{Book Review} 40 Questions About Heaven and Hell

Kregel Academic has published an excellent addition to their “40 Questions” series entitled 40 Questions About Heaven and Hell. This book is authored by Alan W. Gomes, a professor at Talbot School of Theology. 

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40 Questions About Heaven and Hell

As to be expected, this book follows the same layout as its predecessors, making it a very simple and useful resource on this topic of heaven and hell.

The book is broken down into four parts:

1. An Overview of the Afterlife (9 questions)
2. The Intermediate State between Death and the Resurrection of the Body (5 questions)
3. The Final Judgment (6 questions)
4. The Eternal State (broken down into 2 subsections, consisting of 20 questions):
   1. The Eternal State for Believers; and
   2. The Eternal State for Unbelievers

The questions themselves are very good and common. I believe that many believers are indeed asking these questions, and they are worth addressing. 

Features of 40 Questions About Heaven and Hell

• The format of this book is one that I greatly enjoy. The Q&A format makes all of the books in this series great resources. They aren’t books that need to be read from cover to cover (though I definitely recommend doing so!), but can be referenced whenever a question comes to mind. 
• Each question provides a substantial answer, and yet in a concise manner. 
• The answers are derived from God’s Word. As a matter of fact, this book is essentially an exposition of God’s Word on the different topics that are included in the questions. You will find biblical references on every single page of this book (just check out the Scripture index in the back of the book), and the author is explaining the meaning of those texts. As with all other books, not everybody is going to agree with every conclusion that Gomes presents, but even when that is the case, it will still be beneficial to interact with his position. 
• Reflection questions are provided at the end of each chapter. These are good and helpful for both individuals reading the book as well as groups that are reading together. 
• Gomes interacts with historical theology as he works through the different questions. We are able to see what Christians throughout church history have believed and taught about these topics being addressed. 
• Similarly, Gomes has provided no shortage of footnotes for the serious student. Many of the footnotes interact with historical and systematic theology throughout church history as well as translation notes/issues. 
• Gomes shows himself to be a scholar who has studied these questions in depth. Again, though the answers are concise and not exhaustive, they are nonetheless rigorous, solid answers! 
• Gomes is very charitable and fair toward opposing views. I believe he honors Christ in the way he discusses other religions and worldviews. 

Drawbacks to 40 Questions About Heaven and Hell

There is one thing about the book that I would consider a weakness due to its inconsistency. Some chapters (such as 2 & 3) end with a section called “Conclusion” or “Concluding Thoughts” that comes immediately before the Reflection Questions. Most of the chapters, however, do not include that section.

When the book is being used as a reference work, that conclusion section can be very helpful! For instance, in 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law by Thomas Schreiner, every single chapter ends with a “Summary” just prior to the Reflection Questions. That summary is a very brief section that provides the meat of the entire chapter. When one just wants the answer to the question, that is the section to read. However, this volume does not provide summary sections. To make it worse, it isn’t consistent with its conclusion sections. Some chapters have them; others do not. I’m not sure why the summary section was not included in this volume. I believe that it would have improved the book. 

Conclusion

Since I just complained about the conclusion section, I feel the need to provide my own conclusion. Despite the weakness of the lack of summaries, I highly recommend this book! Again, it’s a great book on the topic of Heaven and Hell to either read from cover to cover, or to use as a reference book on the topic. You won’t be disappointed! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Kregel Academic for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book on behalf of an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own. 

Other Book Reviews in the “40 Questions” Series:

• 40 Questions About Islam
• 40 Questions About Pastoral Ministry
• 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory