Customer Reviews

What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell? Wrestling With the Traditional View (Living Issues Discussion, Vol. 2) (Living Issues Discussion Series)

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Ken's Guide to Universalist Books

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY ABOUT HELL? by Randy Klassen (2001) Telford, PA: Pandora Press US

If the catchy title of this book makes you apprehensive about what kind of theology might lie behind its cover, let me assure you that What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell? is one of the best recent books about Universalism. Its author, Randy Klassen, is a retired Mennonite preacher who uses Chapter 1 to discuss the personal pilgrimage that lead to his commitment to Universalism. In Chapter 2, he reviews the Universalist message of First Century preachers Peter and Paul. In Chapters 3 and 4, he states that Hell is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament Gospels. He points out that neither Sheol nor Gehenna are equivalent in concept to Hell. Further, he claims that the Greek word used for "eternal" punishment infers a time-limited period. He returns to the writings of Peter and Paul in Chapter 5, emphasizing the absence of any threats of Hell except in one verse (II Peter 2:4) which, again, refers to time-limited punishment. Although Rev. Klassen thinks the Bible definitely foretells a judgment, he says the duration of our punishment is known only to God. He is equally sure that the Bible assures us that, in the end, ALL will be saved, and he quotes the classic verses supporting Universal Restoration. Rev. Klassen reminds us that, in addition to Judgment and Universal Salvation, the New Testament also stresses the need for both faith and works, and he integrates all of these into his Universalist theology. To me, this interpretation is the strongest part of his book. In Chapter 6, he gives an overview of the history of Hell in other religions, as well as acknowledging the unforgiving nature of virtually all Christian theologians (with the exception of the Universalists). Chapter 7 deals with the problems of literalist approaches to the Bible, and Chapter 8 supplies the Biblical basis for rejecting the traditional view of Hell. The Bible verses supporting this are Universalist classics. Chapter 9 deals with the Biblical criterion for judgment. Rev. Klassen notes that ALL judgment passages in the New Testament relate to our deeds and not to any profession of faith. Once again he summons up timeless Universalist passages to show that God is the ultimate parent of ALL and, in the end, God will save us ALL, whether here or in the Hereafter (I Peter 3:18-20;4:6). Chapter 10 is the climax of the book and offers a treasure-trove of Universalist verses. It ends with this moving poem by the author:
God is eternal;
Satan is not.
Love is eternal;
Evil is not.
Light is eternal;
Darkness is not.
Joy is eternal;
Misery is not.
Heaven is eternal;
Hell is not."

This book review originally appeared in the UNIVERSALIST HERALD, March/April 2004. (reproduced with permission)

Klassen writes a very readable book on the subject. He starts out on his research looking at each occasion in the Bible in which the Greek or Hebrew word is translated "hell." His approach is more of an exploratory as opposed to dogmatic. He asks a lot of questions. Surprisingly, he does not get bogged down in a lot of details, which makes the book easy to read. He concludes that while the Bible does teach judgment, it does not teach everlasting torment. An excellent book especially for someone just beginning thier research on this topic. I have also written an essay from my own research and would be glad to email it to anyone who requests.

Although Mr. Klassen is not a formal theologian (this you can tell by his less-than-systematic, slightly meandering style), he shows his heart for God, ministry and people in this excellent book. Raising more questions than he manages to answer, the author explores what it means to interpret Scripture as a believing Christian while carefully reconsidering a long-held dogma of Christianity. Taking the Gospel of Christ seriously, while rejecting outright literalism with the Bible, Mr. Klassen argues against an eternal hell and in favor of divine justice that is equitable and merciful.

While I still believe that "The Inescapable Love of God" should be the first book defending Christian Universalism that anyone should read, this title is a very worthy second book on the topic.

First a disclaimer: it is common in these forums to launch personal attacks against the writers of controversial books. This review will steer clear from such tactics. I have no doubt that Pastor Klassen is a kind, compassionate and highly intelligent man of God. Any criticism that follows is a reflection purely upon the merits of the book itself and not upon its author.

Having said that...

