My Opinion: LOVE WINS by Rob Bell

     [On December 26, 2011 and January 1, 2012, I'm going to be running my two top viewed posts for 2011. I hope you enjoy these once again--or for the first time.

       I'm pleased that today’s blog, which I first posted in April, was highly read. It's my take on Rob Bell's controversial book LOVE WINS. ME]

        

            I tell you—I want to believe it. I think millions of Christians DO believe it.

            “It” is what Rob Bell has written in his latest book, LOVE WINS. If you watch news shows like GOOD MORNING AMERICA or watch news channels such as MSNBC, you may have seen Bell interviewed the past month.

            Rob Bell, in case you don’t know, is a very popular preacher out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the creator of the NOOMA videos, which are extremely popular in mainstream Christianity. Bell has also written some bestseller books. SEX GOD is one of the best treatments of the subject of sexuality I have ever read.

            If Rob Bell had stopped after the first 93 pages of LOVE Wins, I have a feeling there would be no fuss. Most of those pages are things he has already said, and he makes some very good points. For example: the way Christians, and I am using the term loosely, often come across so negatively to nonbelievers, is lamentable. Research continues to bear this out.

             In chapters two and three, Bell does an excellent job of channeling great thinkers such as C. S. Lewis and N. T. Wright, in explaining how heaven and hell don’t begin in the life to come—they begin today.

            My one negative critique of chapter three is, Bell invested an enormous amount of stock in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, seeing it as an indicator of what life will be like in the age to come. I, personally, believe that parable is more of an explanation of Jesus’ attitude toward the poor. To be fair, many others join Bell in using the parable in this way.

            Bell accurately points out how little the word “hell” is used in Scripture. This can be misleading. The concept of judgment is found throughout the Bible, culminating in the book of Revelation. I join the majority of Christendom as seeing these references as signs pointing to an ultimate eternal separation from God for many.

             In Bell’s weakest moments, he pulls a number of judgment passages out of context, seemingly having them argue that God will offer mercy, redemption, and restoration to those recipients of judgment in scripture. He seizes upon the parts of Scripture that are ambiguous about the afterlife and combines them into a view that God will save everyone, or almost everyone, ultimately. To put it succinctly, God's love will change, virtually, everyone on the other side of death into a follower of Jesus.

            I need to be careful here. I follow where Bell is going with some of the Old Testament examples. I get his point that God’s earthly judgment, for example, with the Israelites, does not mean they will be banished to hell forever. Nevertheless, I see it as going beyond the scope of biblical revelation to say this is the prototype for how God will relate to every human in the after life.

            Again I say, if God so chooses—great! Who am I to judge? (I’m sorry… that last sentence made me crack up. :) ) However, this does not seem to square with the way God seeks to portray himself in scripture. It is almost like Bell is saying—I know this is what the Bible says about the character of God, but I want you to know, he does not mean it.

            I've got to admit; it sounds awfully good. But here is the problem: the overwhelming essence of Scripture attests to a coming judgment, where some will be saved and many will be lost. The character of God revealed in Scripture seems to support this understanding as well.

            Herein lies part of the problem with Bell in this book. Bell, like many of this age, has focused on love of God—to the extreme. God's holiness, God's justice, and God's anger take second place. He is more balance in this book than I thought he would be, but this is faint praise. I found something that Tim Archer, of HERALD OF TRUTH, wrote last week, which applies well here, “More often than not, we choose not to believe in God or some aspect of God’s nature because of our own wishes and desires, the way we wish things were.”

            I saw LOVE WINS coming a few years ago, when I saw Bell’s video THE GOD’S AREN’T ANGRY. That video was another masterful work, but it also put God in a box. It connected the concept of God's wrath to the needs of ancient peoples, who visualized their deities as angry, wrathful, and demanding of appeasement.

            Bell converted the wrath of God into a metaphor designed to address the fears and beliefs of ancient peoples. It was almost as if he was saying, “We’re past that now. Civilization has grown up.” Again, his is not the only voice that says this. Many in Christianity feel the same way. Bell has simply articulated these views to a new generation, in a powerful and engaging way.

            Frankly, it’s not fun to disagree with Bell. To do so, sometimes, comes across as the equivalent of stereotypical old man, sitting in a lawn chair wearing shorts, dark socks, and dress shoes shouting, “You kids get off my lawn!”

            I read LOVE WINS with the impression, he was seeking to find a way to package the Gospel, to make it more palatable for unchurched people. This I can understand, because so many unchurched people hate Christians. Consequently, I see Bell's message here “selling” well.

            Not everyone in the secular world seems to be buying it though. Journalist Martin Bashir zeroed in on Bell in a recent interview on MSNBC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjAdRJZib3Q Bashir pointedly and repeatedly asked, if what Bell wrote is true, was not Jesus irrelevant?

