Resource Roundup: Books on eternity

There had been some good conversation this week already from Sunday and the questions about what happens when we pass away.  Here are a couple of books that I think will be good for the conversation. Click on the pictures of the books to take you to the amazon page.

The first is a book called Love Wins by Rob Bell.  In the book Rob explores some of the traditional thinking and brings in perspectives that we don’t always think about.  Bell has a really unique styling of writing and teaching that uses very ordinary language to explain very complex ideas and concepts.  Throughout the book you will be challenged in your thinking and Bell revived and still gets much criticism because of this book.  Reading reviews online say that Bell thinks it doesn’t matter what you believe because you will go to heaven.  This is incorrect.  There is a really beautiful line in the book that says that Jesus is the only way and, “He (Jesus) is as narrow as himself and as wide as the universe.”

The second book is a kind of counter point to the Love Wins book called Erasing Hell.  This books is from Francis Chan addresses some of the issues raised in Bell’s Love Wins book.  There are a couple of books out there that do this, but Chan’s is by far the best.  I would suggest reading Love Wins before this one.  It is not essential but the conversation is put into perspective.

This next book is one that I read a long time ago and influenced my understanding and imagery of hell. It is The Great Divorce by C. S Lewis.  This is a narrative about heaven and hell.  Through the use of words Lewis paints a picture and laces theology throughout like only he can.  This also brings into light the question of after we die are we given more than one chance to ask God into our lives.  If you are thinking about giving this one a read you might want to get the whole C. S. Lewis collection because the bundle is about the same price and well worth the reads.

This final book is one that is on my reading list for this week.  After worship a member of the congregation came up and suggested A Divine Revelation of Hell because of its powerful imagery and the convicting way it painted a picture of a place where none of us want to go.  I haven’t read, but for her this book put life after death into perspective like The Great Divorce has done for me.  Thanks for this share.

Hope these resources are of value as we all wrestle with a real life changing faith in Christ.