The Bible is a reasonable book. There is nothing contradictory about it: everything fits together in a manner that makes its message both dynamic and easy to understand. Its teachings make sense and it is this simple logic that presents such a challenge that no one of good will can deny its impact. This booklet has been written to show that — in contrast to the plain and reasonable teaching of scripture — popular ideas about heaven and hell are unreasonable. What are these ideas? For centuries it has been commonly believed by most professing Christians that heaven is the abode of the righteous dead where they experience everlasting joy and happiness, and that hell is the eternal abiding place of the wicked who are subject to never-ending torment in its unquenchable fires. In more recent times many have abandoned the idea of hell — and with it any real desire to investigate whether this is, in fact, a true reflection of what the Bible teaches. This abhorrence of eternal suffering (surely a right instinct) has caused men to cherish instead a vague hope of universal salvation — that all will enjoy eternal happiness irrespective of the works done during their mortal life, Yet that has now left people with a sense of unease, because they sense an injustice in assuming the there can be a reward for both good and bad alike.
Christadelphians do not share either the modern idea of ‘heaven for everyone’, or the more traditional ideas of ‘blessings in heaven’ and ‘punishments in hell’. They have read the Bible themselves (as we hope the readers of this booklet will do) and conclude that, although ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ are mentioned many times, they are not the eternal abiding places where people hope (or fear) to go to at death.
A grievous error has been made in interpreting the Bible. But the error is not first of all concerned with heaven or hell; the error really grew out of another theory, that all men are born with …