When Heaven Invades Hell

by Joshua Rasmussen, Rachel Rasmussen

"How would you feel if I offered a separated soul a body of life and a place with us?"

God has asked a strange question. How will the citizens of heaven reply? You are about to witness the greatest debate in history.

In this novella, you join the citizens of heaven as they decide whether to extend mercy to a citizen of hell. Moses builds a case for eternal judgment, and Adam builds a case for hope. The dialogue climaxes in a surprising revelation about the roots of evil and the purpose of life for all kingly creatures.Is hell everlasting, or could every soul come into heaven eventually? After reading this work of fiction, you will never think of this question in the same way. This book will leave you intrigued, challenged, and inspired.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2020

Reviews

[Ethan Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a clever exploration through an extended parable on the nature of hell and the destination of persons. Regarding style, it's almost necessarily written in 2nd person present tense, which took me some time to adjust to and appreciate. Regarding content, very thought-provoking investigation on the nature of justice, love, and persons. While I remain agnostic on the topic, I do believe that there is something beautiful in a rigorous and robust portrayal of Christian universalism - nothing that glosses over the horrific nature of evil, suffering, and sin and the demands of justice but also something that paints a viable solution for the salvation of all.

[Rajat Sirkanungo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books arguing for universalism (universal salvation) in a really accessible way!

I talk with the splendid authors of the book here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM4Xl...

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone view this as condescending?

How small the minds to not understand the creative “God” but they have made a website to help you.

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! When Heaven Invades Hell shines as a fascinating and engrossing supposal of what might hypothetically transpire if God were to ask the citizens of Heaven how they would feel if the “separated souls” in Hell were given an opportunity to become fellow Citizens of Heaven and commune with the Lord eternally. Adam gets portrayed speaking on behalf of the “hopefuls” who believe that this would be possible, while Moses speaks on behalf of the “noble,” who argue that a separated soul can never be redeemed. The work does a phenomenal job at representing the scriptural and philosophical arguments from each side fairly. Rasmussen portrays Heaven beautifully; I so enjoy the way that love gets described as constantly radiating off of everyone present, including the nobles. Yet another thing to recommend When Heaven Invades Hell would be the way that the work utilizes the second person voice captivatingly—and perhaps even necessarily; this stands as such a rare feat in fiction! Ultimately, this book shines as a much more hopeful version of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce.

Having said all this, there exist numerous drawbacks too substantial for me to give the book four stars. Perhaps the most significant of these issues would be the avoidance of certain key doctrines, likely for simplicity’s sake, that I thought were necessary to include. For instance, God only gets ever portrayed as one Person—even though I believe that the authors are Trinitarians. Perhaps more disappointingly, though, not a single mention of atonement occurs—or even of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. This omission can easily feed the common (although absurd) Evangelical narrative that if universal reconciliation is true, then Jesus somehow didn’t need to die. The characters also misquote Daniel 12:2 as referring to everlasting destruction, rather than everlasting shame and contempt.

When Heaven Invades Hell makes for a unique and ambitious narrative—but I feel that, if a few tweaks had been made, it could have been elevated from good to phenomenal.

[Ethan Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. It was a very clever way to address a contentious issue in theology and philosophy. Josh and Rachel are great writers. The style was engaging and the way they brought up difficult to understand issues was great.

I’d recommend it to anyone really who wants enter into this discussion around ultimate outcomes of people.