Brian Jones' Hell Is Real Talks About Why Hell Matters, Even if You Don't Believe in it

DALLAS, Aug. 18, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Recently, the media has ignited in a brimstone blaze of controversy over the question of Hell, and the idea that's generating so much attention is that Hell isn't real, and even if it were, a loving God wouldn't possibly send people there. Is Hell real, or is it a concept that is misguided and out of place in today's Christianity? Many believe the answer to this question will have profound implications on the future of the faith, and important personalities on both sides of this question are drawing lines in the sand. 

Brian Jones, a pastor in suburban Philadelphia, can relate to this controversy. Jones had a secret he'd been hiding for years: He didn't believe in Hell. In Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) (David C Cook, August 2011), Jones relates that after seminary he came to the conclusion that "the Bible's teaching about Hell was inaccurate at best and hateful at worst. What I was taught as a child was a lie, and now that I was becoming a pastor I was sure I'd never perpetuate that ridiculous myth again."

But after an amazing experience that required him to rescue several people from an apartment fire, Jones began to re-think his stance on Hell. His uncertainty on the subject led him to Scripture, and as he studied God's Word, he felt an overwhelming sense of conviction. "What I discovered shocked me. I had always assumed that the Bible contained only a few scattered references to Hell. I was wrong; it is taught everywhere." 

Jones began writing Hell Is Real with the hope that he would humorously and transparently push readers into a head-on collision with what he calls "apocalyptic urgency," the all-consuming conviction that overtakes someone when they realize that Hell is real and it is within their power to help people avoid going there. The key to this apocalyptic urgency, according to Jones, is for Christians to realize that the largest need that faces mankind is the need to be saved from God's wrath, which results in a real, literal Hell. Without the urgency that a belief in Hell instills, Jones believes that the reason most Christians don't tell their friends about Jesus has nothing to do with not knowing how -- it's because they don't think they need to. 

www.brianjones.com