Hank Hanagraaff, of “The Bible Answer Man” and head of “Christian Research’ fame wrote an article entitled “The Existence of Hell” shortly after the Boston Bombings. The slogan for Christian Research Institute (CRI) is “because the truth matters.” Can you believe they put a trademark on this phrase? Anyway, I read the article and was simply dumbfounded. I’ve read a LOT of nonsense articles from Christian apologists on why God needs a Hell to reveal how holy and just He is, but I don’t think I’ve read anything as nonsensical as what the Bible Answer Man wrote. Below are Hank Hanagraaff’s words. Honest, I didn’t put words in his mouth. This is really the mind of “The Bible Answer Man” himself. After you read the article, I’ll post my response to Hank’s assessment of why God must have a hell and why we must believe in such a concept even thought the original languages of the Bible (Hebrew and Greek) contain no such idea.
Hank Hanagraaff, of CRI, “The Bible Answer Man” wrote in “The Existence of Hell”:
“When I got done speaking and answering questions in Boston last week and started autographing books one man walked up to me. He immediately said I was a false prophet and that I was going to go straight to hell. The reason he gave was that I taught that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. He said that prior to the Reformation no one ever taught such a thing. Not only that, but he said you’re saved through the Roman Catholic Church and through the Roman Catholic Church alone. If you are not part of the Roman Catholic Church you are a false prophet and you’re going to go to hell. That was my first encounter.
“I also encountered a man who was very sincere, an unbeliever, who is a man who believes that there are many reasons why he cannot accept the historic Christian faith but is open to reason. That’s what we’re looking for; people who are sincerely open to reason. This gentleman has a number of questions that I’m going to be addressing with him personally, but I thought it would be instructive to take some of those questions and deal with them in the next several blog entries. These are issues that separate people from the historic Christian faith or Christian worldview. They say it’s simply irrational. “There are these unanswered questions, they nag at me, they bother me and I can’t become a Christian until they’re resolved.” That’s a problem for him and I imagine it’s a problem for many other people as well.
“For example, he says that the Bible teaches hell and he thinks that’s a horrendously primitive and cruel concept. Or, the Bible supports slavery, or the Bible is full of contradictions, or Jesus is not qualified to be God’s representative because He was mistaken about the end times – a question I’ve got many, many different times as I’ve talked to skeptics throughout the years. “I find the Bible discriminates against Gay people.” Another objection, “The Bible contradicts science.” Yet another, “The Bible’s prophecies are unimpressive” or “I find the Bible’s answer to the problem of evil unsatisfying.” So we have the top ten objections here, and again, let’s deal with some of them.
“The first of these objections is the objection which is often raised with respect to eternal, conscious torment in hell. Why do we, as Christians, believe in hell? I’ve outlined this in various places, including my book Resurrection and The Bible Answer Book, Volume 1.
“The first reason I believe in hell’s irrevocable reality is that Christ communicated that hell was real. In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount alone He explicitly warned His followers about the dangers of hell a half a dozen or more times.
“Secondly, I believe that the concept of choice demands that we believe in hell. Without hell there’s no choice, and without choice heaven would not be heaven, heaven would be hell. The righteous would inherit a counterfeit heaven and the unrighteous would be incarcerated in heaven against their wills, which would be a torture worse than hell. Imagine spending a lifetime voluntarily distancing yourself from God only in the end to find yourself involuntarily dragged into His loving presence for all eternity! The alternative to hell is worse than hell itself in that it is taking humans who are made in the image of God and stripping them of freedom and forcing them to worship God against their wills.
“So the first reason I believe in hell is Christ taught there was a hell and you can demonstrate that Jesus Christ is the one who spoke and the universe leapt into existence. The second reason I believe in hell is choice demands that there be a hell. Without hell there’s no choice.
“There’s one other reason I should cite, and that is common sense dictates that there must be a hell. Without hell the wrongs of Hitler’s holocaust are never going to be righted. Justice would be impugned if, after slaughtering 6 million Jews, Hitler would merely die in the comforting arms of his mistress with no eternal consequences. The ancients knew better than to think such a thing. David knew that for a time it might seem as though the wicked prosper in spite of their deeds but in the end justice would be served.
