It’s often been said that we Christians eat our own.
This unsettling expression is all-too true, and apparently Rob Bell is on the menu yet again.
For a people whose go-to ideas are love for God and love for others, we Jesus folk are often pretty horrible toward one another, especially to those of us who attain any sort of position in the larger culture.
Oh sure, we’ll root like crazy for them to reach the masses on their way up, but once they do, we’ll as willingly and passionately go about the work of ripping them from their lofty positions; discrediting them, ridiculing them, shaming and shunning them in the process.
In the Church, as in so many other spheres of life, we love to love you when your star is rising, and few in modern times have risen faster or higher.
A decade ago, Rob Bell was a flat-out Christian Rock Star.
He was the guy on the conference speaker circuit, his megachurch Mars Hill Bible Church was a blockbuster, and his thought-provoking short films were staples of every young adult ministry in the country. He was known as a wise, engaging, creative, articulate teacher of the Bible; someone who was speaking about Jesus with a fresh voice that people in and outside of the Church resonated with.
He had a rabid army of fellow believers who hung on every word he uttered, who lapped-up every morsel he tossed them, who cheered him on like a local kid making the Bigs.
For a while, it was a Christian Bubble love fest.
Then something happened.
Rob Bell sinned.
But his offense wasn’t a moral lapse of any kind. It wasn’t an abuse of power or a sexual transgression or some financial misdeed, or any sort of ministry impropriety. (These had been, and continue to be the hallmark of so many Evangelical leaders, so that would be natural to assume).
Rob Bell’s sin, was simply that he didn’t stick to the script.
He deviated. He dared to ask questions. He challenged the status quo. He moved against the grain.
He went rogue and everything went South, (or rather, went to Hell).
The relationship turned toxic when Bell wrote a book called Love Wins, in which he challenged the idea of Hell; a seemingly untouchable, immoveable pillar of the Christian worldview. He asked a ton of really natural questions about reconciling eternal punishment with a loving God, and he examined matters of life and faith that had become foregone conclusions to most believers.
In the now infamous and pivotal volume that caused the Church to break-up with him, Bell didn’t give many answers. He only asked people, to ask the questions. He invited inquisition.
In our modern Evangelical Christian subculture, well that’s simply not something we tolerate, and it wasn’t long before Rob Bell was being crucified by his peers.
Pastors began stepping over one another to speak out against his dangerous teachings.
Bloggers churned out post after post lamenting his tragic, heretical detours.
Conferences stopped booking him, well-known allies began distancing themselves, and before too long Bell was a virtual leper to his own community; the same community that had carried him proudly to prominence just months earlier.
Rob Bell became a dirty word in church circles; a punchline, a pariah.
As so often happens in the modern Church, he was intentionally and mercilessly pushed to the margins of the Christian community, just a few feet from irrelevance. There he would be left to languish for a few months before hopefully dissolving into obscurity.
Only Bell didn’t do what his critics wanted.
He didn’t tearfully repent and beg to get his club membership renewed.
He didn’t fade into oblivion.
He didn’t fall apart or fight back.
As so many of his brethren mercilessly attacked him, he simply turned around, stepped out through the dust-covered doors of the suffocating Christian bubble, and spoke to those who would still listen.
It turns out, there are a lot of people still listening.
Bell’s resurgence has come at the hands of worldwide media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who has given Bell a prominent position on her network, and provided him a new and massive platform; the kind that most Christian leaders, bloggers, and writers would give up houses, kids, and arms for, if they’re honest with themselves.
And this has brought the venom-peddlers out of the woodwork once again. The same Christian people who treated him so horribly, now act like he’s abandoning them.
The condescending critiques of his recent crossover to pop, rival the Nashville pushback against Taylor Swift. Supposed Biblical purists, (you know, the “Love God, Love people”, people), have bent over backwards to take their shots at his motives and his methods. They’ve dissected his interviews as a lawyer parses a legal document looking for loopholes.
Bell’s been maligned for softening the Gospel; for crafting a new age, feel good, bastardized version of Christianity that is theologically neutered and built for mass consumption. He’s been vilified and demonized for perverting the message of Jesus to grow his brand.
