Hell No! Extinguishing Christian Hellfire [Kindle Edition]

John Shore (Author)

Book Description

With this concise little atom bomb of a book Mr. Shore blows away the idea that hell is a necessary component of Christianity. A leading voice in the Christian debate about hell (in one of his last sermons at his mega-church Mars Hill Rob Bell quoted from this book), Shore believes that the traditional Christian concept of hell is unbiblical, irrational, theologically unsupportable, and deeply destructive to the way Christianity is understood and practiced. In "Hell NO!" Shore makes this argument so convincingly that one would be hard pressed to argue against it beyond waving a Bible about and claiming that God's ways are too mysterious for mere mortals to understand.

From the author:

"It is my contention that the traditional Christian ideas about hell are grossly erroneous, damaging to the faith, and theologically untenable. I believe that in the ten short essays of 'Hell, No!' I prove this to be true. I know that's a crazy-sounding thing to say. But there it is."

Praise for the author:

"The minute I started reading his stuff, I knew John Shore was a brother from another mother." -- Rob Bell, author of "Love Wins," "Sex God," and "Velvet Elvis."

"John Shore is America's leading non-douchey Christian." -- Dan Savage, "Savage Love," and founder of the It Gets Better Project.

"John Shore is funny as hell and smart as hell, which is good because I've heard that we're both going to spend a long time there." -- Tony Jones, "Theoblogy"; author of "The New Christians" and "The Sacred Way."

"Shore is a humorist whose work is more comedic than Donald Miller, and his appeal to Christians is more direct." -- Michael Spencer, a.k.a. The Internet Monk, and author of the bestseller "Mere Churchianity."

"Shore is a madman and a genius."-- Eric Metaxas, author of bestsellers "Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery," and, "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy," the Christian Bookseller Association 2011 Book of the Year.

Product Details

• File Size: 104 KB
• Print Length: 30 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005J85V5W
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,803 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Short but Sweet August 30, 2011

By Maggie

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have enjoyed reading John's blog for some time, so in fact most of the material in this book was not new to me. For the record I'd more likely call this a booklet than a book - it's a short compilation of what had been blog postings - more like a reasonable size article you'd find in "The Atlantic" magazine. His writing is compelling, humorous and a pleasure to read. If you're expecting deep theology though, you'll be disappointed. Although he does touch on one explicit scriptural story (the rich man and Lazurus in the afterlife) it otherwise is devoid of direct theological wrangling. Instead it's more of a "use the brain God gave you" approach to the inconsistency of expecting a God of Love to also be the one to send non-believers into an eternal zone of torment. I would have enjoyed even a superficial touching on the many references in the New Testament on a final judgement - separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, "you call me Lord but I never knew you" type of statements that are not uncommon. Although in John's mind that does not necessarily default to eternal punishment, those are not easy sayings that are not dealt with in this work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Challenge your thinking October 7, 2012

By Don Gollahon

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was not meant to be a complete and thorough coverage of the topic of hell and all of its implications. It was to bring out the basic questions facing the doctrine and how these arguments are avoided by fundamentalists and evangelicals. It does a good job at this. John has gotten me to look at the scriptures from a different perspective in many areas. The main problem I see with this particular issue is that in order for fundamentalists and evangelicals to really listen, much more of the scriptures (which they hold as the very words of God and not just those of men) will need to be looked at.

One of the arguments John makes is that God's view of justice is the same as ours. We should use the brain God gave us when considering our belief system. I'm not so sure that is completely correct. If we are fallen creatures then our way of thinking will not be up to par with what it was before the fall. Not everyone on earth's idea of justice is even the same so you can't really say our justice is the same as God's. Who's justice on earth should we use for that comparison?

This is a book that makes you think though. And John has succeeded at that. No Christian should be afraid to have their beliefs challenged. We are not saved by the set of doctrines we hold but by God's grace.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ask the questions. Go ahead, I dare you... September 27, 2012

By K. Byrd

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like most Christians, I was fed the doctrine of Hell along with the main dish of God so loving the world that He gave His only begotten son. Hell was kind of that yucky vegetable side dish your Mom put on your plate that you pushed around with your fork so it would look like you'd swallowed some. Mostly, you just tried to ignore it. Like that yucky side dish, Hell is just as instinctually unpalatable but without being nutritious. In fact, it's actually worse for you than a bag of pork rinds.

It is one thing to be fed this dish from youth (There's a place for bad people and non-Christians called Hell? Okay. Whatever. Just eat it and try not to think about it); its quite another when doctrine transcends the realm of the theoretical and becomes real, when you are tempted to allow your mind to go to all those questions about what this doctrine must really mean.

