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FEATURES AND BENEFITS Balanced teaching on heaven and hell, good and evil, and the effect our lives have on both realms Insights to help readers access God’s purpose and plan so they can live truly meaningful lives Would you risk your reputation to find out what is pleasing to God? The greatest thing that can ever be said about a person is that he or she pleased God. But while pleasing God makes you popular in heaven, it may not make you popular on earth. Do you have the temptation to be well received here on earth? Do you make spiritual decisions based upon what people will think of you? Going a step further, have you considered whether you have any reputation in hell? Are you living the kind of life that causes a threat to Satan’s interests? That’s how you become famous in hell. It’s time to stop valuing your reputation with people more than your reputation with God. Start living your life with eternity in mind. Respected theologian and author R. T. Kendall has written this book to help you discover the keys to living a life that truly pleases God, making you not only popular in heaven, but also famous in hell.

This book is perhaps one of the most misunderstood works of Catholic theology of our time. Critics contend that von Balthasar espouses universalism, the idea that all men will certainly be saved. Yet, as von Balthasar insists, damnation is a real possibility for anyone. Indeed, he explores the nature of damnation with sobering clarity. At the same time, he contends that a deep understanding of God’s merciful love and human freedom, and a careful reading of the Catholic tradition, point to the possibility—not the certainty—that, in the end, all men will accept the salvation Christ won for all. For this all-embracing salvation, von Balthasar says, we may dare hope, we must pray and with God’s help we must work. The Catholic Church’s teaching on hell has been generally neglected by theologians, with the notable exception of von Balthasar. He grounds his reflections clearly in Sacred Scripture and Catholic teaching. While the Church asserts that certain individuals are in heaven (the saints), she never declares a specific individual to be in hell. In fact, the Church hopes that in their final moments of life, even the greatest sinners would have repented of their terrible sins, and be saved. Sacred Scripture states, “God ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:4–5).

Nearly 200,000 copies sold! Chosen by God by Dr. R. C. Sproul is a contemporary classic on predestination, a doctrine that isn’t just for Calvinists. It is a doctrine for all biblical Christians. In this updated and expanded edition of Chosen by God, Sproul shows that the doctrine of predestination doesn’t create a whimsical or spiteful picture of God, but rather paints a portrait of a loving God who provides redemption for radically corrupt humans. We choose God because he has opened our eyes to see his beauty; we love him because he first loved us. There is mystery in God’s ways, but not contradiction.