unasked and the issues left uncharted. Mark shows how Love Wins is not enough—and that there is even better news for our world. Includes a group-discussion guide with relevant Scripture passages.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Does a loving God really send some people to hell?
Love Wins has sparked a national discussion about the ultimate fate of human beings that has gotten people asking a lot of questions. In God Wins, Mark Galli, senior managing editor for Christianity Today, examines the various questions raised by the book Love Wins . . . and what the Bible says and doesn’t say about these issues. Mark maintains that “Love Wins” isn’t deep or rich enough—and that there is even better news for humanity. God Wins. This book explores the biblical concept of what “God Wins” means, and compares and contrasts that idea with the issues raised in Love Wins. With a small-group discussion guide featuring relevant Scripture passages, God Wins is perfect for both individuals and groups seeking clarity concerning these crucial—and eternal—questions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Books (February 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414366663
• ISBN-13: 978-1414366661
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Galli (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is managing editor of Christianity Today magazine. He was a pastor for ten years and is the author of numerous books on prayer, preaching, and pastoral ministry.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent response to Love Wins July 21, 2011

By Jonathon D. Burns

Format:Paperback

God Wins by Mark Galli
*please note that I have read Love Wins, though I have not reviewed it at this time.

As soon as Rob Bell's Love Wins was first announced, a huge fury of criticism rose against him. Many acted as if they knew exactly what Rob was going to say based purely on the title, subtitle, and a short teaser trailer. The book's release served to fuel the criticism of some, but it also caused people to think and engage with new ideas. Not everyone who read the book agreed with Rob Bell, but not everyone who disagreed with him harshly criticized him. In the wake of Love Wins, it seems publishers decided to hit on a potential goldmine by releasing books responded to Love Wins. God Wins, by Mark Galli, is one such book.

Subtitled, "Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News is Better than Love Wins," Mark seeks to provide a discussion concerning ideas brought up in Love Wins, and he does so with love. Unlike some of Rob Bell's more vocal opponents, Mark is gracious and instead of trying to judge Rob, he breaks down Love Wins to examine the ideas closely. This was an instant plus for me, especially considering that every time I turn on the news I hear politicians bickering with each other over whose fault a problem is and how to fix it. Bickering, fighting, and aggressive disagreement is unfortunately too common today. Mark not only seemed like someone who I would enjoy having lunch with, but he seemed like the kind of guy who could have lunch with Rob Bell and get along perfectly well.

Mark admits that he likes much of what Rob has to offer. Many descriptions in Love Wins of God are often beautiful and thought provoking. Throughout his book, Mark isn't afraid to mention when he agrees with Rob on a point, or when he at least understands Rob's thoughts and, to a degree, likes them. But there are many times where Mark doesn't think that Rob's description is completely accurate or doesn't go far enough (most of this comes when Mark is critiquing Rob's presentation that "God is love").

Chapters range from heaven to hell, to the person of God, and to problems that Mark sees with Universalism. Through it all, Mark is civil, polite, and above all, writes in Christian love. He quotes extensively from Love Wins, and also provides numerous scriptural references to support his views.

This is how I wish more disagreements were handled. I cannot recall a single time where Mark made a personal attack on Rob Bell. I cannot think of a single time where he condemned Rob, where he spoke angrily, or where he completely dismissed Love Wins as foolishness or as heretical. He disagrees with many of Rob's conclusions, but he doesn't attempt to paint Rob as heretical or foolish.

If you have read Love Wins, and are still unsure of it, or are unsure on how to respond, this is an excellent book to read. It provides compelling ideas and constructive critiques of Love Wins and may be able to help you in understanding Love Wins. If you liked Love Wins I would still recommend this book, because I think it's good to understand the feelings of those who disagree with you. If the only criticisms of Love Wins you have heard were hateful, give this a try. You may not agree with everything. That's okay. Sometimes it's how you disagree that reveals what you believe.

My one gripe (which I will not hold against the book) is that I received a digital edition of the book from the publisher for the review and it is only accessible for two months and after that I will not be able to re-read it.

