Raising Hell: Christianity's Most Controversial Doctrine Put Under Fire

316 Pages·2014·1.799 MB·English

by  Julie Ferwerda

Raising Hell

Christianity’s Most Controversial
Doctrine Put Under Fire

J u l i e F e r w e r d a
© 2011, 2014 by Julie A. Ferwerda. All rights reserved.
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Publisher contact information: JulieFerwerda.com.
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from
the Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible®, NASB®. Copyright
© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified
Bible®, copyright © 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission.
Scripture quotations marked CLT are taken from the Concordant
Literal Translation®, Copyright © Concordant Publishing Concern,
15570 Knochaven Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91387, U.S.A. 661-252-
2112. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked MLT (More Literal Translation) are the
author’s more literal rendering of the Greek or Hebrew Scriptures,
based on the Greek or Hebrew Interlinear Bible. Access the
Interlinear Bible at:
Scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New
International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All
rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked SEPTUAGINT are taken from the
Apostolic Bible Polyglot, SEPTUAGINT LXX®. Copyright © 2006 by
The Apostolic Press. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked YLT are taken from the Holy Bible,
Young’s Literal Translation. The Young's Literal Translation was
translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal
translation of God's word. This version is of the Bible is in the public
domain.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN 978-0-9843578-1-9
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2011931117
Dedicated to my beloved Christian brother or sister
whose questions have outgrown your teachers
you who remain hopeful yet dissatisfied,
believing that God has somehow been
tragically misrepresented and misunderstood.
May God’s Good News renew your joy
and empower you in The Life like never before.
C�������
Setting the stage…
Part 1: Hell: Fact or Fiction?
Chapter 1: Lost and Found
Chapter 2: Questioning Hell
Chapter 3: Who Is Going to Hell?
Chapter 4: Who’s Responsible for Lost Souls?
Chapter 5: The Missing Hell
Chapter 6: When Hell Became “Gospel Truth”
Chapter 7: Satan Wins, God Loses?

Part 2: Love Does Not Fail…
Chapter 8: Love Never Fails for Children
Chapter 9: Love Never Fails the Helpless and
the Hopeless
Chapter 10: Love Never Fails With Enemies
Chapter 11: Love Never Fails for Any…or All
Chapter 12: Tracing Gospel History

Part 3: Hebrew Perspectives on Scripture
Chapter 13: Hebrew ABCs
Chapter 14: Eternity vs. Ages
Chapter 15: The Purpose of the Ages
Chapter 16: Two Major Covenants
Chapter 17: The Great Harvests
Chapter 18: Necessary Evil?
Chapter 19: What God Wants, God Gets
Chapter 20: Lazarus and the Rich Man
Chapter 21: Redefining the Soul
Chapter 22: Leaving the Calf Path for Good

