Holy Hell: A Case against Eternal Damnation

by Derek Ryan Kubilus

Overview

What if everything we’ve heard about hell is wrong? 
 
Eternal torment. A lake of fire. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. Many of us have sat through enough sermons to know what awaits us if we slip up. These dark visions of the afterlife seem a bit sadistic. Is there any hope within the Christian faith if this is the God of Love we serve?  
 
In this lively debut, Derek Ryan Kubilus makes the case for universal salvation. Kubilus shows how our ideas about hell have been distorted by mistranslation of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. Armed with proof-texts, those in power have used threats of eternal damnation as an instrument of control. Arguing that such torture is contrary to God’s nature, Kubilus offers an alternative understanding of hell—a temporary and holy rehabilitation, reconciling all creation in Christ. 
 
Theologically serious and culturally engaged, Holy Hell will shake readers’ assumptions about a seemingly implacable Christian doctrine that chains so many to eternal dread. In its place, Kubilus offers a vision for a church that serves all people with compassion, wherever they are in their journey toward Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802883179
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Pages:	199
Sales rank:	668,060
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Derek Ryan Kubilus is an ordained elder serving in the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is also a member of the Order of Saint Luke and an amateur podcaster. He currently serves the First United Methodist Church of Ashland, Ohio, where he lives with his wife, Maggie Astrino, and their two Great Pyrenees, Beowulf and Fenris.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments  
1. Haunted by Hell 
2. What We Talk about When We Talk about Hell 
3. A Hell by Any Other Name 
4. A Paddle in the Hands of an Angry God 
5. Breaking Out of Baby Jail 
6. The Bureaucracy of the Afterlife 
7. The Great Work 
8. Protestant Purgatory 
9. The Circles We Draw 
10. Kicking and Screaming 
11. A Generous Heresy 
Appendix: Heaven Buddies 
Notes

Editorial Reviews

We keep needing to be reminded that, instead of the God we feared we had, Jesus Christ offers us the God we didn’t know, a God who seems determined not to rule in eternity without us. Pastor Kubilus does a wonderful job of helping us discover once again the God who, though we may deserve hellish punishment, loves us in Jesus Christ so that we might let ourselves be loved eternally. A wise, funny, pastoral, vibrantly good news book. Hell? No!”
—William H. Willimon, Duke Divinity School
 
“The idea of hell is more a weapon than a description of what is real. Instead of loving the hell out of us, too many people try to scare the hell into us. Derek Ryan Kubilus uses plain language, scripture, and real-life stories to counter the common narratives about damnation. And Kubilus answers the usual arguments in favor of hell by showing how weak they are. This book sets people free from bad theology!"
—Thomas Jay Oord, author of Open and Relational Theology
 
“I am overjoyed that this book exists. Writing with precision, clarity, soundness and heart, Kubilus truly pastors us by examining what we think we know about hell—untangling the fallacies that plague us and opening a more graceful and fruitful path for the future of Christianity. Every Christian, both seasoned and new, should read Holy Hell. It is a balm for the mind and heart.”
 —Heather Hamilton, author of Returning to Eden
 
“A lovely, joyous, approachable book, full of winsome stories and meditation upon the Scriptures. Written from a pastor's heart, Holy Hell is the first book I would recommend to a lay person who is troubled by the Church's teaching on eternal damnation or just intrigued by the universalist presentation of the gospel.”
—Alvin Kimel, author of Destined for Joy 

From the Publisher