Contents
Introduction
1. Heaven, Trinity, and the Meaning of Life
2. Consolation Measures When the Dream Has Died
3. If God Is Love, Why Is There a Hell?
4. If We Are Saved by Grace, Why Do We Need Purgatory?
5. Saving Souls and/or Bodies: Personal Identity in the Afterlife
6. Wiping Away Every Tear? The Afterlife and the Problem of Evil
7. Ultimate Motivation: Heaven, Hell, and the Ground of Morality
8. His Mercy Endures Forever--Even beyond the Grave?
Conclusion: "Can You Believe It?"
Index

"A wonderful book that inspires hope"

"No one in our time has worked more diligently to understand heaven, hell, purgatory, and the related cluster of issues than has Jerry Walls. And no one is more talented than he at expressing in vivid, accessible prose the conclusions of top-level scholarship. This book will answer an entire handful of the Big Questions and deserves a wide readership indeed."
--John G. Stackhouse Jr., Regent College, Vancouver

"Walls may not tell us everything we would like to know about what happens after death, but he tells us what we need to know and much of what we want to know, and does it with style and verve. This book clearly explains why heaven and hell are crucial if human existence is to be fully meaningful, and it even gives an account of purgatory that should be acceptable to Protestants. This is a wonderful book that inspires hope by clearly showing what God's love for humanity means for us."
--C. Stephen Evans, Baylor University

"Walls has spent much of his academic career providing an account of the Christian story of the afterlife from a rigorous, analytic-philosophical perspective. He has subjected the doctrines of heaven, hell, and purgatory to careful and ingenious scrutiny. In this book he condenses much of this research into one accessible volume that deals with all these issues as well as the problems of evil they raise and the question of personal identity beyond the grave. It is a terrific resource that will be of use to all those for whom such things are pressing theological and existential concerns."
--Oliver Crisp, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Walls has written a book that should be read by anyone interested in the personal, philosophical, or religious significance of death and whether it is reasonable to believe that there is life after death. I wager that there is no living philosopher who has thought more deeply or written with such clear, engaging prose about the prospects of a Christian philosophy of death and afterlife."
--Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf College