Nowhere to Go But Up by Kevin Ruffcorn presents a readable history of hell with a rich pastoral heart. Ruffcorn's little book argues that not only has the doctrine of hell been used to justify the institutional church's desire to exercise control, but it has had very real, and drastic consequences for the marginalized -- particularly for the LGBTQ+ community. The doctrine intends to create a vast chasm between "us" and "them" -- the saved vs. the unsaved, in a way that betrays the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ruffcorn is clear that the doctrine of hell has no biblical warrant and is, instead, the creation of serious misinterpretations of the biblical witness. Ruffcorn gives a historical account of all the ways in which certain Christian leaders moved away from the Gospel of Love and toward a condemnation of one's enemies.
All things being equal, Ruffcorn's book is a masterful account of why the notion of eternal punishment is foreign to Jesus, to his Gospel, and to the warrant of the biblical witness. He writes with a rich pastoral heart that intends to teach as well as guide those who have become victims of that notion of eternal punishment in the real world -- at the hands of Christians who view them as the others.
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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.