Part 4: Resources
The Scriptures: For Scholars or Common
People?
Simple Steps for Identifying Mistranslations
Common Misunderstandings of Scripture
You’ve Got Questions For Me?
Talking Points
Verses Proclaiming God Will Save ALL
Further Reading and Study
Thank You
Endnotes
S������ ��� �����…
There’s a childhood fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson about a
vain Emperor who had a fetish for extravagant clothing. Two
opportunistic scoundrels in the kingdom decided to take advantage
of the King’s vanity. “Your royal majesty, we are two accomplished
and sought after tailors and, after many years of research, we have
invented an extraordinary method to weave a cloth so light and fine
that it feels practically weightless against your skin. As a matter of
fact, it’s invisible to anyone who is too incompetent and unworthy to
appreciate its quality.”
The Emperor envisioned the luxurious nature of such an
innovative fabric in his royal collection. Unable to resist the prestige
of owning the latest and greatest, he thought it would be money well
spent to hire such accomplished men. Not only would he acquire a
new, extraordinary suit, he would also discover which of his subjects
were incompetent and unworthy of their positions in his kingdom.
Upon finishing the new suit, the tricksters brought the Emperor
into his private dressing chambers so they could make final
alterations, ensuring the fit was perfect. As it turns out, the Emperor
didn’t see a stitch. Such a dreadful and disappointing outcome
caused him immeasurable inner turmoil. If he admitted to seeing only
his nakedness, the others in his kingdom would discover that he was
unfit and incompetent for his royal position. Quickly covering his fear
and embarrassment he said to the men, “Yes, this is a fine suit and it
looks very good on me. You’ve done a magnificent job.” He paid
them extravagantly for their goods and services.
Next, the men suggested the King parade in front of his kingdom
to show off the new suit. All subjects were “educated” ahead of time
that only the worthy and intelligent individuals would be able to see
his new clothes. Everyone else would be sniffed out and exposed as
unfit for their jobs and positions in the community.
As soon as the parade began and the King proudly flashed in
front of them, everyone nervously tried to hide their shock and
embarrassment, though many convincingly declared their approval.
“Look at the Emperor’s new clothes—they’re stunning!”
“Look at the color of that exquisite fabric!”
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!”
From the least to the greatest, everyone behaved perfectly to
keep up the uh, fabrication, just as the two scoundrels had predicted.
Everyone, that is, except the one who had no important job, no
position in the kingdom, and nothing to lose. A child approached the
Emperor’s carriage and shouted with honest assessment, “What’s
going on here? Why is everyone ignoring the fact that the Emperor is
naked?”
The boy’s father reprimanded him, but it was too late. The
damage had been done. Whispers could be heard circling
throughout the crowd until some of the braver bystanders finally
cried out, “The boy is right! The Emperor is naked!”
What a precarious position for the Emperor. With the evidence as
plain as his naked butt, he realized that he had been duped, but he
could not—would not—admit to it. He thought it better to continue
the procession under the illusion rather than admit to his colossal,
gullible mistake. For the remainder of the parade route he continued,
proudly as possible, standing upon his carriage.
While it’s easy for us to recognize and even make fun of the
naïve gullibility of the Emperor, the reality is that all of us have, at
one time or another, fallen for wives’ tales, urban legends, fables,
and even downright deceptions—it’s just part of being human. Even
our religious, theological, and doctrinal beliefs are not immune to
distortions and deceptions.
As I think back over my lifetime, I notice how many of my beliefs
have evolved. Many things I believed as a child or even a young
adult are no longer things I believe now. Why not? Because
somewhere along the line, I learned that what I had been taught was
misguided or false, and I no longer subscribed to that belief after
learning things that made more sense or were more provably correct
later in my learned experiences.
Essentially, we are all on a spiritual journey seeking “truth,”
though our truths of yesterday may not look so true today. Even the
“truths” I wholeheartedly believe may not be true to you, or vice
versa. As we grow and mature, we realize that developing our sense
of truth is a lot more of a thoughtful, intentional, and open-minded
journey than we once realized. But what of those historical, essential
doctrines and orthodox teachings of the Christian faith? Surely we
can have utmost confidence in our orthodox doctrines being true…or
can we?
Dare to Question
I was born asking questions—it’s part of my makeup. I’m
especially one to ask questions when I come across things that don’t
add up. And in recent years, I’ve noticed more and more things that
don’t add up—things I’ve come across that challenge some of the
core beliefs I’ve accepted and professed all my life. Many of these
couldn’t be ignored, so I set about trying to find answers.
If you too are inclined to ask difficult questions and to put your
core beliefs to the test, a fair word of warning. There is risk involved.
I’ve noticed that often, when people like myself begin to raise honest
questions about things we see that appear to contradict what we’ve
been told or that go against “orthodoxy,” others become suspicious
about our “spiritual condition” and we are put on watch. And when
people do attempt to answer our questions, they often give pat
answers like, “some things aren’t meant to be understood now,” or
“we just have to take that on faith.” Eventually, ignored, intimidated
or shamed into silence, we keep our questions to ourselves. Or
worse, we stop asking.
If our questioning is particularly contrary or persistent, or if we
begin looking “outside the box” for answers, we may be scoffed at,
ridiculed, and marginalized. People may label us as unintelligent,
liberal, heretical, and perhaps downright cultish. You can see this
type of conformity and peer pressure at work today in many
churches, Christian peer groups of all kinds, as well as online in
blogs and forums. Such labels seek to end the discussion and
ultimately to prevent people from learning to think for themselves or
from attempting meaningful dialog. In short, we lose the childlike
freedom and inhibition to ask honest questions, and are expected to
be more like the “competent and worthy subjects” who don’t dare
challenge the status quo or state the obvious.