It is a common objection to the doctrine of universal salvation. And Walter expresses it well: the Christian message loses its urgency–less pews would be filled, less tithes collected, and less need for dangerous missionary trips if everyone makes it to heaven. To put it bluntly: fear of a terrible hell fuels the growth of [...]
Read moreBon Scott, the immortal first lead singer of AC/DC, has impeccable rock and roll credentials. Widely considered one of the greatest frontmans in history, he solidified his resume by becoming a martyr for the God of Rock when, in February 1980, he died by choking on his own vomit after a night of binge drinking. [...]
Read moreGeorge MacDonald, the nineteenth century fantasy writer and universalist, was one of the most important influences on C.S. Lewis. While Lewis never adopted MacDonald’s universalism, his familiarity with MacDonald’s writing undoubtedly contributed to Lewis’ own wrestling with the doctrine of hell as eternal conscious torment, and his search for a less morally disturbing account of [...]
Read moreWhen I was growing up I had a stack of Archie comics that was about fifty inches high (and that’s not even counting the dozens and dozens of digests). To this day I lament the fact that I gave those treasured comics away when I hit university. What was I thinking?! One day in the [...]
Read moreWhen I was growing up I used to search the large tract rack in our church’s foyer. The rack had hundreds of tracts stuffed together in a haphazard mess. The goal of the search? The coveted Chick tract. Jack Chick was (and is?) a mysterious, reclusive individual who reportedly lived (lives?) in Southern California and spent [...]
Read moreToday I received another contract offer for my book on heaven, this one with Baker. After careful consideration and consulation with my literary agent I decided to accept the Baker offer. I have enjoyed working with Baker on my forthcoming book God or Godless (with John Loftus) and I look forward to working with them [...]
Read moreIn “Monkeying around with common sense” I offered a critique of Tennessee’s new bill for teaching scientific controversies in school. My critique consisted of pointing out that this kind of method would be frowned upon in other knowledge discourses like history and English. So it seems inappropriate for this bill to single out science as [...]
Read moreI continue to regain my strength after teaching a course this past weekend on Christian worldview in Grande Prairie, Alberta. That’s one reason why it’s been so quiet in the blog as of late. It’s a five hour drive each way with 11 hours of lecturing sandwiched in the middle. For an appropriate metaphor you might think [...]
Read moreAccording to the Huffington Post, a bill is about to be enacted into law in Tennessee which intends to offer protection to teachers who want to encourage their students to explore “controversial” scientific perspectives. I’ll quote Huff Post quoting sections of the bill and then offer some commentary: In an effort to cultivate “intelligent, productive, [...]
Read moreThe other day a kindly elderly lady knocked on my door. She said she was from the Urban Missionaries of Canada and wanted to know if I would be interested in taking her survey. I agreed, though I told her I’m a theologian and that might skew the results. She smiled and said that would [...]
Read more
