Book Talk

  One Man's Year of (Almost) Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie. It has been years since my husband has had time to sit down and read a non-church related or work-related book.  When the doctor told him to take it easy this summer as a result of heart trouble, his evenings suddenly loomed large and empty.  It didn't help that I had to make an emergency trip down to San Diego for four days.  I am NOT the wife who leaves frozen casseroles in the freezer for thawing and micro-waving. No no, I leave BOOKS!  And Loren dutifully read them. Phil was challenged by Ron, his editor, to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth for an entire year and then write a book about it.  Now this is the guy who is a self-confessed life-long chronic fudger, who makes his living standing in front of people and telling them stories . In Phil's own words, sometimes he "...adds just enough salt to keep a tale savory, just enough falsehood to keep people interested. " 

Francis Chan has done a superb job of telling us what the Bible says about hell. Not what I wish it said, not what he would like it to say, but what God actually tells us in the Bible. He does so humbly and graciously with excellent documentation.  Erasing Hell is not clever or entertaining.  It is certainly not a "feel good" book.  It is horrifying and grievesome. And Francis Chan makes it clear over and over again how hard it was to write.   Each chapter is followed by "Notes".  These include Biblical chapter and verse as well as extended hermaneutic information and books he has referred to. At the end of the book Chan includes a section of Frequently Asked Questions and an extensive bibliography. You cannot read the book without understanding the author's heart for God, His Word and people. He does not write arrogantly, but rather with a broken heart.  Bottom line: As I have said all along, I don't feel like believing in hell. And yet I do.  Maybe