Baloney.
Bell’s been doing something braver than most of the pastors overseeing churches in this country would ever do, yet the same thing that so many in their congregations wish they would do.
He’s admitting the real questions that surface in the excavation of deep faith. He’s looking to separate what in this religion is of God and what is of us. He’s asking why we believe what we believe, and asking believers to do the same.
These are somehow unforgivable offenses to the “forgiving people”.
It all illustrates the sad state of the core of Evangelical Christianity in America, and why more and more people outside of it want no part of it.
We’ve lost the ability to welcome diversity of thought. We’ve made the Church a members-only club, defined by the narrowest of doctrines and the most rigid understandings of God and Scripture.
We have two religious menu options when it comes to orthodoxy: Totality or Heresy.
The moment that anyone, however prayerful or thoughtful or earnest they may be, comes to a conclusion other than what we’ve defined as acceptable, they get kicked to the curb. As Christian leaders cling tighter and tighter to a faith tradition that seems less and less culturally relevant, they expel anyone who doesn’t check all the right boxes, who doesn’t say all the right words in all the right ways using all the right Bible verses.
Bell is no fast food, arm-chair theologian, remember.
He’s a Bible geek whose experience with and understanding of the ancient Scriptures was one of the main reasons for his rise in the first place. This wasn’t a guy who skimmed the easy passages that most American pastors recycle as part of a limited Sunday morning, Smooth Jazz Jesus playlist. This wasn’t someone who preached from the cozy confines of the Creation story, or the Psalms, or the Sermon on the Mount.
This was the pastor who launched his megachurch’s first year by working line by line through Leviticus; possibly the most confounding, least user-friendly, most challenging Biblical book to make sense of in our modern culture. Definitely not something a novice would go near.
That’s the heart of the problem here. Rob Bell was and is, a bright, reasonable, thoughtful pastor, whose extensive exploration of the Scriptures, and whose life and ministry have yielded for him lots of questions, and some answers that far too many Christians just don’t want to deal with.
It isn’t as if he suddenly became less knowledgable about the Bible. It’s not as though he unlearned everything he ever knew about ancient Greek and Hebrew language. He didn’t become less intelligent or less creative or less authentic or less hungry for God.
He’s simply reached conclusions that he isn’t supposed to reach, and that really pisses off Church people.
Christian leaders, those in your buildings and outside their walls are more like Rob Bell than you may want them to be. They’re genuinely looking for God, and they aren’t afraid of the difficult questions as they search. They don’t run from the tension between what they read in the Bible and what they experience every day. They’re looking for a sturdy, useable faith that stands up to scrutiny, and a Church that allows space for grey and gives real grace in it.
They’re looking for a faith community that doesn’t dismiss and eliminate and destroy those whose conclusions don’t all line up neatly with the party line. They want to be part of a people who seek and wrestle and coexist, even in the questions.
They’re looking to find Jesus in the way we deal with one another.
I wonder what our response to Rob Bell is teaching them about us.
It’s probably not good.
I found this to be an interesting article and the responses as well. I agree that sadly many ‘professing Christians” are sadly the first to cast stones. That said, the saddest thing I saw in the responses were so many stopping at, “God is love.” Yes, God is love, but God is also just and a JEALOUS God. The salvation that everyone so freely speaks of was very expensive; it cost the life of God’s Son. So God DOES have the right to require certain thing of those who He allows into heaven. The biggest elephant in the room that is not being addressed is that YES there is a hell, but NO God does not send anyone there. NOT ONE PERSON. If anyone goes to hell it is because they CHOSE to go there by CHOOSING not to obey the Lord. You can question God all you want, He invites that, but the truth remains, there is a hell and YES people will go there. Remember it was never designed for people, but it will be the eternal housing of most people.
Now, I will admit that I do not know all the questions that Rob asked, but I do not need to know them all. If anything he said was counter to the Gospel, then he needed to be corrected; that is what the Word calls for. Paul says through the Holy Spirit: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:6-9) If Rob was saying there is no hell or people will not go there, then he needed to be corrected in love. Not to ridicule him, but to bring him back to the truth. As the Word says: “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)
Sadly from what Rob has gone on to preach, he has gone farther away from the Gospel. “I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles, and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other and just want to go through life with someone.” (Quote from Rob from the oprah winfery show.) This is counter to the Truth God has made plain for all to see. If Rob continues on this course, then the WORD says he is accursed, not Christians. GOD says it.
Sadly too many people are falling for the feel good, ooey-gooey gospel of love and forgetting the “FULL COUNSEL OF GOD” You cannot have the love of God without the justice. You cannot have heaven without hell. You cannot water down the Gospel to feel good about yourself and expect God to honor it. The life of His Son was far too precious for people to do it their own way. If their own way worked, then Jesus did not need to die. Remember, Jesus asked His Father, “If there is any other way…” There was NO OTHER way because we are to full of ourselves and to sinful from birth.
In the end, if the steps Jesus laid out were not followed with Rob, then mistakes were made. If these steps were followed, then everything falls on Rob. He, like ALL OF US, have the choice, God’s way, or our way which is CHOOSING hell. Hopefully, prayerfully he will see the error of his way and choose Christ and not self. He is breathing, so he has a chance if God has not handed him over to a reprobate mind.
If anyone finds Sean’s comments to be offensive and patently contrary to the Gospel of Christ, please know that you are not alone and that you are welcomed at many mainline churches. Check out the Epsicopal Church, ELCA, UCC, or a number of others. We do not embrace a literalist, condemnatory Christian faith. I have no intention of arguing with Sean or his colleagues, as I have found it “unhelpful”. Pax!
Thanks for the reminder that there are many mainline churches that do not preach what Sean believes. I, too, refused to engage with his response because I know it’s futile.
I am curious as to what part is contrary to the Word of God. If I am wrong, please show me. If, however, I am right, then it should help people to the only truth and that is of Jesus Christ, not of our own making. This is not an argument, but a discussion. if you cannot engage in a discussion of the Word of God, then you put yourself above correction, and therein lies a problem. Please show me through the Word of God, what is wrong with the statement above.
Just the fact that you equate “the Gospel of Christ” to “the Word of God” is bothersome. They are NOT the same thing at all. The Word of God is CHRIST Himself. The word of God is contained in the Bible, but is NOT the Bible. The Gospel of Christ is the “good news” that Christ brought us, specifically, that although all judgement has been given to Jesus, He says He did not come to judge us, but to rescue (save) us from our own misbegotten ideas about God (mostly propagated by religion, ie. the law of Moses). Also, that the Kingdom of God is established on earth, and can be found in the hearts of men enlightened by the Spirit and all that is necessary to be a part of it is to believe you are. There are NO rules or regulations or rituals (including any specific prayer) that is necessary for entrance. THAT is the gospel, and is it comes FROM the Word of God, Jesus, and is found IN the “word of God”, the Bible.
Any other ideas apart from these are the additions of religious and empirical systems attempting to usurp and subjugate the true gospel with a pale performance-based imitation based on the power and authoritarian structures of man.
Thank you for the response. Now We can talk as we have a base for your beliefs. I would like to address something you spoke in error though. I did NOT make a distinction between the Word of God and the gospel of Christ. That is SCRIPTURE that that call sit the gospel of Christ. Please help me to understand as it seems you are talking against the scriptures and denying their truth. Please remember that: “ALL Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) You say that Jesus is the Word of God correctly but say His word is not? 2 Timothy refutes that completely.
You speak of NO rules or regulations necessary for entrance. I do not understand where you get this as it is NOT in the Word of God. It was NEVER spoken by Jesus or His disciples. Please show me the book, chapter, and verses where the requirements/laws set down by God were negated. I can, however, show you that this line of thinking is incorrect: “Jesus said: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)
The Law STILL plies and always will. This is what Jesus said. You must remember that the Law was given to show that we could NOT keep it, and therefore needed a Savior. (Romans 5:20) The Law is still applicable to the believer, however, the penalty is not as we have fallen under grace. That grace, while freely given, is received through OBEDIENCE to God. Yes Jesus came not to judge, (then), but to show us the way out, however, that salvation DOES come at a cost us something. One example is Luke 12:33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” Jesus gives us many more. Before He left he left us with even more requirements:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Mathew 5 is full of Jesus upping the bar for believers in His statements saying, “You have heard said… But I tell you…?
