Christian publishers are releasing several books in response to Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins (HarperOne), which critics say promotes universalism—the belief that all humans end up in heaven, and hell is not a physical place.

Scheduled for release in July by Tyndale House Publishers during the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta, God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News Is Better than Love Wins by Christianity Today Senior Managing Editor Mark Galli is "a response to the provocative questions raised" by Love Wins.

"There is so much confusion swirling around the book," said Jon Farrar, acquisitions director at Tyndale House. "It will be refreshing to have a clear and reasonable analysis of Love Wins."

Galli added: "The main problem with Love Wins is that the good news is even better—deeper, richer, more complex—than it lets on. I champion the historic Christian view on these matters, and Bell offers a decidedly minority view. That means that the burden of proof rests on his shoulders."

Meanwhile, David C. Cook is releasing on Aug. 1 Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) by Brian Jones, senior pastor at Christ's Church of the Valley in a Philadelphia suburb. The book will "confront, frustrate and ultimately change the mindset of Christians who have grown content not sharing the saving message of Christ with their spiritually lost friends."

Last month, Edenridge Press published Christ Alone: An Evangelical Response to Rob Bell's Love Wins by seminary professor Michael E. Wittmer, whose books include Heaven is a Place on Earth (Zondervan, 2004) and Don't Stop Believing (Zondervan, 2008).

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