Rob Bell's Emotional "Push-back"

In the link below Bell talks to the Washington Post about being misunderstood. While my heart goes out to him in his pain and frustration, two points come to mind:

1. The way his book was advertised was asking for controversy. I think Bell didn't think so many people would disagree with him. We can all be guilty of assuming that most Christians think just like us.

2. He seems to caricature his opponents (even in the video) as those who do not love, and who have no fruit... this too is slander. Not all but many who have reviewed his book have done so professionally and out of genuine concern.

Anyone who has served in pastoral ministry knows how it feels to be the object of criticism (I've been there). My prayer is that Rob comes to see the error of his assertions (posing leading questions while making the other side seem unbelievable is the same thing as making an assertion) and is consequently recieved and encouraged by Christians who are now showing him tough love.

These are just some brief thoughts from watching the video. Watch it and leave some of your own.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/divine-impulses-rob-bell-on-being-called-a-heretic/2011/03/29/AFJIL4uB_video.html

For reviews of Love Wins see "Love Wins Reviewed" below.

"Love Wins" Reviewed (Updated)

Rob Bell's new book has been keeping bloggers up late. Here are some reviews of the book by people who have read it. Feel free to leave your comments below.

Tim Challies (Author, Book Editor)
http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/love-wins-a-review-of-rob-bells-new-book#

Kevin DeYoung (Pastor, Author)
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/03/14/rob-bell-love-wins-review/

Trevin Wax (Author, Book Reviewer) - this one is more about the evangelical reaction
http://trevinwax.com/2011/03/15/rob-bell-love-wins-taking-evangelicalisms-temperature/

Greg Boyd (Theologian, Pastor)
http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/rob-bell-is-not-a-universalist-and-i-actually-read-love-wins/

Richard Mouw (President of Fuller Theological Seminary)
http://www.netbloghost.com/mouw/?p=188

Ben Witherington (NT Scholar)
http://www.patheos.com/community/bibleandculture/2011/03/16/hell-no/

http://www.patheos.com/community/bibleandculture/2011/03/23/do-not-ask-for-whom-the-bell-tolls-a-chapter-by-chapter-review-of-love-wins/ (Witherington is writing a post for each chapter...this might be the most thorough review online. Be sure to read them all)
Darrel Bock (NT Scholar) (7 Part Series)
http://blogs.bible.org/bock/darrell_l._bock/rob_bell_on_heaven

Christianity Today (Book Review: Rob Bell's Bridge Too Far)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/april/lovewins.html

CNN Talks about Zondervan's parting ways with Rob Bell
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/08/firestorm-over-bell-book-continues/

D.A. Carson (N.T. Scholar) (his thoughts from the Gospel Coalition Conference)
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/god-abounding-in-love-punishing-the-guilty
                               Click below for MP3
http://tgc-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/2011-conference/sessioncarson_lovewins.mp3

Mark Driscoll (Pastor, Author)
http://theresurgence.com/2011/03/14/to-hell-with-hell
 
Scot McKnight's article in Relevant Magazine
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/24878-universalism-and-the-doctrine-of-rob-bell

John Byron (NT Scholar) (5 Part Series)
http://thebiblicalworld.blogspot.com/2011/03/love-wins-my-thoughts-on-attempt-at.html

Al Mohler (President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) (2 Part Series)
http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/03/08/doing-away-with-hell-part-one/

Timothy Tennent (President of Asbury Theological Seminary)(4 Part Series)
http://timothytennent.com/2011/03/love-wins-part-one-why-rob-bell-needs-to-return-to-seminary%E2%80%A6-and-bring-along-quite-a-few-contemporary-evangelical-pastors/

Scot McKnight (NT Scholar) (9 Part Series)
http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2011/04/01/exploring-love-wins-1/

Michael Horton (Theologian) (9 Part Series)
http://wscal.edu/blog/entry/bells-hell-a-review-by-michael-horton-part-1

Micahel Bird (NT Scholar and Blogger) (5 part series so far)
http://euangelizomai.blogspot.com/2011/03/ok.html

Tim Keller: The Importance of Hell

I think this article from Tim Keller (author of Prodigal God & Reason For God) is an important contribution to the contemporary discussion on hell. Here is a snippit...click the link below for the rest

"In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together. Jesus speaks of "eternal fire and punishment" as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the "fire of hell" (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for 'hell' is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to "hell [gehenna], where 'their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' " Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why 'their worm does not die.'

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He is speaking to disciples, some of whom will eventually be tortured, sawn in half, flayed and burned alive. Yet, he says, that is a picnic compared to hell. Clearly, for Jesus hell was a real place, since he said that after judgment day people would experience it in their bodies. Hell is a place not only of physical but also of spiritual misery.

Jesus constantly depicted hell as painful fire and "outer darkness" (Matt 25:30; cf. Jude 6,7,13,) a place of unimaginably terrible misery and unhappiness. If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth. But why was it so important to Jesus?"

Read the Rest here...
http://www.redeemer.com/news_and_events/articles/the_importance_of_hell.html

What's going on with Rob Bell?

The following is a blog posted by Justin Taylor. I want to make it clear out of the gate that I'm not endorsing what it says and we have to use caution when it comes to speculating on a book that has not been released. However, I felt the promotional video put out enough of a vibe that Christians should be pricking up their ears, considering the deep level of influence that Bell has. So use your judgement when reading the blog and watching the video and I guess we'll see how it pans out when the book is released.

"John Piper once wisely wrote, 'Bad theology dishonors God and hurts people. Churches that sever the root of truth may flourish for a season, but they will wither eventually or turn into something besides a Christian church.'

It is unspeakably sad when those called to be ministers of the Word distort the gospel and deceive the people of God with false doctrine.But it is better for those teaching false doctrine to put their cards on the table (a la Brian McLaren) rather than remaining studiously ambiguous in terminology.
So on that level, I’m glad that Rob Bell has the integrity to lay his cards on the table about universalism. It seems that this is not just optimism about the fate of those who haven’t heard the Good News, but (as it seems from below) full-blown hell-is-empty-everyone-gets-saved universalism..."
Read the rest here...
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/


LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.


Here are some more links...

http://trevinwax.com/2011/02/27/rob-bell-and-the-judgmentless-gospel/

http://www.dennyburk.com/rob-bell-outs-himself/