Book excerpt: "Is a doctrine of everlasting punishment in hell consistent with God's perfect love and perfect justice? And what implications does this traditional doctrine carry for the nature of divine grace and mercy? In Hell in a Nutshell Charles Watson Sr. argues that we should not allow a received doctrine, such as the doctrine of hell, to determine our understanding of God's justice, love, and mercy; instead, we should allow a biblically informed understanding of these divine attributes to shape our understanding of every received doctrine, including the doctrine of hell."