Book Review: Kevin E. Ruffcorn: Nowhere To Go But Up

Growing up, I was tormented by the thought of hell. Even though I had done what I was “supposed” to do and accepted Jesus into my heart, I still agonized over the idea that I would die in sin and spend an eternity in hell. Plus, it broke my heart to think that so many of my friends and family members would burn in hell unless they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Even other Christians were not safe-mainline Christians, often derided as “lukewarm” Christians in the evangelical circles I grew up in, were at risk of an eternity in hell for supposedly twisting and ignoring parts of the gospel. As a teenager, Christianity was reduced to avoiding hell. Yet as I grew older, I became more and more uncomfortable with the idea that a loving God would condemn millions of people to an eternity of suffering because they believed the “wrong” thing.

However, as much as I detested the idea of hell, it was central to the Christianity of my youth. The only reason God had become human and died horrible death on the cross was to provide humanity with a way to get to heaven. Without hell and the promise of heaven, Christianity meant nothing, or so I thought. It took years of study and soul searching to realize that Christianity did not need hell. As I was navigating that transition away from a Christianity based on fear and condemnation into one based on liberation and love, I would have greatly benefited from Kevin E. Ruffcorn’s Nowhere to Go But Up: The Power of Living in God’s Love, Rather Than Fearing God’s Wrath.

Ruffcorn, a retired Lutheran pastor and author of six books provides a short, easy to understand overview on the history of the doctrine of hell. Ruffcorn argues that not only has the doctrine of hell been used to justify the institutional church’s desire to exercise control, but it has had very real, and drastic consequences for the marginalized. The concept of hell has been used to oppress members of the LGBTQ+ community and foster increased divisions between “us” (“the saved”) and “them” (“the unsaved”). Ruffcorn also argues and demonstrates that the doctrine of hell does not in fact have strong Biblical origins. Many verses that are used to “prove” the existence of hell, are in fact misinterpretations. The doctrine of hell cannot be traced to Jesus, but rather to church leaders and theologians that lived much later.

Ruffcorn traces how the gospel of love, as practiced by the gospel writers and early followers of Jesus transformed into a gospel marred by an obsession with eternal condemnation. He explains, clearly and in readily understandable language how later church leaders and theologians such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, planted the seeds for a religion based on fear and terror.

In addition to tracing the impact that later theologians had on the development of the concept of hell, Ruffcorn also discusses specific Biblical concepts and passages. I know growing up, the major justification for the idea of a hell was the Bible. I grew up in a fundamentalist environment that claimed to follow the Bible literally. However, so much of interpretation is based not so much on what the Biblical text actually says (especially since most people cannot read the text in the original language and therefore rely on translated texts) but rather on assumptions that modern readers bring to the text.

For instance, verses that are interpreted as referencing eternal punishment, most likely do not when one takes into account the Hebrew Bible understanding of the afterlife, translation issues, and the influence of pagan philosophy on Christian thought. For instance, Ruffcorn points out that the word most often translated into “hell” is the Aramaic word, “Gehenna.” Gehenna was a place where child sacrifices and worship to idols were carried out. It later becomes a sewage dump. Ruffcorn explains: “When Jesus refers to Gehenna as “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43–48) he is making a clear connection to the valley’s historic past, using the language of Isaiah 66. 31 Jesus is not referring to a place of eternal condemnation and suffering.” (48)

Ruffcorn also discusses alternative understandings and interpretations of Jesus’ work on the cross. While the Penal Substitution Motif is currently the most popular understanding of Jesus’ death, Ruffcorn points out it is not the only one. Throughout Christian history other motifs have taken precedence. While he only goes into enough detail to provide a brief sketch of the different motifs, the point is that there has never only been one understanding of Jesus’ death and that other motifs exists that do not rely on the threat of eternal punishment.

All in all, Ruffcorn’s book is a great introduction to the idea that eternal punishment is not a Biblical concept nor was it a concept that the early Jesus’ followers were concerned with. This book is great for anyone just beginning to explore the idea that Christianity does not need to be centered around hell. It also provides a useful introduction to some key theologians in Christian history. There are a few minor weaknesses: the brief sketches often leave out a lot of historical context and the creepy, haunted house metaphor seems a bit unnecessary, but all in all, this book is a great book for those looking to dip their toes into a complex theological concept but do not know where to begin.

I am a member of Speakeasy. I received a free eBook copy of this book in exchange for my candid review.