4.5/5 Stars

I received this book free from Tyndale through Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

41 of 48 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Response to Love Wins That Ultimately Falls Short August 20, 2011

By InvisibleForeigner

Format:Paperback

I've been following the controversy over Rob Bell's Love Wins for a while now. I think Mark Galli's God Wins is a better response to Rob Bell's book than Erasing Hell was, mainly because God Wins seeks to offer an alternative image of who God is. Erasing Hell made the effort to attack Love Wins on the historical and Scriptural level, while God Wins recognizes that the attractiveness of Rob Bell's vision is not the flawed exegesis but the vision of a beautiful world, loved irresistibly by a passionate God. People don't necessarily care about universalism because they think Christian history and theology demand it, they care about it because they have a hard time reconciling a loving God with the existence of an eternal place of torment.

God Wins attempts to answer this concern by coming up with an alternative vision of the one presented by Bell. As he says early in the book, "as we dig deeper into God's Word, we discover it is less important that love wins than that God wins. The purpose of this book is to explain that crucial difference" (xiii). Galli argues that there is a difference between questions that trust in the goodness of God and others that demand a sign from God, as if God is on trial and we are the judges. Much like Job did, we expect that a good God has to give us good things, and when our lives fall apart, we put God on trial. Galli claims that because God doesn't seem eager to answer Job's persistent questions "suggests that all our questions about God's wisdom and justice and love may not be all that important to God in the end - or at least not as important as other things." (12).

Galli's basic argument is that "the idea of love in Love Wins tends to come across as beautiful and exciting - but ultimately thin and sentimental. It does not communicate the gravity, the thickness, the mystery of God" (18). God is far bigger than the cosmic "Agent" that Rob Bell gives him credit for. Furthermore, Galli argues that Love Wins minimizes the importance of Jesus' death as a substitution for the wrath we should have suffered from God. Because Jesus died for us, in our place, we can be confident that our faithful God's plan is good and just.

Love Wins claims that God loves us so much that he eventually gives us what we want, which Galli argues means that God's sovereignty is minimized. "People get what they want, and God does not get what he wants. People are sovereign, and God is not." (132). God wants justice, and Galli argues that if God gives us what we want, that won't be justice in the end.

God wins, the book seems to argue, when, in God's good judgment, some people go to hell. A situation like the one presented in Love Wins, where the love of God is so irresistible that eventually everyone will come to know and worship God, cannot be a situation where God wins. It's an astounding claim, and one that's unfortunately all too common in evangelical theology. It goes back to arguments about free will, as well as to fundamental disagreements about what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God Wins is a better answer to Love Wins than Erasing Hell was, but ultimately Galli's answer falls short of answering pressing questions.

28 of 38 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A Poor Response August 4, 2011

By Joel L. Watts VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book. My review was unrequested. While I favor Tyndale, finding the people who work there and who daily engage on social networks to be of the best kind, but I have found that this book is poorly written.

___

Mark Galli spent 22 years as a journalist and has served as a pastor. He has an MDiv and as has completed some PhD work, although I am unsure in what field. He is a Christian, an Evangelical, and more than likely, although never fully expressed in God Wins, coming from (or going to) a very Reformed tradition. He is an author of several books, and respected in his field. I can respect the work that Galli has done in the name of Christ for his tradition, and indeed others with his work at Christianity Today. Yet, in this work, we find the pitfalls of having an market idea and then trying to build a book around it. Billed at the "first market response" to Rob Bell's Love Wins, published earlier this year by HarperOne, God Wins more than likely will soon vanish from our memories, due to it's lackluster writing style and the almost purposed method of the author to miss or to misstatement Rob Bell's point.