            I saw the interview, before I read the book, and thought Bashir was sharp and perceptive. After reading the book, I found Bashir’s “questioning” to be unfair and inaccurate. Frankly, I wondered if he had read the book, or if he was instead relying on reading summaries provided by his staff.

            Bell very much comes across as supporting the idea, Jesus is the only way. In LOVE WINS, it is Christ's work and love, which ultimately point to salvation. Any Hindu, Muslim, Jew, unchurched person, or anyone else, will find salvation only through Jesus. What Bell does is offer them the hope of finding salvation after death.

            At some point, Bell believes, even the hardest of hard-hearted sinners will turn to God—because of God's relentless love. To put it in a sound bite, Bell is saying you can surrender to Jesus now—or surrender to him later, but you WILL ultimately surrender to him.

            The idea conveyed is, in the afterlife, lots and lots of people are going to be enjoying life with God. Those who continue to reject Jesus, will be on the outside looking in—a self-imposed exile. Sooner or later, they are going to give it up and join the party.

            At the end of the book, Bell writes, if the reader wants more on hell, to consult C. S. Lewis’ THE GREAT DIVORCE. Having been a few years since I read that book, I did consult it.

            I found a number of passages I had underlined in Lewis’ book. The more I skimmed it, the more I realized Bell’s view of hell in the eternity sounded similar to Lewis’ view. Lewis did not get into near as much trouble, perhaps, because he expressed his thoughts in the form of a fictional story.

            Bell offers a scriptural Jesus, the Son of God in skin, who happened to also live the perfect human life. And if, you choose to love Jesus now, you'll enjoy the abundant life of knowing Him now. God’s reign, “heaven”, is expanded a little more on earth.

            I’m reading where some Christian leaders are wanting to disfellowship Rob Bell. (Of course, they don’t want to disfellowship C. S. Lewis. Maybe it’s because years ago, Chuck Colson said C. S. Lewis was okay with him.)

            Beware. If they do, they are going to have to disfellowship half of Christendom. The dirty little secret is a lot of people in the pews believe the same thing as Rob Bell—God is going to save most, if not all, people. 

            I suggest they not worry so much about Rob Bell. He has a high view of Jesus and of sharing good news about Jesus. He affirms the saving work of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. A lot of people in our pews don’t believe, on an emotional level, even that. Perhaps, that is what we first address.

            Obviously, I don’t have all of the answers on hell. I gave it my best shot for my church yesterday morning in a sermon I called—not jokes please—“Why Hell?” (I just finished an overview of the book of Revelation; I thought I could relax by taking on a popular subject.  J) All modesty aside, I am grateful that the sermon was well received, and you are welcome to listen to it by clicking on this link: http://srmp3.kentdavis.com/04-03-11am.mp3 Meanwhile, I’ll keep attempting to grow.

My Opinion: LOVE WINS by Rob Bell

(I had to edit this post--again! I could not live with myself without doing so. 

Sorry: April 20, 2011)

             I tell you—I want to believe it. I think millions of Christians DO believe it.

            “It” is what Rob Bell has written in his latest book, LOVE WINS. If you watch news shows like GOOD MORNING AMERICA or watch news channels such as MSNBC, you may have seen Bell interviewed the past month.

            Rob Bell, in case you don’t know, is a very popular preacher out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the creator of the NOOMA videos, which are extremely popular in mainstream Christianity. Bell has also written some bestseller books. SEX GOD is one of the best treatments of the subject of sexuality I have ever read.

            If Rob Bell had stopped after the first 93 pages of LOVE Wins, I have a feeling there would be no fuss. Most of those pages are things he has already said, and he makes some very good points. For example: the way Christians, and I am using the term loosely, often come across so negatively to nonbelievers, is lamentable. Research continues to bear this out.

             In chapters two and three, Bell does an excellent job of channeling great thinkers such as C. S. Lewis and N. T. Wright, in explaining how heaven and hell don’t begin in the life to come—they begin today.

            My one negative critique of chapter three is, Bell invested an enormous amount of stock in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, seeing it as an indicator of what life will be like in the age to come. I, personally, believe that parable is more of an explanation of Jesus’ attitude toward the poor. To be fair, many others join Bell in using the parable in this way.

            Bell accurately points out how little the word “hell” is used in Scripture. This can be misleading. The concept of judgment is found throughout the Bible, culminating in the book of Revelation. I join the majority of Christendom as seeing these references as signs pointing to an ultimate eternal separation from God for many.

             In Bell’s weakest moments, he pulls a number of judgment passages out of context, seemingly having them argue that God will offer mercy, redemption, and restoration to those recipients of judgment in scripture. He seizes upon the parts of Scripture that are ambiguous about the afterlife and combines them into a view that God will save everyone, or almost everyone, ultimately. To put it succinctly, God's love will change, virtually, everyone on the other side of death into a follower of Jesus.

