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  1. David Smith
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Heaven & Hell Amen. Purgatory Interesting.
    January 16, 2016
    David Smith
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Let me say first that Jerry Walls has a very engaging writing style probably important to emphasize since he is a professor of philosophy and a scholar. He writes well. I resonated with his biblical and Protestant views of heaven and hell. He argues these truths from Scripture through the lens of philosophy. Well done.

    He also wrestles through a plausible view of purgatory that is shared by a lesser number of Protestants. Rather than the traditional Catholic view of purgatory as satisfaction for our sins, Walls presents a sanctification view. In essence since most believers in Christ are not holy as God is holy when they die, they still need a completed sanctification process after death before they can fully share in the glories of heaven and see God face to face.

    Though Walls makes a strong case philosophically, unlike the voice of authority he uses from the Word of God in writing about heaven and hell, he leans heavily upon the authority of C.S. Lewis. The clear and numerous Scripture texts that articulate the doctrine of purgatory unlike the doctrines of heaven and hell are missing.

    Of course, the notion of purgatory intersects with another series of questions including what about those who never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Walls thus proposes the possibility for some or even a few post-mortem conversions. One unanswered issue that I would like to address with Jerry Walls, however, is that people die the way they live. As people grow older, they have a hardening of the attitudes. Even if they are sitting in hell and see the glories of heaven from a distance and desire to be there, their sin remains and keeps them locked in their own prison separated from God. Why would a person who has rejected God for a lifetime, even with the light they did have, be forced to spend eternity with a God that never wanted to know and love? Of course, Walls wants to hope that under these new conditions some will change their mind. But without the power of the gospel present in the dominion of hell and no one to proclaim the good news to them, how will they know what is really true and good and beautiful?

    Still, Im grateful for Walls explanation of purgatory from a Protestant viewpoint. Most Protestants have not wrestled with this component of our sanctification. Will our completed sanctification really be instantaneous upon death or will there still be a process of transformation that makes us fully fit for heaven and the intensity of the fullness of God forever? Finally, I loved Jerrys chapter on heaven that will preach and his defense of hell is outstanding!
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