The list goes on and on and is throughout the New Testament. To receive the grace and mercy of God, each individual MUST count the cost and forsake all for the high call of God. (Phil 3:14) As the Word of God clearly states over and over, it is not a once and done thing. We must “run the race” or as Jesus put it in Revelation: “To him who overcomes”. While salvation is a gift of God and cannot be attained by works, (Ephesians 2:8), you must still act to get it. It is like a will here on earth. When a father leaves an inheritance, the son has the choice to accept it or reject it. To accept it, they must sign the proper paperwork and take possession of the inheritance. So too is it with salvation. We did nothing to earn it, but to accept it we must sign on the dotted line with our lives and live for Christ. This is backed up by Jesus throughout the Gospels as he lays down the requirements for following Him. To ignore these is to your own detriment and is NOT sound gospel. It is a false gospel built upon lies and error.
Please do not think that Jesus will never judge you, He will. He will judge ALL men. (John 5:22, Romans 2:16, Romans 14:10) Also: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) There IS judgment coming for all and to say there is not preaches a false gospel and empowers people to walk in their flesh. Sin is still in the believer until the day he goes home to the Lord. Each day we must fight to live a life the Lord has called us to THROUGH the power of the Holy Spirit. It is NOT by our strength that we can do this, as the Scripture says: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) and “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
As for the rituals, you are correct. Sadly in the churches today there are many rituals that do take place that have no place in following God. Jesus spoke greatly against the Pharisees and their religion/ritual.
I hope you understand what the Word says here. If you do not agree, please show me through scripture where it is wrong.
Sean, don’t be worried you have spoken truth. The Word of God.
Matthew 7:13-14
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Bless you all,
Put the Truth on nr 1. Not what we want to be true.
Jesus “fulfilling the law” does not mean the law stands forever. It means it is “filled” (ie. completed, finished, surpassed, superseded (ie. the picture of the old wine skins bursting with new wine.). It is no longer NECESSARY. It is dead religion, that was USED to point to the true source of life, but contains NO life in and of itself.
Jesus “commandments” are not RULES to be followed (akin to the law), but changes in the attitudes of the heart, which cannot be manufactured by mere obedience. Jesus came to change how we THINK, not just how we ACT. Specifically how we think about God, ourselves and each other. All these need to be connected with the bonds of love, but the lies of religion break those bonds with shame, guilt and fear of punishment (condemnation – judgment). Jesus’ “judgement” was on the cross when He forgave EVERYONE of EVERYTHING. His judgement is DONE — it is FINISHED! If there is MORE judgement to be done, then our state really ISN’T decided and Jesus LIED! Religion wants to hang an air of uncertainty regarding our permanent state before God over our heads as a means to control us and our behavior (because we can’t be trusted to be “good” without it’s “help”). But Jesus says, “You have no need for any man to teach you” and to listen ONLY to the Spirit to lead you into “all truth”, not the rules written into a religious book thousand of years old. The “book” (the letter of the law) gives control over people, while the Spirit of life frees them.
I, personally, won’t go back to being under the thumb of religious leaders and constructs who try to confine the grace and love of God into boxes only meant for certain groups of people. I can only pray that your eyes are opened to the wider view of who God is that Jesus came to show us – a view much wider than what’s found in the pages of a book. Blessings.
Wonderful response -thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jesus “fulfilling the law” does not mean the law stands forever. It means it is “filled” (ie. completed, finished, surpassed, superseded (ie. the picture of the old wine skins bursting with new wine.). It is no longer NECESSARY. It is dead religion, that was USED to point to the true source of life, but contains NO life in and of itself.
