Randal Rauser

Do atheists receive a ‘get out of hell free’ card because they don’t believe in God?

Posted on 04/13/13 30 Comments

In a recent conversation with Adam Hazzard I wrote: “The Christian doctrine of hell is the doctrine that some people culpably and knowingly choose not to be in relationship with God.” To be sure, hell is not only that, but it is at least that. It is most emphatically not the claim that God tricks [...]

A hell of one’s own making

Posted on 03/24/13 18 Comments

I will never forget the day in kindergarten when we baked gingerbread cookies. Each child got to decorate his or her own cookie with candies and sparkles. Then we placed them in the oven and waited. Soon after the teacher removed them from the oven and left them on the cooling tray. I waited eagerly [...]

Does God trick people into hell? Lessons from Jack Chick

Posted on 04/20/12 45 Comments

When 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 [...]

The joy of hell

Posted on 01/06/12 84 Comments

In an earlier thread (“Singing the Praises of the Imprecatory Psalms”) I said to David Houston: “by your logic the unimaginable torment of those in hell is a cause for delight. And many Christians from Tertullian to John Piper have agreed with you.” David was happy to find himself in this venerable tradition. And so [...]

“He said he would prefer to go to Hell…”

Posted on 08/28/11 6 Comments

Here’s another golden oldie. This little number shot to the top of the charts in the summer of 09′. Now back digitally remastered and better than ever, here is “He said he would prefer to go to Hell…” *** Belief and disbelief are often more complicated than we would like to admit. Consequently, drawing a [...]

Hell we go again

Posted on 07/29/11 40 Comments

Linda responds to my Calvinist critique as follows: “No matter how you slice it, the Bible is clear that many will go to Hell. Is not the real problem is [sic] that many go to Hell, yet God could of made it where all go to Heaven?” Not according to the traditional Arminian free will response. On [...]

Must Hitler burn forever?

Posted on 06/09/11 22 Comments

In case you’ve been thinking about hell a lot lately, or even if you haven’t, have I got a rather sobering treat for you. Today I am making available for you free of charge a thirty-three page chapter I wrote on the doctrine of hell for a book manuscript called The Crazy Things We Believe. [...]

Is Mother Teresa in hell?

Posted on 05/18/11 7 Comments

About a month ago I gave a speech at a public function. At one point in the speech I mentioned the catalogue of saints that have come before us and who even now labor shoulder to shoulder with us. Among those individuals I mentioned people like the Apostle Paul, Augustine of Hippo, Catherine of Siena, and (in [...]

The very worst reason to reject universalism

Posted on 04/28/11 12 Comments

While at “The Christian Post” I came across a blog article by an apparently popular Christian author / speaker named “Ray Comfort” who claims to have written more than seventy books and who apparently hosts a TV show with Kirk Cameron, the one-time child sitcom star who grew up to become the protagonist in low-budget [...]

Burned before you know it

Posted on 04/01/11 6 Comments

There is a popular idea among Christians that there is some age of accountability before which point a person who dies without having made a cognitive confession of faith in Christ still gets to go to heaven. But after that point failure to pray the appropriate prayer will result in eternal damnation. Here’s an illustration [...]