Along the same lines of Hope Beyond Hell is Julie Ferwerda’s new book Raising Hell. She has a similarly accessible, (but I think better in some ways) style of writing. You can tell there is solid scholarship, but it doesn’t feel like it when you’re reading.
No matter what book it is though, they always need a healthy dose of the Holy Spirit into the bargain, to remove the blinders from their eyes.
No matter what book it is though, they always need a healthy dose of the Holy Spirit into the bargain, to remove the blinders from their eyes.
A gigantic AMEN to that!! As much as I use Scripture and am great fed by the spiritual truths that feed my faith, I do not use it to build my doctine and I don’t want to offend, but I think we greatly limit ourselves to what the Spirit would love to reveal when we rely WHOLLY on Scripture alone. It may be bread of life on some levels, but for me, ya can’t live on bread alone. God spoke it in his word but also made it clearer “in” us that his Word isn’t what’s written between the pages of Genesis and Revelation . . .his Word is “living” in all of us. It breathes in us, it speaks to us, it reveals things to us that the Bible can never do. There are too many variances in the written word alone. Translations miss things, interpretations miss things, cultures miss things . . .then when you throw in logic and reason, the chances of gaining spiritual truth from any and all of that would only be through the miracle of God in the first place.
David and Goliath is just a story . . .that’s all the pages of Scripture will tell me. David was ruddy. He was super young when he came into the arena . . .Goliath was a big, nasty, stinky man who’s ego was bigger than his reputation could contain. If I rely solely on the story, all I read is this little guy got off a lucky shot at the big guy . … forget about the fact that the king of the nation of Israel would even allow a kid to come in and fight a battle that would either give them freedom, or murderous slavery . . .the entire nation . . .what kind of king would do that? Relying on Scripture alone wouldn’t explain anything.
but . . .when the Spirit breathes into the story, when the author that inspired those things to not only unfold, but to be documented, the same author is breathing in and through us . . .when “that” happens, what is written literally becomes a springboard, a gateway that leads into an infinity of mind blowing truths. It’s no longer a story about a little kid and a big ugly warrior. Now, it becomes personal. Now, David is “me”. “I’m” God’s chosen kid. David represents all of us . . .not because he’s the little guy up against a big guy, it’s because he is hand-picked by God to manifest God’s will. He represents the “anointed man”.
And Goliath? He’s no ordinary giant . . .“he” represents the carnal nature, the abomination of desolation who boasts, who sees himself as God, who thinks he can be “above” God. His six fingers, his six toes, his spear that weighs 6 cubics . . he’s got the number of carnal man all over him . . .he’s dressed in brass . . .the same element the altar of sacrifice is made of depicting judgment . . . it’s the battle Paul speaks about that is going on not only within “him” but within all of us. In all of us there’s an anointed man in us struggling with a carnal force. If we went by appearances alone, the carnal thing stands head and shoulders above any other nature at work within us
But then . . .a stream comes into the story . . .the flowing of the spirit . . .“in” the stream stones are selected . . .five of them to be exact. One giant, but five stones . . .some think it had to do with the fact that Goliath had 4 brothers, but again, according to the story, there’s no indication that there were 4 brothers backing up the ugly guy . . .it was just him out there. But the spirit is breathing life into this story . … it’s not about a kid and an ugly guy any more . . .it’s shifted . . .my anointed man has an authority the ugly man can not identify with. I’ve stepped into a stream where the spiritual waters flow. I’ve found grace . .the number of five . . .I’ve found grace in Christ . . “he” is my rock, he is my cornerstone . . .in the river of the spirit I have found grace in Christ, I have found 5 stones. I only need one, but because it came from five, what’s about to happen next, happens out of grace. Because it came from a stream and not just scattered in the dirt on my way to hook up with this ugly guy, it’s “divine grace” that I’m walking in. It’s birthing something in me . . .birthing . . .the number “40”.
God uses the natural to reveal spiritual truths . . .it is 40 weeks from when a woman recieves the seed of a man to when she births the child from the seed concieved. 40 days this carnal force pranced around goading “someone” to fight. Inflicting fear and torment the entire time. Natural men cowered, but not the anointed man. Something was about to birth on this field today. The stone is placed in a weapon . . .not a weapon of war, but a weapon of protection . . .and not even for self-protection, but for flocks and herds. This was a shepherds weapon, it put a force in with the stone and was released directly at this huge, intimidating, carnal force.
The stone didn’t hit the guy in the chest . . .didn’t hit him in the face . . .it hit him smack dab in the forehead . . .if there was ever a picture of a stone penetraiting the mind . .this is it. Christ broke through the thickness of the skull, the hardness of mental forces of carnality . . .the penetraiting message of Christ broke into the mind of carnality and . . .you’d 'think" that, that would have been enough . . .according to the story, the kid got in his lucky shot, the big giant oaf took the rock into the head and collapses and because of all the adrynalin, the kid grabs the giants own sword and chops his head off . . .great Hollywood ending . . .but . . .not so fast.
What is the symbolism here? what’s the significance? Why did the author of creation choose to go to such drastic measures? Was it to be sure of the giant’s demse?
I really didn’t plan this, but I’m out of time . .gotta go back to work.
But just think about what you would have missed if you just relied on Scripture alone.
That’s one heck of a cliffhanger. The suspense is killing. Come on man, why did the head have to come off!! 
I don’t too much disagree with you there , in fairness to mr Talbott [and the like], philosophical arguments are in some respects stronger and I understand the caution that he displays in his breathtaking book regarding scriptural arguments as opposed to philosophical ones ! . you are essentially correct and so I feel I should give more praise where it is due ! I too would largely recommend ‘‘hope…’’ to most Christians [perhaps though this is a sad reflection of the anti-intellectualism that pervades modern day Christianity] but to be fair to most Christians I don’t believe mr Talbotts book is beyond the reach of the wider Christian community
Agreed. Talbott’s book was Excellent and grounbreaking in many ways. That books has already been a blessing to many! It would be the first book I would recommend to some. Some Folks have had more formal education then others and I am not even sure what the “majority” looks like. I am just trying to be all things to all people, or get the right book to the right person 
Some may even have alot of formal education but very little in the way of Philosophy or Theology, but these people read their bibles and know their verses. I guess generalizing here isn’t very useful because each person is different. And the best way is probably following God’s leading when the situation comes up on a case by case basis.
Short answer, yes!