            I need to be careful here. I follow where Bell is going with some of the Old Testament examples. I get his point that God’s earthly judgment, for example, with the Israelites, does mean they will be banished to hell forever. Nevertheless, I see it as going beyond the scope of biblical revelation to say this is the prototype for how God will relate to every human in the after life.

            Again I say, if God so chooses—great! Who am I to judge? (I’m sorry… that last sentence made me crack up. J) However, this does not seem to square with the way God seeks to portray himself in scripture. It is almost like Bell is saying—I know this is what the Bible says about the character of God, but I want you to know, he does not mean it.

            I've got to admit; it sounds awfully good. But here is the problem: the overwhelming essence of Scripture attests to a coming judgment, where some will be saved and many will be lost. The character of God revealed in Scripture seems to support this understanding as well.

            Herein lies part of the problem with Bell in this book. Bell, like many of this age, has focused on love of God—to the extreme. God's holiness, God's justice, and God's anger take second place. He is more balance in this book than I thought he would be, but this is faint praise. I found something that Tim Archer, of HERALD OF TRUTH, wrote last week, which applies well here, “More often than not, we choose not to believe in God or some aspect of God’s nature because of our own wishes and desires, the way we wish things were.”

            I saw LOVE WINS coming a few years ago, when I saw Bell’s video THE GOD’S AREN’T ANGRY. That video was another masterful work, but it also put God in a box. It connected the concept of God's wrath to the needs of ancient peoples, who visualized their deities as angry, wrathful, and demanding of appeasement.

            Bell converted the wrath of God into a metaphor designed to address the fears and beliefs of ancient peoples. It was almost as if he was saying, “We’re past that now. Civilization has grown up.” Again, his is not the only voice that says this. Many in Christianity feel the same way. Bell has simply articulated these views to a new generation, in a powerful and engaging way.

            Frankly, it’s not fun to disagree with Bell. To do so, sometimes, comes across as the equivalent of stereotypical old man, sitting in a lawn chair wearing shorts, dark socks, and dress shoes shouting, “You kids get off my lawn!”

            I read LOVE WINS with the impression, he was seeking to find a way to package the Gospel, to make it more palatable for unchurched people. This I can understand, because so many unchurched people hate Christians. Consequently, I see Bell's message here “selling” well.

            Not everyone in the secular world seems to be buying it though. Journalist Martin Bashir zeroed in on Bell in a recent interview on MSNBC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjAdRJZib3Q Bashir pointedly and repeatedly asked, if what Bell wrote is true, was not Jesus irrelevant?

            I saw the interview, before I read the book, and thought Bashir was sharp and perceptive. After reading the book, I found Bashir’s “questioning” to be unfair and inaccurate. Frankly, I wondered if he had read the book, or if he was instead relying on reading summaries provided by his staff.

            Bell very much comes across as supporting the idea, Jesus is the only way. In LOVE WINS, it is Christ's work and love, which ultimately point to salvation. Any Hindu, Muslim, Jew, unchurched person, or anyone else, will find salvation only through Jesus. What Bell does is offer them the hope of finding salvation after death.

            At some point, Bell believes, even the hardest of hard-hearted sinners will turn to God—because of God's relentless love. To put it in a sound bite, Bell is saying you can surrender to Jesus now—or surrender to him later, but you WILL ultimately surrender to him.

            The idea conveyed is, in the afterlife, lots and lots of people are going to be enjoying life with God. Those who continue to reject Jesus, will be on the outside looking in—a self-imposed exile. Sooner or later, they are going to give it up and join the party.

            At the end of the book, Bell writes, if the reader wants more on hell, to consult C. S. Lewis’ THE GREAT DIVORCE. Having been a few years since I read that book, I did consult it.

            I found a number of passages I had underlined in Lewis’ book. The more I skimmed it, the more I realized Bell’s view of hell in the eternity sounded similar to Lewis’ view. Lewis did not get into near as much trouble, perhaps, because he expressed his thoughts in the form of a fictional story.

            Bell offers a scriptural Jesus, the Son of God in skin, who happened to also live the perfect human life. And if, you choose to love Jesus now, you'll enjoy the abundant life of knowing Him now. God’s reign, “heaven”, is expanded a little more on earth.

            I’m reading where some Christian leaders are wanting to disfellowship Rob Bell. (Of course, they don’t want to disfellowship C. S. Lewis. Maybe it’s because years ago, Chuck Colson said C. S. Lewis was okay with him.)

            Beware. If they do, they are going to have to disfellowship half of Christendom. The dirty little secret is a lot of people in the pews believe the same thing as Rob Bell—God is going to save most, if not all, people. 