I really wanted to like this book, as I am in general sympathy with its message. Like Klassen, I believe that the traditional view of Hell is an affront to God and a scandal to the Christian faith. Any deity that would keep persons in unending torture for endless eons is a sadistic monster, not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I purchased this book hoping to find a well-developed argument for this position. Unfortunately, "What Does the Bible Really Say about Hell?" suffers from a number of argumentative fallacies.

Klassen devotes the first half of this slim volume to exploring the biblical references to Hell. He rightly finds them absent from the Old Testament, then notes that there is scant mention of the topic in Acts and the Epistles.

From this he develops his primary argument, which can be summed up as: "if Hell is such a vital topic, then why isn't it mentioned more often by the apostles?" The problem with this approach is that it confuses lack of evidence for an opponent's views with support for one's own. This will not do.

The same biblical books contain no true theodicies, no development of the doctrine of the Trinity (admittedly, I am assuming that Klassen is a trinitarian) or for that matter no real descriptions of what happens after death at all, save for some vague comments on "those who have fallen asleep."
Should one then conclude that these are not vital topics worthy of emphasis?

Klassen pushes this fallacious reasoning to embarrassing extremes at times. In one passage he asks why Jesus waited till he was thirty years old to begin his ministry, if people were pouring into Hell all the time. But Jesus wasn't only concerned with people's fates after death. He also healed the sick. Why did he wait till he was three decades old to begin his ministry, if there were people all around him suffering from physical ailments and disabilities, as there surely must have been? The answer: Jesus did so for reasons known only to God, but not because hunger, disease or for that matter Hell itself were not of vital concern to him.

Another problem with the book is Klassen's highly selective hermeneutical approach. He allegorizes away passage after passage that speak of God's wrath, the destiny of the wicked, and even Jesus' own rather detailed description of Hell in Luke. But he takes verses that seem to support universalism as woodenly literal. It appears obvious that his approach to Scripture is to make it say what he wants it to. This also will not do.

Ultimately I must conclude that this book was motivated by Klassen's particular view of Jesus, which itself appears to be at variance with the biblical text. This is a common problem. We are all very anxious to see Jesus as meek and mild, filled with love and compassion. But when confronted with a Savior who compares a Gentile woman to dogs, who demands allegiance to himself above love for family, and who appears to belittle his own disciples we employ rationalizations and literary tricks to explain such verses away.
But we don't have that option. We must take Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels, warts and all, or else reject him entirely.

Despite the above criticisms, Klassen's book is not without its merits. He does an able job critiquing the "literal" approach to the Bible claimed by fundamentalists, showing that even they allegorize away troublesome passages or find ways to limit them to the first century world.

He also shows how there is a strong universalist theme running through both testaments. The challenge is how to harmonize these with passages referring to the dire fate of the unrepentant. I believe this can easily be done by accepting 99% of Klassen's "no soul left behind" view of eschatology. Instead of saying that literally every person who ever lived will be saved, let us rather say that virtually all of them will be. There will be a tiny minority, however, who, in full possession of their faculties and of their own free will, make a conscious decision to reject God's gracious offer of eternal life.

There are passages throughout the Bible that refer to these doomed ones. For example, Jude 1:13 speaks of those "to whom is reserved forever the blackness of darkness." Hebrews 6:5-6 describes those who are unable to turn from their wickedness after they have enjoyed an especially profound relationship with God and then rejected Him. They are forever after ensnared by their wickedness.

However, the vast majority of us are among those whom God has "bound over to disobedience, that he might have mercy on them all" - Romans 11:20. Thus in the final analysis Klassen is almost entirely correct. Except for a vanishingly small number of self-cursed ones, all of humanity will one day proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and will forever dwell in blessedness with the three Divine Persons in a renewed creation.

As for the tiny minority who reject God's gracious offer, I agree that they will not be tortured forever. Rather their conscious existence will be mercifully snuffed out, lest they subject themselves to endless self-torment by stubbornly remaining in their wicked condition. Thus ultimately even their destruction is a demonstration of God's mercy.

In summary: I repeat that I am in general sympathy with Klassen's views on the subject of Hell. However, it is my opinion that in this book he has failed to develop a cogent argument for his position. Those looking for an alternative to the traditional view of Hell are advised to look to other works. In particular I recommend "A Wideness in God's Mercy" by Clark Pinnock as an excellent starting point. Peace to all.

