Summary of David Bentley Hart's That All Shall Be Saved

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The skull told Macarius that those who were pagan priests and worshiped idols were forced to stand crowded together, day and night, wrapped from head to foot in flames, and suspended above an abyss of fire stretching as far below their feet as the sky had stretched above their heads when they had lived on the earth.

#2 The story of Abba Macarius and the skull was a ghost story meant to frighten children and credulous peasants. I had no idea what the preacher was talking about. I had read enough folklore to know what the story was, but I did not take it seriously.

#3 The most obvious and crucial question for me is whether Christianity can offer a coherent picture of reality. I cannot accept the idea that God would allow someone to be tortured forever just because that person is free to condemn himself or herself to such a fate.

#4 I was already fascinated with Asian literatures, cultures, and religions at a young age, and knew that this would be a significant part of my future scholarly and literary interests. I was not a Buddhist, and did not anticipate becoming one. I found the Macarius legend troubling, because it seemed like the Christian God was immeasurably less compassionate than the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhist religion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822533110

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Insights on David Bentley Hart's That All Shall Be Saved

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The skull told Macarius that those who were pagan priests and worshiped idols were forced to stand crowded together, day and night, wrapped from head to foot in flames, and suspended above an abyss of fire stretching as far below their feet as the sky had stretched above their heads when they had lived on the earth.

#2

The story of Abba Macarius and the skull was a ghost story meant to frighten children and credulous peasants. I had no idea what the preacher was talking about. I had read enough folklore to know what the story was, but I did not take it seriously.

#3

The most obvious and crucial question for me is whether Christianity can offer a coherent picture of reality. I cannot accept the idea that God would allow someone to be tortured forever just because that person is free to condemn himself or herself to such a fate.

#4

I was already fascinated with Asian literatures, cultures, and religions at a young age, and knew that this would be a significant part of my future scholarly and literary interests. I was not a Buddhist, and did not anticipate becoming one. I found the Macarius legend troubling, because it seemed like the Christian God was immeasurably less compassionate than the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhist religion.

#5

I may have been close to concluding that Christianity was too morally confused and distasteful a religion to be given any real credence. But I was still loyal to my father’s deep faith, and I believed that there were streams within the Christian tradition that made sense of the notion of hell.

#6

The idea of hell is easy to understand and believe in. It is the soul, and not God, that lights hell’s fires. And if the God who creates a reality in which