Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up

Rating this book is an extremely difficult task. To rate it one star would do my heart justice, and I'll explain why. I began reading Erasing Hell the day I finished reading Love Wins by Rob Bell. I was feeling pretty good that day, after reading Love Wins and all. I finished reading Erasing Hell today, after which, I didn't feel so great. I was so heavy-hearted. Chan takes every New Testament passage about Hell and dissects it. This-as Chan warns-could get tedious if you're not into Greek, but [...]

"Erasing Hell" should have been subtitled: Universalism Is Definitely False, But We Don't Know WhyI listened to the audiobook edition of this work, which contains an elaborative interview with the authors (to whom I will refer collectively by the headlining name, though I understand that the greater part of the work was Sprinkle's). In the interview, the authors admit that the book is a response to "Love Wins" – a fact, as I recall, not acknowledged in the book – making Bell's book required [...]

In Erasing Hell, Francis Chan speaks with compassion. You can almost feel him trembling over the issues at stake. He recognizes this debate is about God, His nature and His authority. I sensed both humility and prophetic power in this book.I’ve talked with Francis personally and been at a few conferences where he’s spoken. It’s like watching a fire burn—you don’t know exactly what’s coming next. That same passion is on the pages of his book. Chan lays his heart on the table. It’s r [...]

THE GOODFirst, I have to commend Chan for the tone of his book.* One major detraction for me in reading and rereading Love Wins is Bell’s (sometimes not-so) subtle jabs at New Calvinist theology. Even though I agree with a lot of Bell’s jabs, they’re subtle and feel underhanded. If we’re going to talk about it, let’s just put it out on the table. To Chan’s credit, he does this for the most part. He directly cites Bell (and other authors with whom he takes issue), and even applauds Be [...]

Erasing Hell is, in large part, Francis Chan's response to Rob Bell's Love Wins. After reading both books. After reading both books, I have to confess to feeling oddly perplexed by the whole debate - not because the topic is unimportant, I believe it's vitally important, but because both books are ultimately very lightweight. For the life of me, I can't understand why two books of such low caliber have created such an enormous debate. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself though. Regardless of the q [...]

The way this book was written is something I incredibly appreciate. When reading a book such as this about such topics, I hate reading things that are constantly people's opinions with not enough Bible foundation to back up their beliefs. Francis Chan writes purely from a Biblical and historical point of view with less opinion and more factual evidence from the Bible itself and his deep theological studies of history. It's not an "I'm-going-to-force-you-to-believe-my-opinion" written book; it's [...]

"I really believe it's time for some of us to stop apologizing for God and start apologizing to Him for being embarrassed by the ways He has chosen to reveal Himself" (102). Essentially, that's what Erasing Hell is all about; as the subtitle states, "What God has said about eternity, and the things we've made up."This book was certainly written in response to Rob Bell's book, LOVE WINS. I thought that Francis and Sprinkle did a great job on tackling this issue by describing the biblical doctrine [...]

In 2011, Rob Bell made headlines and caused an uproar in the Christian community with the release of his book Love Wins where Bell (improperly) argued that everyone goes to heaven because hell doesn’t really exist and is not a Biblical concept; Erasing Hell is Chan’s cogent response. Chan counters Bell’s assertion by walking through the first century context of hell in Jewish theology; discussing the Scriptural references to hell; and examining the arguments made by Bell and other universa [...]

So I finally got round to reading Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle this week. I have to say it was a good read. Chan and Sprinkle write in a persuasive and agreeable manner and I found myself being drawn towards their arguments. They begin apologetically, seemingly coming along side the reader and admitting how difficult the subject it. I like how they admit straight away (which hasn’t happened with people I’ve spoken with) the reality subject. There is the emphasis througho [...]

After reading both Rob Bell's Love Wins and this book, perhaps both authors have achieved what they set out to do. I've spent more time thinking about Hell than I ever had before. I'm just sure if I've accomplished anything with that yet.In the end Rob Bell's book is an easier read, theologically, because to me it outlined a Hell that is self-inflicted in which a person's rejection of God brings about their eternal fate while God is waiting with open, loving arms, only to be rejected by sinful i [...]

this book is an excellent source for christians with questions about what the bible says about hell, great read.

Suffers from the same faults as most evangelical Bible study books, namely:* Assuming that God wrote everything in the Bible, and nothing not in the Bible, and that his writing has been passed down without error since then. This is a pretty clearly absurd proposition; there are enough internal contradictions that this can't be true. By refusing to be skeptical about any passages (even ones that don't seem to fit), and by refusing to consider very much that didn't make it into the Bible with a ca [...]

This book seemed to be a response to Rob Bell's "Love Wins" and the suggestion of universalism. As an annihilationist, I didn't need convincing against universalism, but the quick (and rather shallow) review of the biblical evidence against it was useful. The main thing that I liked about the book was the tone of sincerity and spiritual earnestness. Repeatedly they remind the reader that this topic is not merely fodder for theological debate---these are issues of eternal destinies for real peopl [...]

This is Rob Bell: he says this: youtube/watch?v=ODUvw2ancis chan thinks rob bell is an idiot okay he never actually says that, but it's pretty clear he is if nothing else not a fan. this is francis chan: I was expecting him to be an old idiot crumugeon I'm not sure what to do with the fact he's actually not bad looking. he says this: youtube/watch?v=qnrJVTI think he's an idiot. and a jack ass. this book is an attempt to prove rob bell wrong. there were some weird facts in this. like the idea tha [...]