It was a pleasure to read this! Randy writes in an easy to follow style, without all the fancy theological words. In other words no bull here. He states his positions clearly, without apology.

The book is small (135pgs w/o the index), the fonts readable, with chapters short (around 5 - 13pgs).

He uses scripture references to disprove eternal torment, but argues from a rationalist angle against eternal death. He is against a "literal" interpretation of the Word because it does not match with God's revealed character as he understands it. He supports "universality" of salvation.

I would submit that Satan is not human. The salvation plan does not extend to angels, and their ultimate disposition in judgment is unknown. We can only take the Bible "literally" when it says what little it does about Satan's fate to suffer forever. The fate of other intelligent races isn't within our range of influence - nor is it really our business. Randy isn't right in making any assumptions there.

His view is that eternal death is not a merciful judgment. He also takes the position that God is losing the battle if He imposes the death penalty on incorrigible sinners (read "lawless" instead of sin for clarity, or "Torahlessness" as rebellion against God's laws, which are as unchanging as is He.) because there may be so many of them.

What would the merciful end of such people be, who do not love or want God? He will not force them to use free will in His favor. Can he allow them to live, hurting others forever? This is one question not solved by the author.

We only know it is POSSIBLE for everyone to be saved, and that all are OFFERED salvation, and eternal life. This is a key point for debate. If no one would be lost, why worry about getting the gospel message spread? What harm could Satan really do to a soul, that would warp it beyond salvation?

This is a good book to spark debate, and hopefully productive self-examination. It ought to send everyone who picks it up right to their Bibles.

It's worthwhile for free-thinking people who want to "prove all things" for their own understanding.

If you are afraid to question pastoral authority, then don't read the book. It questions LOTS of conventional assumed "truths" about hell/judgment.

There are discussion questions at the end, to get you started.

There is also a reference listing so you can find the source documents Randy used for the book. Nice touch.

Is it odd to you that the 2 negative reviews were posted on the same day?

Anyway, excellent book, well researched and would fit with most mainline and traditional denominations.

A minister once said "Why was it ever important to Christians that, for their own salvation to be meaningful, some others must be truly and ultimately damned?

This book is about the best book I've read dealing with true Biblical interpretation. This is what the Fundies, that are giving it a bad rateing, don't understand. The Bible needs to be interpreted by the time and the audience and good translation. This is nothing new. Most mainline denominations teach similar views on Hell. What I think is scary is that so many Fundies want to see their friends and neighbors tortured forever so badly. If I really believed in the traditional veiw of Hell, I'd sell everything I own, go to India and beg people to convert. I find it appauling that the fundies are content with patting themselves on the back for being such good Christians and to Hell with everyone else. On judgement day, God might ask you what you did to save people. Are you going to tell God that you really didn't care about others, just youself? Very selfish viewpoint. Try reading what Jesus said again!
Excellent book, please buy it.

Given the very sick idea of an eternal hell, books like this pointing out not only the sickness of the idea, but contrary Bible verses as well, are sorely needed.

I say those that buy into the hell concept have a pretty ([darn]!) low God concept. If God is a "Father," then, given the threat of hell, the "parent-child" relationship is based on fear not love. Imagine a human parent-child relationship with such a fear basis.

Buy it for your favorite arrogant Xn fundamentalist....

This book was beautiful and thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book.

This author is the typical Universalist. He pulls scriptures out of the context to prove his point. He also ignores many scriptures that contradict his opinion. The salvation that comes through Christ is available to all who will receive Him by faith and repent of their sinful life-style. The invitation is available to all, therefore it is not a failure on God's or Christ's part that they are not saved, but it is their own fault, and they have no one to blame but themselves. God is holy therefore He cannot tolerate sin which is a rebellion against His rule. Christ died to pay the price for the entire human race, but obviously many of the human race reject the Lamb. When they do this they incur the wrath of God and that is not pleasant. He has a point that the punishment may not be eternal, however the only alternative is annihilation of the rebel in the lake of fire.