Looking at the scale of human history, MOST of the humans who have lived have not been Christians. Most people alive today are not. So.... the vast majority of people end up in Hell? What happened to the Gospel being good news? Some poor Muslim girl living under Taliban rule in rural Afghanistan never hears about Jesus so is doomed to burn forever due to her misfortune of not being born in the right place? The Jews killed by Hitler went straight from their gruesome deaths in the gas chambers right to a fiery Hell, only worse than Hitler's because this one never ends? God sets up a system so patently unfair and skewed with favoritism (how "convenient" to be born to parents who follow the one true faith here in the good ol' USA)?

"Hell No! Extinguishing Christian Hellfire" by John Shore is the a book that asks and addresses these kinds of questions, those secret questions that reside in the depths our hearts but we stuff down and ignore with our pithy references to God's unknowable mysteries. There are other books on the topic of Hell that are more academic, that delve into more detail about the nitty gritty of historical context, methods of hermeneutics, and issues related to translation.... all extremely important to the topic. Equally important, however, and what John Shore does so well in his book, is spur the questions that lead to further inquiry.

Hell No!" is a book that confronts the illogic of the traditional view of Hell. It dares to posit, "If this is true, then this must necessarily be true." In other words, it "goes there." That is brave. Rarely, in my opinion, do Christians follow their avowed logic to its necessary conclusions. This book invites you to do so. And being a John Shore book, you get to laugh while you read. Funny is a bonus when you are reading about Hell.

This would be a great starting point for someone interested in the subject because it opens the mind to those nagging questions. Just allowing certain questions to be asked is huge. If truth is Truth, it needn't fear questions. _Ultimately, this is a very encouraging book, one that invites readers to add a little more "Love God and Love Your Neighbor" to our plates. Thanks to John Shore for contributing to a much-needed conversation. His book inspires the questions that can actually strengthen one's faith in a God who loves. Now, THAT is some good news!

More About the Author

John Shore is an award-winning book author and prominent blogger. He is the founder of Unfundamentalist Christians.

Praise for Mr. Shore:

"John Shore is America's preeminent non-douchey Christian. His blog is a must-read." -- Dan Savage, "Savage Love," founder of the It Gets Better Project.

"John Shore is awesome. The minute I started reading his stuff, I knew he was a brother from another mother." -- Rob Bell, author of "Love Wins," "Sex God," and "Velvet Elvis."

"John Shore is a gadfly, calling the Christian Church everywhere to act the way it says it believes about love and justice, which of course makes him an uncomfortable presence in those churches that do not like to be forced to face reality. So were the prophets of old. So was Jesus of Nazareth." -- John Shelby Spong. author of "Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World," "Why Christianity Must Change or Die," "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism," and others.

"Shore is a humorist whose work is more comedic than Donald Miller, and his appeal to Christians is more direct."-- Michael Spencer, a.k.a. The Internet Monk, and author of the bestseller "Mere Churchianity."

"John Shore is funny as hell and smart as hell, which is good because I've heard that we're both going to spend a long time there." -- Tony Jones, Theoblogy; The Tony Jones Blog; author of The New Christians; The Sacred Way; Postmodern Youth Ministry; Divine Intervention; Ask, Seek, Knock; and others.

"John Shore is a remarkably gifted writer who knows exactly what he is doing." -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of "The Deep End of the Ocean" (an Oprah's Book Club selection), "Twelve Times Blessed," and "The Breakdown Lane."

"John Shore is one of those rare writers who can make people laugh and think at the same time. He's one of the most talented, funny, and deeply thoughtful writers I know. He's a sincere pleasure to read."-- Richard Louv, author of international bestsellers "Last Child in the Woods," and "The Nature Principle."

"John Shore, the legitimate son of Kurt Vonnegut and Dave Barry, writes with a freaky energy and humor and imagination that illuminate his characters' and readers' hearts. He's the real thing."-- Richard Lederer, author of more than thirty books on the English language, including the bestselling "Anguished English" series and "The Miracle of Language."

"Shore is a madman and a genius."-- Eric Metaxas, author of bestsellers "Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery," and, "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy," the Christian Booksellers Association 2011 Book of the Year.

"John Shore's unique, honest, and passionate writings draw us to dig a little deeper, to listen with the intention of truly hearing and understanding each other. He gives voice to those without a platform; he puts into words our latent questions/ observations about today's topics that are begging to be addressed from the viewpoint of an informed Christian"-- Spencer Burke, founder of TheOOZE.com