Hell & It's Critics

I am not sure how many Mod-Bloggers have been paying attention, but a recent book has renewed an old debate about the existence of Hell and it's place in Christian doctrine. It is easy to forget just how controversial the idea of a place of eternal punishment can be to a non-Christian or humanistic mind. In the mainstream press, people are airing defense of the doctrine of Hell and strong criticisms of it.

The central question of the book - and most of the critiques of it - is "Is Gandhi in Hell"? i.e. Is a man universally recognized as a moral champion who is NOT Christian bound for eternal torment. I imagine similar questions could be asked of other great moral leaders.

To be clear, I believe the general answer of orthodox Christians to this question is "Salvation is found ONLY in Jesus Christ, and as far as we know those who die without saving knowledge of Him are in Hell. However, God is sovereign and if He chooses to make exceptions, He can do so. But if He makes exceptions, it is not indicated in scripture."

Interested to see what Mod-Bloggers think about this controversy. I've already discussed with a few of you. (And yes, I know we need to differentiate between the controversy raised in the book and the controversy triggered by the book.)