"40 Questions about Heaven and Hell" (Alan Gomes)

TITLE: 40 Questions about Heaven and Hell (40 Questions Series)
AUTHOR: Alan Gomes
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2018, (384 pages).

What happens once a person dies? What kind of afterlife is there? What about the questions surrounding the intermediate state of being between death and resurrection? What about the final judgment? What does the Bible say about the eternal state of believers and the eternal state of hell? These questions are part of 40 well thought-out questions and answers about heaven and hell. Written in a way like the catechism of old, this book categorizes the questions in four parts:

1. Overview of the Afterlife (9 questions)
2. The Intermediate State (5 questions)
3. The Final Judgment (6 questions)
4. Eternal State for Believers (9 questions); Unbelievers (11 questions)

Some of the questions may not reflect the way the sections are named. For instance, the part about eternal state for animals don't exactly fit into the believers category, but the authors put the question there. At the same time, some questions do cover across different categories. Thus, I would say that the categories are mainly to be used as a general guide. A more accurate guide would be the the question set forth. The style reflects a catechism style of questions and answers. A key difference would be the length of answers. Catechisms give brief answers. This book provides much more. The answers look more like detailed articles to teach and to serve as a resource for anyone interested in the topic. Some of the very interesting topics for me are:

• Does God give people an opportunity for conversion after they die?
• Will there be degrees of punishment assigned to unbelievers at the final judgment?
• What Does the Bible Mean When It Speaks of Our “Soul” and “Spirit”? 
• Will there be animals in the eternal state?
• What is hell like?
• Is There Such a Place as Purgatory? 
• How Can a God of Love Send People to an Eternal Hell?

Some of the questions are dealt with in two chapters namely; about the Resurrection body, about animals in the eternal state; about the people suffering in hell; and the meaning of Jesus 'descend into hell.' 

At the end of each chapter, there are more reflection questions to help us engage with the material presented. This would likely spawn more questions and insights. In Gomes's dealings with cultural understanding of the afterlife, he notes that while Americans are increasingly secular, their interest about the afterlife appear to be rising. This in itself is an opportunity to share the relevance of faith and religion.

My Thoughts
This volume is not just talking about theology. It bridges modern concerns with biblical content. Gomes readily highlights the various surveys and studies to show us the prevailing cultural views. This helps readers to understand the background behind the interest. Not only that, it provides the necessary context to draw readers into these questions. For the reader, just knowing the level of interest in the questions might be enough to keep them engaged not only with the text but also as a conversational topic with family and friends. Gomes also goes beyond mere cultural perspectives. He also describes some of the other religious views about heaven and hell. In doing so, he makes the book relevant to all of us as human beings instead of mere religious or non-religious parties.

This book is also a powerful apologetics resource. With carefully selected arguments, the author leads us through some of the most common objections and to deal with them systematically through rational explanations. He addresses some of the stories of people's after death experiences and cautions us from using them as a launchpad for interpreting the truth about life and death. He makes a case for the Bible as the authoritative truth without necessarily dumbing down on the alternative viewpoints. At the same time, he teaches us to maintain a posture of humility. This is important because truth-telling is not only the facts per se, but also the way we present the truth.

Gomes understands the common cultural views about heaven and hell. Every chapter is chockfull of examples and illustrations about contemporary cultural views. He consistently tie these observations and to provide a counter explanation from the Bible. This keeps us grounded while we explore the topic. This work is well-researched and easy to follow. There are many ways to use this book. We could use it as a launchpad for conversation; a teaching resource; apologetics training; and many more.

Alan W. Gomes is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Talbot School of Theology.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.