Jesus “commandments” are not RULES to be followed (akin to the law), but changes in the attitudes of the heart, which cannot be manufactured by mere obedience. Jesus came to change how we THINK, not just how we ACT. Specifically how we think about God, ourselves and each other. All these need to be connected with the bonds of love, but the lies of religion break those bonds with shame, guilt and fear of punishment (condemnation – judgment). Jesus’ “judgement” was on the cross when He forgave EVERYONE of EVERYTHING. His judgement is DONE — it is FINISHED! If there is MORE judgement to be done, then our state really ISN’T decided and Jesus LIED! Religion wants to hang an air of uncertainty regarding our permanent state before God over our heads as a means to control us and our behavior (because we can’t be trusted to be “good” without it’s “help”). But Jesus says, “You have no need for any man to teach you” and to listen ONLY to the Spirit to lead you into “all truth”, not the rules written into a religious book thousand of years old. The “book” (the letter of the law) gives control over people, while the Spirit of life frees them.
I, personally, won’t go back to being under the thumb of religious leaders and constructs who try to confine the grace and love of God into boxes only meant for certain groups of people. I can only pray that your eyes are opened to the wider view of who God is that Jesus came to show us – a view much wider than what’s found in the pages of a book. Blessings.
John, please remove this comment. I “replied” to another comment in the wrong box accidentally. Thanks.
For me, an unquestioned faith is no faith at all. Too many people and churches have confined themselves and God to extremely confining theological boxes. The dialect of an inquisitive faith is like a box cutter that frees the soul.
For me, an unquestioned faith is no faith at all. Too many people and churches have confined themselves and God to extremely confining theological boxes. The dialectic of an inquisitive faith is like a box cutter that frees the soul.
Personally, I’ve gone from orthodox evangelical to Neo-Gnostic after discovering Edgar Cayce’s Readings. Ken Wilber’s Integral approach, ACIM, and Rene Girard’s Mimetic philosophy. I always got hung up on Penal Substitution as the go to on atonement. It just seems like such a barbaric and tribalistic (even canabalistic) blood rite. Girard and ACIM helped me see the crucifixion differently.
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There are far too many comments to have read them all. I’m assuming that similar thoughts to mine have been expressed, in which case excuse me for being verbose/redundant. Also, I realise that this article was written long ago, but it was recently posted on Facebook, and I’d like to share here the comment I shared on FB:
To lead a group of believers is a tremendous responsibility, and no small or easy task. Not only are there personal issues of treating people well and caring for their well-being, not offending them, not upsetting them, and keeping them united – there’s also the doctrinal responsibility of helping to keep them on track spiritually.
Within Christianity, there is freedom to ask questions, any questions, investigate theories, discover, uncover, recover and debate on all aspects of theology, doctrine and theories. There are appropriate ways to do this, personally, even publicly.
In fact, you are allowed to leave the faith, to follow your own path, even if you so desire, to a path of destruction (in extreme cases). However, your freedom is never meant to be a tool to unhinge others.
When you are given the mandate to look after a group of people and care for them, it is irresponsible to lead them through a wild journey of your own personal discovery. In a position of leadership, you ought to be accountable to elders, other leaders and people who speak into your life. This is for the good of the people you are leading, for their protection, and for yours.
I have watched many debates and discussions with Rob Bell. He might have a different stance now, but at that stage he was resolute about challenging things the church hold dear, and hold dear for good biblical reasons. He also seemed to have a very low view on the authority of scripture. With that kind of view, the whole protestant foundation (by scripture alone, by faith alone, by grace alone) set at the reformation begins to unravel, and what is there to be put in it’s place? Well, pretty much anything Bell decides. That might be fine for his supporters. It might also be fine for other faiths that deviate from biblical Christianity (such as the JW’s or the Mormons), but just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should. And just because you think you’re right doesn’t mean you are.
Simply put – you either hold a biblical view or you don’t. If you don’t: be simple and clear about it. Don’t be surprised if orthodox churches call you out on it. Don’t be upset. After all, rejecting outright the authority of scripture means pretty much that you’re delivering the accusation “did God really say…?”. The church is simply responding to that, clarifying the divide that you have put in place. You are free to continue in it – but to expect the church to encourage and support that isn’t realistic or fair.
