We Seem To Have Hit A Nerve
Welcome to our blog!
This first post is a little long but please plow through. Read time approximately 4 minutes, 39 seconds.
Our site launch officially happened on May 25th, 2023. That was 12 days ago. The website’s Facebook Page was created a few weeks prior without any promotion until the official launch.
We seem to have hit a nerve (in a good way I might add)
We’ve received several thousand hits to the site and over 750 shares (most shares have been from the site to Facebook). Most comments are very positive but not all. We were fully expecting that to happen. Unfortunately, most of the negative comments on Facebook have been from people who only gave the site a casual glance and didn’t read any of the FAQ’s or the Commentary that was available by clicking on the Menu Tabs.
I will be posting to the blog on a regular basis but not responding to the Facebook comments. There are only so many hours in a day. Between the website and the Blog, I will cover a great deal of what my personal research has led me to believe. John Blanchard’s book, “Whatever Happened to Hell?” is a tremendous resource. He was a famous and prolific writer from England. He and I both hold to the Classic, or Traditional Conservative position on this very difficult topic. The same can be said about Pastor John MacArthur (and C.S. Lewis by the way). Hell, and Heaven are both real places; Heaven, being a place of eternal joy and peace with the Creator God and Hell being the opposite (a real place of eternal torment).
Everyone likes and loves the idea of Heaven; no sane or rational person likes the idea of Hell. Most would not wish this on their worst enemy. Fortunately, Jesus taught on this with the goal of helping people avoid this place. We’re in the process of finding a way to make this book available free of charge to anyone who requests it. More on that soon.
Why this topic, why this book, why now?
As we have said in our mission statement (under the ABOUT tab) the new Town Square is social media—which can be both good and not so good, for a multitude of reasons. We desperately need to be clear about this is one topic. Biblically speaking, our lives are heading in one of two directions, one of which, you will want to avoid!
As a test for those who have read this far into the post, we’ll send a free copy of John Blanchard’s book “Whatever Happened to Hell?” to the first 25 people requesting it. Just go to the CONTACT page, click to open the Contact Form and request the Free Book offer mentioned in our Blog (no strings attached).
Last week I sent an email to 82 people in my gmail Contact list with the website link. Email is not the most effective way to communicate but that too was a test. Some on the list were probably Christians but not all. The personal replies I received were encouraging. The comments on posts we’ve placed on our Facebook Page were another story altogether. Sadly, they were often off-the-wall comments from an interesting cross-section of humanity (not sure if we’ll even continue to keep some of these up in the future). Most of my contacts who received the personal email haven’t even read it yet. If I had sent it via text it would be a much different story.
Here are the first eleven email replies I’ve received so far:
“Thanks for sharing! Persistence is more than a virtue in today’s confused society. I salute you for keeping up the good work.” — “IN CHRIST” YOUR FRIEND & BROTHER BOB B.
“Thanks, Joe, for sending the website of your new ministry to us. I watched the video “Blast From the Past.” Wow, 1999. I bet the jail is nothing like that now! I pray that our ever-faithful GOD will use you to spread the gospel. We are living in a time that it seems Scripture is coming alive before our eyes. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those that enter are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” —Matthew 7:13-14. Hell is real! Keep in touch.” — SANDY N.
“This is GREAT! No one will be able to stand before the LORD on judgment day and say, “I didn’t know.” And Joe, thanks for helping to lead me to faith in Jesus Christ. I am a changed man…and will see you in Heaven.” — YOUR BROTHER IN CHRIST — RUSS M.
“So good to hear from you and Judy. Your website looks great. May the Lord use your ministry to draw more people from the wide road onto the narrow one that leads to life. I love the Rich Man and Lazarus parable. I’ve talked to my kids about it and it’s always a wonderful picture for them of the seriousness of Hell and the precious gift of salvation.” — ASHLEY
“Hey Joe, I just watched your video from Pearl Street Mall. It’s scary to hear what people don’t know! Yes, you could definitely discuss this some Friday at our Men’s Group.” — MICK M.
“I’m blown away by this ministry. Every time I visit the website, I find more truth nuggets. I love the FAQ section. ” — LARRY B.
“WOW! This is exceedingly impressive!” — ALAN A.
“Congratulations Joe! I think people are hungry for the full counsel of the Lord but so hard to find. Pastors struggle with putting this before their congregations. Thank you for your courage. Feeling it is ground-breaking. Thank God!” — LINDA R.
“Hello to my friend, Joe. I loved it.” — TONY P.
“Thanks Joe, Very exciting. Looking forward to poking around the website.” — RANDY K.
“ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. May God encourage your Ministry! Thank you for sharing your website! If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area please let me know. I would love to grab coffee with you. ” — GREG S.
“Triple Thumbs Up!!!” — LEO
Believe it or not, these are the only email replies so far out of the 82 emails I sent.
Why am I so passionate on this subject?
It’s personal for me. My “coming to faith in Jesus moment” was out of fear—fear that I was on my way to Hell. It’s a long story and I may fill in some details another time.
Many come to the Lord for various other reasons. For some, it’s almost natural—you could say. They have seen Christianity modeled for them in their family or friends. The Holy Spirit is prompting them. Some have personal struggles and need divine intervention etc. Many I’m sure come to faith without ever even thinking about Hell. Some though, like me, needed a bigger “nudge” you could say. Fear can be a positive motivator. Some fears are healthy.
If you haven’t looked over the FAQ’s or the commentary, please take a look.
“If Jesus is not God, then he is badly deluded.” C.S. Lewis made this point forcefully. “The discrepancy between the depth and sanity and (let me add) shrewdness of His moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind His theological teaching unless He is indeed God, has never been satisfactorily got over,” he wrote in Miracles.” — FROM PHILIP YANCEY’S BOOK, “THE JESUS I NEVER KNEW.” (PAGE 263)
Lewis phrased the argument more colorfully in a famous passage in his book, “Mere Christianity”: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or a madman or something worse.”
Blessings,
Chaplain Joe