It's hard to give five stars to a book on Hell. This is clearly not the kind of inspiring and challenging book that has made Francis Chan so well known, but it is an important book because of all those who want to explain away Hell. In his characteristic way, Chan goes open-handed to Scripture and asks what God reveals about it there. It is a short book, mercifully. The main book is only about 140 short pages. In the first four chapters Chan unpacks what Scripture says about Hell. This portion i [...]

Chan responds to Rob Bell's recent "Love Wins." The quick turnaround shows. When you subtract the page breaks, double-spacing, chapter end-notes, appendix, and sample chapter from another book of his, this 208 page book is actually 50-75 pages of content.What results is an all-too-simple engagement with the issues. This wouldn't be as annoying if Chan's tone of voice was similar to Bell's: allusive, pondering, reflective. Instead, Chan tries to settle most matters on hell. This backfires in diff [...]

OK, I picked this up over Easter weekend when three of Chan's books were available for free in Kindle editions. And because I've been in several conversations recently about the doctrine of Hell--I decided to read this, mostly in airports and on planes flying home yesterday. And I finished the book during that time--so it is a quick read.Chan, with the assistance of researcher Preston Sprinkle, takes on the difficult question of is there a hell, what is it like and why should we believe in a God [...]

I love listening to and reading Francis Chan. While I was at APU, he used to have a whole week at our Chapel (worship and a message). It was always one of my favorite weeks.Why? He preaches truth and isn’t afraid to deal with the hard topics. He backs everything with scripture and brings to light incredible scriptural truths. His writings have seriously changed my life. Just read Crazy Love.Erasing Hell by Chan and Preston Sprinkle, was written in response to a controversial book published by [...]

There are a few good things in this book. I think it's a great essay on what the Bible says about hell. And Chapter 5 is a great thesis on the things we miss as Christians (Jesus condemns those who attack each other with words, he condemns racism, and not helping the poor.) But it's hard to overlook the rest of it. The point of the book seems to be to label Rob Bell as a Universalist (someone who thinks everyone goes to heaven no matter what) prove that he's wrong about what he wrote about Heave [...]

The voice that stick out in Chan's books consistently is a voice of humility. Chan writes from a humble perspective recognizing that he is not going to have all the answers. He also hands this response to Bell (though Chan wouldn't call it that) very carefully. He starts off the book talking about the many people involved in editing and correcting the theology of the book. Chan's most poignant refutation against Bell is when he pointed out that a historical "fact" that Bell used was misdated abo [...]

I'm giving this book 5 stars, not because it is all-encompassing or because every page is strong in both intellectual and writing (although, the book is strong in both of these). Rather, I'm giving it a 5 because Chan has take a difficult subject - namely, the existicence of hell - and fused it with a deep commitment to Scripture, a historical perspective on the church, a hermeneutical healthy practice of looking at the context of the writers, and a deep, deep call to action, humility and gratef [...]

Francis Chan takes on the suddenly "popular" topic of hell with a huge dose of humility and careful investigation. His tone plus Preston Sprinkle's research make for a thoughtful yet simple read on a tough issue. Without a doubt, Chan shows from the Bible that there is a literal hell and people are going. The complaints against the book are expected: a sometimes shallow pop treatment of the subject, long endnotes, and a disconnect between believing there is a hell and being "okay" with it. While [...]

Flimsy reactionary book written in response to Rob Bell's Love Wins.

I have to start by asking that if this book is a response to Rob Bell's Love Wins, why does the cover look similar to Rob Bell's Jesus Wants to Save Christians? Bell's book and Chan's book were written for different audiences. Bell says his book is for anyone who have heard some version of the story of Jesus that completely turned them off. In other words, people who are told that their friends or family who happen to have the wrong beliefs are going to be tortured for all eternity; those who ha [...]

My 4 star rating is heart over mind in a broad sense, but in a narrow "literal, inerrant, inspired" regard toward the books deemed collectively as "The Holy Bible", I would rate it 4 stars intellectually also. Not that I have any grounds to rate it since I've barely scratched the surface on the viewpoint of hell as something other than eternal torment. I'm currently an atheist, but I in no way assume the position of "atheist spokesman" since it is a very broad term, encompassing a variety of vie [...]

Eternity is at stake and every person must decide if Heaven and Hell are real. It is easy to believe in Heaven, but not so with the literal Hell. We tend to think that a loving God would allow such a place to exist. Well, in this book, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle challenge everyone to rethink Hell. Why do you believe what you believe? Through the study of Scripture, the authors look at Hell and make the reader pay attention to the magnitude of his decision. They answer questions like, "Wou [...]

Reactionary polemic written in response to Love Wins. Not much serious interaction with Christian Universalism, tradition, modern theology, etc. Makes some interesting points, but for the most part this is a predictable defense of the traditional doctrine of hell as eternal conscious torment using the Bible.Was unsure whether to give it 2 or 3 stars, so I erred generously. :)

Really disappointing and I like Chan :( This felt like it was prematurely written and he was admittedly still working through the doctrine. He should have waited to write it, if at all. All the best to Francis as he's done a lot of good for many people. This book, however, is not part of that good.

I was going to rate this 4 stars, because it wasn't particularly HAPPY and therefore not in that sense, amazing. But it was a super good read, very challenging, but very important. So in that sense, yeah, this book was an amazing eye-opener.

This is a popular level rebuttal of Rob Bell's Love Wins. Chan (and Sprinkle) are humble and conversational and tone and review a number of texts. I don't think they are right about everything, but I don't think Rob Bell is either.