Below are a few short reflections on the latest books I have read. Read and enjoy.

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and The Things We Made Up - Francis Chan

I just finished Francis Chan’s newest book Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and The Things We Made Up. In complete honesty, I purposed my read in locating and executing a Biblical defense to Rob Bell’s latest controversy exposed in his book Love Wins. For me, It was all about exposing true doctrine. Francis quickly put my purpose in check.

Chan wanted his readers to be slapped in the face with reality, and he certainly succeeded with me. The truth found in his book was not about exposing a modern heretic or proving anyone else wrong and him right. The revelation was this: there are real people, real souls, behind every doctrine. Hell is talking about a real place of horrible, heart-twisting, torture to real people; friends and family of you and I. So many times in our “intelligent” christian circles we throw doctrine around so lackadaisically, arguing our position, that we forget that we are discussing souls, souls that God Himself died for. This was a perspective shock for me; a life-altering conviction. 

With that lasting imprint, Chan also does a fantastic job, accompanied by Preston Sprinkle, of laying out strict academic research, both from the Bible and numerous outside sources, for the existence and characteristics of Hell. He leaves no room for a Bible-believing thinker to doubt the existence of Hell. 

Although the early portions of the book were exceedingly insightful and convicting, the most impressionable chapters were Francis’ last two. In these concluding chapters, Chan reintroduces his opening idea of negating your desire to believe a certain way and embracing the possibility of believing in the seemingly harsh aspects of God’s character. It is not about whether you “want” to believe in this God, but “could” you believe in this God. Francis expands on this idea by pointing out that God does a lot of things we would not have done: making Elijah cook food over human dung, striking Job with sickness and plague, commanding Hosea to marry a harlot, etc. But you know what else God did that I wouldn’t have done?: Send my one and only son to die and save the ones that rebelled against me time and time again. My God is not like me, and thank goodness He isn’t! Why is it so hard for us to realize that God is infinitely above our reasoning? Would we not want to serve a God like this: that is exceedingly more good, powerful, and knowing than us? 

The moral is this: we are clay and He is the potter. We are not rightfully created or positioned to question the one who formed every part of us, including our morality and reason. Yes God confuses me sometimes, but I would worry more if I completely understood my God. 

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 

Isaiah 55:8-9

This is the greatness of our God. 

Sun Stand Still - Steven Furtick

Living in the Charlotte, NC area, it is hard not to have heard of or felt the impact of Elevation Church. Is this not one of the goals of the church, to be an overwhelming presence in the community? Elevation is one of those churches; they shake things up, disrupt society with the gospel, and influence thousands.

I have had the chance to visit Elevation several times, and Steven Furtick, the lead pastor, is what keeps me coming back. The man can preach a sermon, and what I love most is his use of scripture. The scripture is not a mere way to relate to his topic. He doesn’t seek to relate the scriptures to his ideology or theology; he uses the scriptures as truth: the ideology, the theology. I feel that so many pastors use the Bible as springboard to rant on cultural topics instead of actually teaching its principles; they morph the Bible to their worldview. The Bible is our worldview; it is the word of God, and we should treat it and teach from it as such.

Furtick teaches the Bible. Such a simple thing executed so well makes a world of a difference.

After my love of Elevation and Furtick, I decided to read Furtick’s first and latest book: Sun Stand Still. To be brutally honest, the title of the book did not develop any correlation with me; I had no idea what the topic of his writings would be. This excited me, and I soon found out that I may not have been prepared for the truth that Pastor Steven unleashed in my soul. 

Furtick’s goal, or as he seems to portray, is that we as Christian have the capability to perform the impossible. We, not by our own means, but by God’s, have the ability to accomplish that which seems unattainable. He primarily exemplifies this truth in the life of Joshua, specifically in chapter 10 of the book of Joshua, when he audaciously prays for the sun to literally stand still. 

In gripping this truth and ability, Furtick exposes several “steps” and “qualifications” drafted from Biblical passages. These include our necessity to “march all night”, “be circumcised” of the heart, have “audacious faith”, etc. Ultimately his point in these workings is that we can not pray in idle comfortability. We have to be mobile; we can not be stagnant in our walk and expect God to move in our life and culture. 

In our modernized christianity we negate the miraculous, leaving it to the past and other christians. But why is this? Are we simply afraid to ask? I believe it is because we are afraid to ask God for something and Him leave us in the dust. If God possibly does not show up, we look like fools. Fear is a lack of faith, and we are called to live by faith, not merely possess or exemplify it, but live by it. Our God is fully capable of anything, and He exceedingly desires for us to be apart of His workings. 

I am going to dare God for the miraculous, to see Him move. I want to find myself in the middle of a God movement, and I will surrender to His perfection of my faith to see it happen.

Chosen But Free - Norman Geisler

I am very well convinced with Geisler’s use of scripture to defend his first premise of the Sovereignty of God (Ephesians 1:5-11, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 11:27, John 15:16, Romans 9:11-21), but regarding his second premise, that of man’s free choice, his scriptural evidence seems weak and second-hand (John 3:16, 1 Tim. 2:4, 1 John 2:2, 2 Peter 2:1).

It appears to be that this argument is rooted not in which one exists and negates that other, but in which one came first. If God has indeed created the future already, events being already determined, then we are merely acting with a perception of free will within then this determined world. It could very well be that free will is only a perception used by God for us to interact with him; us being created in time, and God being transcendent, immutable, and outside of time, free will as a mere perception would be a reasonable means of interaction. Once again we arrive at the question of how this actually comes into fruition in our daily choices in life; I can not answer this question just as in the same way I can not explain the semantics of where the wind begins, how electricity functions, or how a female egg and male sperm form human life. If I cannot deduce things of the human realm, how am I expected to cogitate things of the divine realm? “But a mystery is a truth that goes beyond reason without going against reason. It is beyond our ability to comprehend, but not against our ability to apprehend… We know that they are true, even if we cannot completely explain exactly how they are true.” (Chapter 8, pg. 132)

God has not chosen to reveal all things to His creation, and this leads to an act of humility. God is God, I am not; Could it be that this is the essential truth we must draw from this theological issue? When Job questions God after his heartbreaking and continual sufferings, God merely answers, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” (Job 40:1). We only know what God blatantly reveals by His Word, the rest is speculation. We have see the Biblical and philosophical weight for both sides of this theological knot, and those can not be put into question. The things which allow for some free-ranged thought is thought of how precisely the evidence aligns into a coherent way for the Human brain to comprehend. The how does not need to be explained to me; I can accept Biblical texts and let myself being humbled in faith do the rest. I think Geisler words it best when he writes that it is “better to accept the mystery than fall into heresy.” (Chapter 8, pg. 132)

I firmly believe the true damage this issue has done is not Theological, but doxological: it has defiled the unity of the body of Christ, desolating our witness. Why let such a petty issue interrupt our unification with our brothers and sisters in Christ? We have so much more to take joy in as fellow believers, and yet we would rather dwell on the items of our faith that separate us. I will celebrate the grace of God, and set my mind of how to share and exemplify my life in a manner worthy of that truth.   

Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions - Mark Driscoll

The Problem of Pain - C.S. Lewis

Radical - David Platt