Yesterday Alter Video Magazine shared a video interview with N.T. Wright. In it, he is asked about the Love Wins controversy.
Wright’s response is brilliant, as usual.
I was especially intrigued by Wright’s suggestion this obsession with Hell is a particularly American phenomenon. There is probably something to that. We do seem to be overly concerned with figuring out who exactly is going to be in Hell, and as Wright says “what the temperature will be” when they’re there.
Also, I think Wright does well with holding the doctine without the dogmatism we often see. Yes there is a hell, and yes some people will unfortunately be in it, but we might not want to say so certainly who and why. It’s not for us to sort out, and I think God can be trusted to do right by it.
If you’re interested in studying these things further, you cannot go wrong with Wright’s Surprised by Hope. It’s certainly the best book I’ve read on the topic, and I personally thought it was quite a bit more helpful in wrestling with these issues than Love Wins.
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– What stood out to you in Wright’s response?
– What questions does this video raise?
– Why might it be that Americans are so obsessed with Hell?
