Skeleton's in God's Closet? Nope!

I was really intrigued by the title of this book and was very glad to have read it.  The Skeletons In God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy Way, by Joshua Ryan Butler kept me interested throughout as he sought to help readers look at issues which we generally think are hidden away and taboo to talk about. 

His premise is that these topics, hell, judgement, the lake of fire, etc. should be discussed.  He believes we have the paradigm all wrong.  He believes we look at heaven and hell as later realities, while earth and our lives are lived in the here and now.  However, Butler believes heaven and earth are torn by sin, and being ravaged by the destructive power of sin.  God's plan then, is to reconcile heaven and earth from the influence of hell.

Yes, this book can be a little deep at times, but Butler kept me interested.  While I am not fully in agreement with some of his theology, and need to consider more of what he wrote, I most appreciated his closing statement ~

God is good.  Gloriously good.  Better than we could ask or imagine good.  God is good in his very bones: not just in what he does, but in who he is; not only in his actions; but in his character.  God's goodness is the hope of the world.  It is God's goodness that gives rise to resurrection: as hope for our sin-struck; war torn world.  It is his goodness that gives rise to reconciliation: as hope for the fragmentation we have inflicted upon his world.  And it is his goodness that gives rise to restoration: as hope amid the destruction we have unleashed in his glorious world.

That is a long paragraph, but I believe it aptly summarizes what Butler was wanting to prove.  I appreciate his desire to show that God is good . . . all the time!  Amen to that. 

I would recommend this book to those who are interested in moving deeper in attempting to understand the dichotomy between God's goodness and God's wrath and judgement.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.