There is something to be said about trying to refocus the issue of Salvation on Christ, something which I think that we lack today; however, the point of Bell's book is not so much about attaining salvation, but about not judging others and understanding one's role in salvation. Galli never seems to answer Bell, but instead talks past him, trying to focus on the media-hyped Love Wins instead of Bell's Love Wins. This is a major problem for Galli, as for those who have read Bell's book, and I of course mean actually read it, Galli's response seems to often times be misdirected. This misdirected response is often as off-putting as Bell's misquotes regarding Luther. Further, Galli misses most of the nuances of Bell's work as he has failed to grasp modern, or ancient, theological trends, scholarship and preaching styles, or perhaps he is simply ignoring Bell's foundation. This only produces, for those who have read Bell's work as well as Barth, Lewis and Wright's theological tales, a series of theologically incorrect gaffes which Galli is not able to recover from. He simply assumes, as indeed, most of us do, that our theology is the only biblical theology; that our theological language is the Scriptural language. Thus, Galli is not properly able to respond to the healthy dose of Wright, Barth, Generous Orthodoxy and even Eastern Orthodoxy found in Bell and Love Wins. Further, he misses that Bell is at heart an Open Theist Arminian. And barely is it mentioned that the largest difference between Rob Bell and Mark Galli is the issue of Christus Victor and Penal Substitution. Because he is not able to recognize and thus speak to Bell's theological stances which has in turn produced his sermon, book and the bumper sticker, Love Wins, Galli comes off looking like an impotent archer, flinging arrows into the night air, hoping to hit something.

Galli's main issue, it seems, is that Bell asks questions, but in this, he again, misses the target. Bell is not asking questions of God, but of Christians. Further, he is relating the questions which he has heard from his parishners. He quotes from Job, which is ironic, in trying to tell his readers not to question God. Yet, Job was no doubt written to answer the very central question of the believer, "Why does a good God allow evil?" Further, all of theology is a question and answer period with God, who finally answers the great human question of "How do we get to God?" with Jesus Christ. He quotes from various passages in the Text not realizing that role of Scripture and that is to help in answering questions. Without questions, without curiosity, without rebellion, we are no longer humans. Further, along with the anti-question pieces found throughout the book, Galli has decided that experiencing God is unscriptural as well. As a Methodist, I find that the experience plays a large portion in our interpretation of Scripture. Further, social scientists will tell you that experience often leads to our private interpretations of events. Experiencing something matters, but Galli seems to disagree with this. Questioning is how we come to experience God, how theology is made, how Reformations are commenced.

Galli's mastery of Greek, compared to that of Bell's, is lacking. He relies on dictionaries (which arely, if ever, give the cultural context in which the word was used) and blog posts to shoulder this heavy lifting, and he fails in doing so. He criticizes Bell's use of the Greek, and in fact, Bell should be criticized, but in several places, Galli makes far-reaching statements which cannot be supported by facts. Further, he holds to a plain reading of Scripture, which is intellectually dishonest. He gives false facts, such as the number of prominent Christians who have believed in some form of universal reconciliation, and ironically enough, misses two of his heroes, C.S. Lewis and Karl Barth. This is not the sum total of this book, however, but it does take away from any message which he is trying to give, leaving the only thing to take away is the fact that Galli is either an inept theologian or hasn't read the book. Perhaps, both. A theologian, in my opinion, is the sort who should respond to Bell, if a response is needed, and not someone who has spent 22 years writing hooks and lead-ins in basic English, reporting only the facts and not trying to analyze the context and words of another.

What does Galli do good? Gallis is right when he accuses of Bell of seemingly watering down certain parts of the Gospel. Further, Bell does leaving gaping holes in his work which allows Galli to drive through, and while I do not like where he takes Bell's openness, it is plausible (i.e., can you then choose hell if one can, after death, choose heaven?). The only answer to give is that Bell is a modern pastor preaching to a congregation of the saved. He is trying to reach those who condemn everyone but their sect to hell, or their religion as it were, often times latching on to one verse or passage to bolster their claim. Galli doesn't and cannot be counted among those who believe that their is no escape clause for those things which we do not understand. Galli is concerned with the Gospel, and while I may disagree with him on a few things, that is his focus, and in this, Galli should be lauded. He does have his own peculiarities, and hypocrisies, but I suspect that this is because he is simply unfamiliar to the paradoxes of his own faith, this topic in Christian history and in fact, theologies which are not similar to his own. Taking Galli as who he is and knowing his foundation, God Wins is the response one would expect from him (and the same must be noted about Love Wins and it's author as well).

I would have a difficult time recommending this book, but in fairness to Rob Bell, it is one which should be added to the voice surrounding Love Wins, because it does have it's own victories. It is, in my opinion, a very poor example of a needed response.

To read the rest of my reviews, chapter by chapter, please go here: jwatts.us/tag/mark-galli