I’ve had a couple people recommend the book, “Hope beyond Hell” to me. I looked on here to see if it was on the “recommended reading” list and it isn’t there. So I’m just curious, would people recommend this book? I’ve read “The Evangelical Universalist” and “Universal Salvation? The Current Debate” so far.
I haven’t read the book, but I know it’s been mentioned positively here a few times…
Maybe we should add it to the list?
Sonia
I liked it, but I read it before I read TEU. It’s definitely written more in a popular format–I’ve suggested it to a couple friends who were interested in a simple biblical introduction to EU. I think it’s worth a read, because it mentions a few things TEU doesn’t get into as much, plus there’s a TON of Scripture in it. It’s not very technically-written either, so it’s an easier read than TEU. (I haven’t read US?TCD)
Thanks. My main concern was that it was a more liberal book that didn’t take scripture very seriously. That it wasn’t mentioned in the recommended books section here made me think that perhaps it wasn’t very “evangelical.” It sounds like that’s not the case, so I think I’ll give it a read. The price is certainly right.
Thanks!
Ditto on what NealF said. I’ve read the book(4/5stars) and I would recommend it as a good introduction to EU. Gerry’s website www.Tentmaker.org is OK. I find it a little left of center IMO.
In case you don’t know, you can read Hope Beyond Hell for free online.
Also, you can request copies for free from Gerry. Because of the amount of scripture in this book, I’ve “ordered” a dozen to have on my shelf to be able to hand out. If you get the book directly from Gerry, I would encourage you to make a donation so that he can continue to offer it for free.
-AaronK
I have purchased the book in Kindle format (it only costs $1 to do so), since that’s my preferred way to read it (the Kindle is terrible with PDFs.) I’ve begun reading it and am finding it pretty educational so far. So thanks for the recommendations, guys.
Hey Felkor you beat me to it 
I just got this e-mail from Gerry
Dear brothers and sisters,
I have now converted “Hope Beyond Hell” into a professional E-book
so anybody can read it anywhere anytime. And it’s only $1
It’s a great way to reach young people.
You can boost its Amazon rating by writing a review. Click this link, scroll down to CUSTOMER REVIEWS
and click “Create your own review” (on right side)
amazon.com/Beyond-Righteous- … 542&sr=8-2
Free Reader software: amazon.com/gp/feature.html/r … 1000426311
Thanks so much!!!
Gerry
PS: Please forward to whoever may appreciate this
I thought Tentmaker.org was run by Gary Amirault, not Gerry Beauchemin??? 
But it does have some good resources, if you have to wade through a little bit… 
I have read it, and I think it’s an excellent non-technical intro to evangelical universalism. It was the book that I passed out initially to some people that I felt would potentially be interested.
Oops! 
me bad 
Your right NealF, I got them mixed up again 
Tentmaker, Yes it has some good resources.
My take was just like Neal’s. It presents our classic EU in a simple form with lots of Scripture and thus might be easier for some who want a more popular style presentation, than does Talbott and Parry, which is would I would give to more serious Bible students who would appreciate their more sophisticated discussion of theology and exegesis.
I would also recommend that we add “What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell? Wrestling With the Traditional View:”
by Randy Klassen to the list. This is a good survey of the title question from a conservative evangelical perspective that comes out at at least a “wider hope” standpoint by the end, and has some good study/discussion questions at the end.
Another book I would highly recommend is:
The Gospel of God’s Reconciliation of All in Christ
By Ernst Ferdinand Stroeter
Originally published in German (1915)Translated by J. H. Tonn USA 2007
“The gospel of God. What a flood of thoughts does that wake in our mind! What depths and heights must lie in that if it corresponds to His name! Gospel means ‘glad tidings’ and ‘good news’. God’s gospel cannot be anything else. It would not correspond to His essence if from the first to the last note it would not let happy strings be heard by him who listens to it. It cannot have any evil, rough, or bitter sound in any direction…”
“God wants to be recognized through His gospel. He has put everything in it that He is: What He has, and what He can do… To this task the following pages are dedicated.” - E.F. Stroeter
270 pages, PB $12.95US + S&H
It’s availible through Martin Zender at starkehartmann.com
It’s a great read. A little scholarly, but great anyway
I’m (very slowly) reading through that book right now. I may end up doing some kind of review on it, maybe even as I go along, and posting it on the forum.
I hear you 
I’m going to have to read it a second time just to make sure I didn’t miss anything
Hope Beyond Hell was the first book I read on Universalism. 2 weeks ago. God used that book to open my eyes , so I would recomend it to anyone. His scriptural supports is very good. It’s not seminary level but he does a terrific explaining the use of Aionos etc throughout scripture. The chapter on God’s Sovereignty was Great and for me very convincing, which is something Rob Bell’s book doesn’t spend alot of time on. I would compare the two books like this:
Love Wins - explains what heaven and hell are all about in this life and the next.
Hope Beyond Hell - Provides with many angles a convincing arguement for Universalism and how ECT came to be the accepted view amongst Evangelicals. The Section on Church Fathers is also real convincing.
I found it to be a fairly compelling book certainly compared to allot of the universalist books . it isn’t particularly scholarly but he does present some strong and interesting arguments . personally I believe in reading as much as possible on a given topic so my advise is read it first ! . it’s a must read !
The strength of “hope beyond hell” to me is, the heavy reliance on scripture to make the arguement for Universalism. To each there own, but personally I will lose interest in any book that wants to rely heavily on Philosophical arguements or any other arguements outside of scripture. I think “hope beyond hell” would be a great book to give to a common everyday non-universalist christian that has not studied the subject. Where Love Wins raises questions, Hope beyond hell provides answers.
From my limited reading experience it seems some of the other Universalists books rely a little to heavily on logic or philosophy rather than scripural arguments…and the common church person would in my opinion just set the book aside. Whereas a book that argues heavily from scripture is what the common church person would listen to. Not to generalize too much.