| I can't even begin to express how infuriated I am at the level of falsehood this book portrays itself through. When I picked this book up at the nearby Half Price Books store, I figured it would be a real interesting and eye-opening resource to help witness to people on the reality of hell--of course only as a supplement to Scriptural references. But after I got through the first few pages, something in my gut and conscience told me I was being totally taken for a ride through Mary Baxter's amusement park of horrors. The whole thing reads like it should be titled "The Wacky Adventures of Mary Baxter and Mr. Jesus". I don't mean to sound rude but I have a huge problem with people who first of all like to present themselves as the holier-than-thou extreme fundamentalist Christian, and then try and sell you on a story that sounds like a Hollywood movie script as if it were actually a revelation from God. I can't even begin to count how many times she says that we (the readers) MUST BELIEVE what she is saying as truth as revealed from God; this is like a desperate salesman selling a product he/she knows probably isn't the most reputable or made from quality material. Plus, I respect the fact she suggests that her intent is to help draw non-believers towards Christ and away from the consequences of sin, which leads to death or eternal torment in hell. But, as a believer, I feel as though she is mocking or ridiculing the sober subject of death and eternal death in hell. Her descriptions come off a bit comical and too story-like, and at times do not line up with Scriptural texts, even though she adamantly claims that we should check Scripture to ensure the validity of her story. Maybe she might help a few unbelievers by scaring them with freakish accounts into turning to Christ for salvation away from her perceptions of hell, but maybe she might just subject Christianity to a level of further ridicule and incredibility among unbelievers for her almost laughable testimony about what goes on in hell and how Jesus explains it. In one part (pp.26-27), Baxter and Jesus come across a man who, first of all, knew exactly how long he had been in hell for ("I'm sorry, Jesus. Forgive me. Take me out of here. I have been in this place of torment for years... 'Lord, Jesus,' the man cried out from the burning pit, 'haven't I suffered enough for my sins? It has been forty years since my death"), and the time since his death. Under my recollection and understanding, and from actual verified testimonies of avowed atheists who had gone through a near-death experience and others who actually were pronounced clinically dead and resuscitated, people who have experienced hell never mentioned a sense of time; in fact, many say you have no sense of time as we reckon it on the physical earth. Another thing that kind of made me go, "What the heck am I reading?!" is when Jesus replies to one of the repentant souls in hell, "They have preachers, teachers, elders--all ministering the gospel. They will tell them. They also have the advantages of the modern communications systems and many other ways to learn of Me..." (pp.27). I mean, c'mon! I had to read that junk three or four times to believe Baxter actually put those words in Jesus' mouth. This book is a work of fiction, in my heart of hearts and Christian conscience. I am not saying that hell is not real; I for one do know it is and would wish that no one would have to experience it. I know that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation out of the condemnation of hell. But, what Baxter has done is profit off of fear, ignorance, twisting Scripture and her imagination to heighten the appeal of her STORIES, and present herself as a witness with privileges and experiences surpassing even Saint John in the Book of Revelations. I am most likely going to throw this book in the garbage, where it belongs. (I would've given this thing a 0, but 1 star was the lowest rating I could use) |
A Divine Revelation of Heaven Books In Print, Audio Books.