“Common sense also dictates that without a hell there’s no need for a Savior. Little needs to be said about the absurdity of suggesting that the Creator would suffer more than the cumulative sufferings of all of mankind if there’s no hell to save us from. Without hell there’s no need for salvation. Without salvation there’s no need for a sacrifice, and without a sacrifice there’s no need for a Savior.
“As much as we might want to think that all will be saved, I think that common sense precludes the possibility. So I believe in hell first and foremost because Christ taught there was a hell. Secondly, because choice demands there be a hell. Thirdly, because common sense dictates there is a hell. Endquote of Hank Hanagraaff’s explanation for “The Existence of Hell.”
In the following post “Reply to Hank Hanagraaff’s Hell” I will use reason and scripture to refute Hank’s “common sense.” I agree, Hank’s common sense is common among traditional Christians, but it is not common sense or common knowledge in our Father’s kingdom. What is common knowledge among those who know Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind, is that Jesus does NOT fail in His mission to “draw all mankind to Himself.” If you want to do a little homework before reading my response to “The Bible Answer Man,” visit the Scholar’s Corner at:
5 thoughts on “Hank Hanagraaff’s Hell”
oops, “Own Devil”.
Back in 2001, God spoke to me and said, “I want you to start asking the hard questions”. The first that sprang to mind (He gives you the question to reveal the answer) was, “What about the Devil, what is with him?”
I was shown a vision of the end of an Old West spur line, somewhere like Nevada or Utah – it was prophetically pixel perfect. The old station was ramshackle and run-down, there was no sign of Life or water – it was utterly dry yet the buffer at the end of the line was as if brand new and backed up by a mound of earth.
I heard, “This is the Devil, he is at the end of the line to show you that you have gone too far – if I had not made him, Man would have become his one devil.”
God created the devil, Jesus even chose “a devil” to do His will. Once you know what he is about the fear of him dissipates, but the reverential fear of God is strengthened. Fear (Regard with all due reverence the authority of) Him who after He has killed may cast the soul into oblivion – the correction of Gehenna, which while it is not hell, is a place of cleansing and healing, and no hospital is fun.
But behold, we have the Lamb of God who expiates the sin of the world. We do not have to die in our sins, but I rather suspect that many will find that their narrow way is in fact broad, and as we all know, it is the Broad’s Way (Babylon/Circe) which leads to oblivion.
By the way, they say that the average is more like 3 months – the time it took to cure my old friend of his pride. Personally Gary, I just keep finding more and more scriptures and instances of the way in which the Church, ahem, Circe, has messed with the message.
The one which has really got me going is the Seven Spirits of eyes of God, by which he sees all that goes on in the earth. I have had amazing revelation of this and how it works in us – it is stuff that I have found no one can get – it is so out there – but it makes sense to me. Oh well…I will send you some info. But perhaps read Zechariah 3:9
For behold, upon the stone which I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or facets [the all-embracing providence of God and the sevenfold radiations of the Spirit of God]. Behold, I will carve upon it its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day.
The Holy Spirit spoke to me saying, “If you are preaching hell, then are you not hell’s preachers?”
We are to proclaim the hope of the kingdom as Ambassadors of grace, as witnesses, not judges.
To preach a non-existent hell is to be a preacher from hell, or more expressly, the father of lies.
Back about 2005, an old WOF pastor I had been formerly influenced by, passed away. The night of his passing I saw him in a dark place. He looked wrath with indignation. In the morning I asked what that was about – and heard, “He has just found out that most of what he knew was wrong.” His name was Ron, as in wRONg. A while later I asked “OK, so I guess you are showing me that there is much that i know that is not worth knowing?” Put it all on the altar, watch the flames, burn baby burn.
Three months later I was checked by the Lord with “Watch this” and there in the middle of the day i saw a vision of this man entering glory, his face beaming like a Cheshire Cat crossed with a Cherub and angels escorting him.
I later met a Jewish man who explained to me the Jewish belief on after death correction, that the worst cases are only 11 months in earth terms, and given that Hitler was a half-Jew and devout Catholic, as well a developing his own humanistic religion for the Volk, and that the last entry in his personal diary expressed his belief that he had done what God required of him and that he died with peace in his heart.
Go figure.
For someone who claims to have “all” the answers I am amased at lack of comon sense, and Answer man in short says that we can not have heaven unless we have hell otherwise they would be one and the same.So with that deductive logic we must have devil otherwise God would be nil and woid. existance of devil afirms that there is God. Is that it Mr Hanagraaff