Heaven and Hell: a History of the Afterlife

Starred review from November 11, 2019
In this enlightening survey of human understanding of the afterlife, Ehrman (How Jesus Became God), professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill, offers a persuasive analysis of how the current evangelical Christian understanding of eternal life and eternal damnation developed as well as a well-reasoned critique of that perspective. Ehrman begins with the Epic of Gilgamesh (written around 2100 BCE), continues through the ancient Greeks, and covers canonical and extracanonical Hebrew and Christian texts as he details humanity’s long-standing preoccupation with death and the fear of what follows. He documents wide-ranging theories: Homer’s vision of a bleak, dreary existence in Hades; Virgil’s belief in hellish torments and heavenly glories; Plato’s position on the soul’s immortality; the ancient Israelites’ view that death is the end, but not to be feared; and later Jewish belief in resurrection and a Day of Judgment. Calling into question many evangelical notions of damnation, Ehrman posits that neither Jesus, the apostle Paul, nor the author of Revelation believed in hell. Rather, the punishment for sin was annihilation, while the righteous received everlasting life
. Ehrman’s eloquent understanding of how death is viewed through many spiritual traditions is scintillating, fresh, and will appeal to scholars and lay readers alike.

Starred review from December 1, 2019

Ehrman (religious studies, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Misquoting Jesus) is a skilled and erudite revealer of patterns and oddities found in the bible. Here, he turns his talents to questions of the afterlife. It's rare to encounter something fresh and new about this topic, but Ehrman has a gift for distilling new findings in biblical scholarship and conveying these ideas in accessible ways. He explicates the evolution in our understanding of ultimate justice and relates the concept of an eternal abode to the enigma of mind-body dualism. Ehrman's account may lead readers to reconsider some cherished preconceptions. Expect delightful, informative examinations of ancient ideas about heaven and hell; ideas that have evolved as human needs and desires have also evolved. VERDICT Recommended for those who appreciate popular approaches to religious studies and anyone curious about their final destination.--Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2019
A study of the development of Christian concepts of the afterlife. Ehrman (Religious Studies/Univ. of North Carolina; The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World, 2018, etc.) skims the surface in this offering for general readers. Having built an academic career on examining the veracity of the Bible, the author uses his platform to argue that ideas of heaven and hell lack meaningful merit in the Scriptures. Ehrman begins with an overview of how the afterlife was treated in other ancient Western literature, such as the works of Homer and Plato, before moving on to the Hebrew Bible. Ehrman seems convinced that many readers will be surprised to learn that heaven and hell appear differently, if at all, in the course of Old Testament literature. He demonstrates that, at best, the ancient Hebrews believed in a vague afterlife. More likely, they believed that existence for individuals ended with death. By the time of Jesus, a natural desire for justice from the travails of life had led to a more developed concept of afterlife for the good while the bad met only with extermination. Turning to the teachings of Jesus, Ehrman is clear that "Jesus did not teach that when a person died they would go to heaven or hell." Furthermore, he argues, "one of my theses is that a close reading of Jesus's words shows that in fact he had no idea of torment for sinners after death." The author brushes off scriptural references that seem to contradict these conclusions as unreflective of the words of "the historical Jesus." Likewise, he discounts any ideas about hell attributed to Paul as later additions by other authors, an approach that echoes Erhman's arguments in such previous works as Forged. The author concludes that although death is the ultimate mystery, he doubts it brings anything but oblivion, and he urges his readers to find comfort in their coming, dreamless sleep. A readable book of popular Christianity that offers little new theologically.

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November 15, 2019
Ehrman, whose writings on Christianity have attracted a significant popular audience, here roams further afield into the realms of heaven and hell. This is a wide-ranging survey that takes readers back to early notions of an afterlife, through the writings of the Greek philosophers, Jewish prophets, and earliest Christians. Of course, none of these groups had a singular idea about the afterlife, and Ehrman takes pains to show the differences and similarities in the various schools of thought. The book is at its best when it gets into Ehrman's wheelhouse: early Christianity and the Jewish influences surrounding it. He discusses in detail Jesus' view of an apocalyptic ending and the afterlife, as well as how views of the end-time evolved after the world didn't end as quickly as Jesus had predicted. Perhaps even more influential were the theories of the apostle Paul, who heightened and refined what would happen to believers after death. Later Christian writers embellished even further, leading to the fear of a fiery eternity still prevalent today. Ehrman's twin strengths are deep knowledge and an accessible style. This displays both in spades.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)