I had to do a double take at your praise of this guy, because I’d never heard anything but homophobia and sexism coming out of Mars Hill- until I looked up that Mars Hill *Bible* Church is very different from the Pacific Northwest’s Mars Hill Church- and that made much more sense.
One of the things I found very puzzling a number of years ago was that when I did my own research on the subject of “hell” and realized it doesn’t come from the bible… I thought, “Golly, if people knew that they didn’t have to fear hell! Just think how happy they will be!”.
What I found out was… people WANT to believe in hell. I sat in a bible study on heaven once, where one person was looking forward to getting to heaven and being able to gaze upon those suffering in hell, and enjoying his crown and mansion and gold streets….
For me, it eventually led to me leaving the church, because after I educated myself on Hebrew, and Jewish history, and the scriptures, and history… I found I could not “believe” in what I’d been taught I had to believe “or I’d go to hell”.
I got freed.
Yet, many choose to believe that a Loving G-d will somehow torture FOREVER someone who does not “believe” the right things.
That’s a G-d I cannot understand, nor would I choose to serve (at least not now that I realize I have a choice in the matter that doesn’t end with said torture).
People apparently don’t want “the good news of the gospel”, wherein we are responsible for our neighbor, and are our brothers’ keeper, and should be doing unto others…. what is really wanted is to be “right”. “I had the right beliefs (but maybe not the right actions, but I can be forgiven although that poor sucker who was born in another country won’t be given the same chance)… the right beliefs will earn me a spot in heaven. (And don’t talk to me about works because it’s beliefs that get you to heaven not right actions).
Even though the bible clearly says all kinds of things to the contrary.
John (and Rob),
Thank you for helping the church frame the very questions its 21st century position in culture demands.
I choose to remain in the church, albeit in a “lover’s quarrel” relationship. Rob helps me stay alive to the questions. I am also a professor of religion, and Rob’s questions are the very ones that most engage my students’ minds as they seek to be the most -faithful Jesus people they can be.
A Holocaust survivor once told me, “If you don’t ask questions, you’re asking for trouble.” Thank you for helping us formulate such questions that will keep us out of trouble.
I am sure that Martin Luther was a kind of “Rob Bell” for his day.
I loved his videos and still do. I don’t see why we can’t have a healthy debate over scripture.
I’m late to the discussion, but after seeing your article at RELEVANT I thought I might add a few thoughts. Here they be…
I hoped as I read your critique of the critiques of others that you might get specific…not about names but about the substance of the debates. Instead, from top to bottom, you pretty much just said the same thing over and over: bad on others for calling out Rob Bell. I’ve read some of those critiques. Reading them, I had opportunities to consider “this vs. that.” You might have had an opportunity (to persuade me to at least consider your only point), but you failed to even get close to achievement since you also failed to help your readers know “why” the critiques of Rob Bell are, in your mind, so egregious. As a result, your article just isn’t RELEVANT to the discussion. So write another article. Politely defend your position, because just claiming Christians shoot their own isn’t helpful.
John,
If Rob Bell is a heretic then questions are heretical.
I came forward as a 13-year-old to accept Christ not because I saw something in him I liked but for fear of going to hell. Many years later, after a 25-year journey through hell here on earth (death of my 5-year-old son, both younger siblings, debilitation injury, business bankruptcy, divorce, etc.) I finally found the Christ I could not resist following. A Christ whose questions opened my eyes to the freedoms and possibilities great questions provide.
It seems to me God placed within Rob Bell a deep thirst for understanding and an uncanny ability to not only ask questions no one is asking but to keep asking in spite of the vitriol and persecution.
Some of his conclusions make me go hmm… while others resonate so deeply in my soul I have no trouble accepting them as my own. So much so I have to remind myself there are questions that remain underneath my own conclusions.
Conclusion: Having read the bible many time as well as hundreds of books by a diverse group of religious authors I am left with one conclusion: Love Wins.