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Nowhere to Go But Up: The Power of Living in God’s Love, Rather Than Fearing God’s Wrath
For most of its history, the church has preached and taught a doctrine of dubious biblical origins. The doctrine has cast a pall of gloom over the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has caused division in the human family, has inspired fear of God's wrath in the lives of the faithful, and has prevented believers from experiencing the abundant life that is theirs through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Nowhere to Go But Up, investigates the source of this doctrine and surveys its use by the Christian church. From its findings, the book offers an alternative interpretation to several passages of Scripture--recapturing the understanding of the first followers of the Way and the insights of the earliest church fathers. Several salvation motifs are resurrected from the early centuries of the church. These motifs invite readers to view the ministry of Jesus from refreshing, life-changing perspectives. Shunning the centuries-old practice of living in fear of God's judgment, the book presents readers with a new, dynamic, yet realistic vision of living in the power of God's love--celebrating creation, the diversity of the human family, and our unity as God's children.
Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2020
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October 22, 2020
I read and reviewed this book for Speakeasy. It reminded me of Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” and Julie Ferwerda’s “Raising Hell.” Indeed, Ruffcorn admits he is not adding to the literature addressing the concepts of hell and eternal conscience torment, but feels other books do not go far enough in considering why Jesus had to die, and the significance of his life, death, and resurrection.
Ruffcorn starts with a history of the gospel of love and grace proclaimed in the early days of the church, but then rewritten by the early church fathers into a binary system of righteous/unrlghteous, good/evil, us/them, and the inevitable heaven/hell distinction. Ruffcorn’s next chapter on “Changing Theology” makes the point that God and Scripture don’t change, but our interpretations do and must. He also makes a distinction between the Bible being authoritative and inspired (which he fully supports) and inerrant and infallible (which he rejects). Examples of reinterpretations include the acceptance of Gentiles, the issue of slavery, women in church leadership, and perspectives on the LGBTQ+ issue. Chapter 3 outlines a “History of Hell” and words translated as hell from the Hebrew and Greek (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, etc.). Ruffcorn also takes us through the history of the church and medieval art and literature– including Augustine, Dante, and Milton – and makes a case for the concept of hell being used as a threat or scare tactic. We need not fear reinterpretation. In fact, why are we encouraged to allow our thinking to mature and evolve on every other subject other than theology, in particular our view of Scripture?
In Chapter 4 of Ruffcorn’s book, “Judgment in the Bible,” Ruffcorn questions why hell didn’t ensue from “the fall” in the Garden of Eden, or the breaking of the 10 commandments. He speaks of hell as a present day reality rather than a future destination. Ruffcorn also designates “the judgment of the nations” in Matthew 25 as a parable, a warning to the religious and righteous who do not live out their religion in love and care for others. He ends this chapter with a study of how the word “eternal” made it into Scripture, and also interprets the story of Lazarus and the beggar as parabolic.
Chapter 5, “God’s Justice” tackles the thorny questions, “What about the Hitlers and Stalins of our world?” I do not agree with Ruffcorn’s thinking that God’s sense of justice necessarily differs from our own. This is too often used by scriptural literalists to explain why God’s violence is justified. Ruffcorn does make a distinction between retributive and restorative justice, although seems to prefer the word punishment. In this chapter, he also provides a sampling of some universalist texts. He speaks of the split between the East and West Christian church, with the Eastern fathers supporting universalism, and outlines how Constantine and Augustine won the day in the West with the concept of hell.
Chapter 6 ends with a beautiful invitation to live into the reality that we are all God’s beloved children, and we can celebrate our diversity. He encourages interfaith dialogue to learn from each other’s traditions. I appreciated Ruffcorn’s reinterpretation of John 14:6, a verse often weaponized by Christians.
All in all, a good read, thought-provoking and persuasive.
Ruffcorn starts with a history of the gospel of love and grace proclaimed in the early days of the church, but then rewritten by the early church fathers into a binary system of righteous/unrlghteous, good/evil, us/them, and the inevitable heaven/hell distinction. Ruffcorn’s next chapter on “Changing Theology” makes the point that God and Scripture don’t change, but our interpretations do and must. He also makes a distinction between the Bible being authoritative and inspired (which he fully supports) and inerrant and infallible (which he rejects). Examples of reinterpretations include the acceptance of Gentiles, the issue of slavery, women in church leadership, and perspectives on the LGBTQ+ issue. Chapter 3 outlines a “History of Hell” and words translated as hell from the Hebrew and Greek (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, etc.). Ruffcorn also takes us through the history of the church and medieval art and literature– including Augustine, Dante, and Milton – and makes a case for the concept of hell being used as a threat or scare tactic. We need not fear reinterpretation. In fact, why are we encouraged to allow our thinking to mature and evolve on every other subject other than theology, in particular our view of Scripture?
In Chapter 4 of Ruffcorn’s book, “Judgment in the Bible,” Ruffcorn questions why hell didn’t ensue from “the fall” in the Garden of Eden, or the breaking of the 10 commandments. He speaks of hell as a present day reality rather than a future destination. Ruffcorn also designates “the judgment of the nations” in Matthew 25 as a parable, a warning to the religious and righteous who do not live out their religion in love and care for others. He ends this chapter with a study of how the word “eternal” made it into Scripture, and also interprets the story of Lazarus and the beggar as parabolic.
Chapter 5, “God’s Justice” tackles the thorny questions, “What about the Hitlers and Stalins of our world?” I do not agree with Ruffcorn’s thinking that God’s sense of justice necessarily differs from our own. This is too often used by scriptural literalists to explain why God’s violence is justified. Ruffcorn does make a distinction between retributive and restorative justice, although seems to prefer the word punishment. In this chapter, he also provides a sampling of some universalist texts. He speaks of the split between the East and West Christian church, with the Eastern fathers supporting universalism, and outlines how Constantine and Augustine won the day in the West with the concept of hell.
Chapter 6 ends with a beautiful invitation to live into the reality that we are all God’s beloved children, and we can celebrate our diversity. He encourages interfaith dialogue to learn from each other’s traditions. I appreciated Ruffcorn’s reinterpretation of John 14:6, a verse often weaponized by Christians.
All in all, a good read, thought-provoking and persuasive.
December 10, 2020
Don't take the three stars as meaning this book isn't worth your time. I'm a tough "grader". Rev. Ruffcorn's book is clearly written and pastorally focused. It is an entry level introduction to the topic, so don't expect an in depth discussion of history or theology.
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