Week 9: Chapter 8 — The Suffering of Hell and the Hope of Glory

1.Keller argues that our suffering can only be properly understood in light of two realities: the weight of glory that awaits believers, and the reality of hell as the ultimate consequence of sin. Why does he think both are necessary for a complete picture?

2.Keller draws on C. S. Lewis's reflection on 2 Corinthians 4:17 — that our present sufferings are "light and momentary" compared to "an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." This is not a claim that our suffering is trivial, but that the future glory is incomprehensibly vast. How does the scale of the comparison affect you?

3.Keller argues that the hope of the resurrection and the new creation is not "pie in the sky" escapism but the only thing that makes full sense of what we intuitively know about justice, love, and beauty — that this world as it is cannot be the final word. Do you find this argument compelling?