Edgework

My goal in writing the last nine articles was to focus my understandings about the nature of the Good News proclaimed in the biblical text. More specifically, it was an inquiry into the limits of God’s grace, both now and in the future. Over the years, I have frequently reflected on the popular versions of events to come and found them wanting for reasons I have discussed in these essays. Even though I was aware that much controversy continues to swirl around the question of the destiny of the human race beyond the grave, I felt compelled to articulate the place to which my journey on this question has taken me. I do not claim that this is the last word on the subject, but it does represent a life-time of reflection and inquiry on this topic.

Another incentive for my writing was to help clarify just how our view of life after death affects how we live our lives before death. I had become increasingly skeptical of the popular notion that the only legitimate Christian activity in the world was to rescue people from hell so that they could go to heaven while the rest of the world perished. The question I was asking was whether there was not a more positive story line in the Bible that would give meaning and purpose to our daily lives in this world.

And then there was the sense that many people were ready to enter into dialogue on this subject. I realize that these nine essays do not answer all the questions people might have on the subject, but my hope is that they can lead an increasing number of people to reflect on these matters. So, as you will have noticed, I ask a lot of questions without giving many conclusive answers. Although on a few occasions I am quite adamant about what I do not believe. I offer my reflections as a place to begin conversion toward a deeper and wider understanding of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I intentionally did not reference works by Brian McLaren and Rob Bell because their recent writings have created a lot of controversy. I wanted to demonstrate that the arguments for a more positive storyline in the biblical text were there long before McLaren and Bell came on the scene. In a sense these two gentlemen have, through their writings, simply popularized a vision of the future that many more seasoned theologians have been talking about for many years. I would encourage reading the works of McLaren and Bell, nonetheless.

Find below a bibliography of materials readers can draw on for further study on this subject.

Resources for Further Study:

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: Harper One, 2011.

Crockett, William V. and Sigountos, James G. (editors). Through No Fault of Their Own: The Fate of Those Who Have Never Heard. Grand Rapids: Baker House, 1991.

Graaten, Carl E. No Other Gospel: Christianity Among the World’s Religions. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Green, Michael. Evangelism Through the Local Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2001.

Green, Michael. You Must be Joking: Popular Excuses for Avoiding Jesus Christ. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1976.

Grimsrud, Ted. The Triumph of the Lamb: A Self-Study Guide to the Book of Revelation., Scottdale, Herald Press, 1987.

Klassen, Randy. What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell: Wrestling with the Traditional View. Scottdale: Herald Press, 2001.

Kraemer, Hendrick. The Christian Message in a Non-Christian World. Grand Rapids, Kregel  Press, 1938.

Kraybill, Donald B. The Upside Down Kingdom. Scottdale: Herald Press, 1978.

McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That are Transforming the Faith. New York: Haper One, 2010.

McLaren, Brian. The Last Word and the Word After That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity. Hobeken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2005.

Morris, Robert Corin. Provocative Grace: The Challenge in Jesus’ Words. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2006.

Morris, Robert  Corin. Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2003.

Penner, Archie. The Gospel of Christ Revisited: The Good News and Radical Salvation. Bandon: Servant Publishers, 2007.

Pinnock, Clark H. A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.

Punt, Neal. Unconditional Good News: Toward an Understanding of Biblical Universalism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Robinson, John A. T. In the End, God. New York: Harper and Row, 1968.

Sanders, John. No Other Name: An Investigation into the Destiny of the Unevangelized. Grand Rapids Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.

Tickle, Phyllis. The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2008.

Wright, Norman T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: Harper One, 2008.

Yoder, John Howard. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eeerdmans, 1972.