            I suggest they not worry so much about Rob Bell. He has a high view of Jesus and of sharing good news about Jesus. He affirms the saving work of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. A lot of people in our pews don’t believe, on an emotional level, even that. Perhaps, that is what we first address.

            Obviously, I don’t have all of the answers on hell. I gave it my best shot for my church yesterday morning in a sermon I called—not jokes please—“Why Hell?” (I just finished an overview of the book of Revelation; I thought I could relax by taking on a popular subject.  J) All modesty aside, I am grateful that the sermon was well received, and you are welcome to listen to it by clicking on this link: http://srmp3.kentdavis.com/04-03-11am.mp3 Meanwhile, I’ll keep attempting to grow.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Two good games in the men’s Final Four on Saturday. I’m sticking with my prediction of Connecticut to win the National Championship tonight.

2. Two fantastic girls’ games last night. Way to go A & M! I’m picking the Aggies on Tuesday night.

3. Way to go Texas Rangers—way to sweep the Red Sox!

4. I think GLEE is channeling humanity’s deep, instinctive desire for community, love, and acceptance. It offers a watered down imitation of the experience church should offer.

5. I’m finishing up the book MOON SHOT by former Mercury Astronauts Alan Shepherd and Deke Slayton.  A great read about the NASA space program—through Apollo. I saw the documentary years ago in Argentina; it was good too.

Heavenly CPS

            I want you to imagine a nightmare scenario. Imagine Judy and me adding a baby to our repertoire of four kids! (If you don’t know me, I’m fifty, Judy is … well, Judy is my wife, and we have four kids ranging in age from 8-17.)

            Now, picture Judy and me placing the bulk of our attention on our oldest daughter, who is a high school senior. We dialogue with her constantly, listen to her every whim or complaint. We do all we can to make sure she is happy and doesn’t rebel and leave our family.

            Meanwhile, after the initial excitement over the birth of our baby, we pay less and less attention to it. Even though some attention to our oldest daughter is important (helping her in her transition to college, for example), logically, we should understand she has entered a state of maturity that demands less concentration. Instead, one would think it essential to demonstrate more care and concern for the baby than our oldest—or even our other three children.

            All humor aside, I want you to picture in your mind something truly awful. Let’s say Judy and I neglect our baby so much, the child becomes malnourished or even terribly ill. Unfortunately, since we are so occupied with the desires and concerns of our oldest, we neglect our baby.

            Granted, it is easier to minister to our oldest child in a lot of ways. One would be communication. Our daughter can tell us how she is thinking and feeling. Indeed, she has the confidence to seek us out.

            Babies, as you know, can’t communicate well. Sometimes something can be wrong with them, and the parents have a difficult time diagnosing the problem.

            To society, however, there are no excuses. If Judy and I neglect our baby and the symptoms began to show, CPS will come calling.

            Here is my point—inspired by months of study in the book of REVELATION. Too often in churches, we preachers (and I definitely am including myself), elders, staff, ministry leaders, and members, place the bulk of our attention on the “older children” of the church. I don’t mean senior citizens; I mean those who have been in Christ for a number of years.

            We focus our sermons on the mature Christians. We plan our worship according to what mature Christians are thinking. We listen to mature Christians, who seek us out to give opinions and feedback. We organize our congregational families around the needs, and wants of mature Christians. Meanwhile, too many of us are not paying enough attention to the spiritual babies.

            I am glad there is no Heavenly CPS. Can you imagine? Heavenly case workers taking neglected spiritual babies from one spiritual home and placing them in another—offering someone else a chance to give them the nurturing and care they need. 

            Or, maybe there is. Maybe that is where all the spiritual babies have gone.

            Maybe that is why so many of our churches are spiritually infertile.

            Excuse me, I haven’t heard anything from my spiritual baby in a while; I need to go check and see if everything is okay.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I am ashamed to say I have still not gone out and purchased the new Rob Bell book. I’ve got to do that this week--and read it.

2. Saturday was the day I sprayed the house and yard for bugs—always an ordeal. But I did get to catch the end of the Pittsburgh-Butler game to see who advances to the Sweet 16. What a finish! I’ve never seen a guy foul underneath his own goal, after a free throw, with virtually not time left. I have a feeling we are going to hear the name of Brad Stevens this time every year when major schools are looking to hire a new coach. Butler has 4200 students. Amazing.

3. With Netflix’s growing instant play library, I’m starting to wonder why I keep so many DVDs around. 

4. I finally got around to reading last month's TIME Magazine’s cover story on the young generation of leaders seeking freedom in the Middle East. Maybe this is a time to be truly optimistic about the future there.

5. Congratulations to Diann Preston’s ETCA girls basketball team for yet another honor. My daughter, Haleigh, joined Samantha Phillips in making First Team on the TAPPS All-State Basketball Team. Jenny Munoz was selected to the Second Team. Hayley Robertson was named as an Honorable Mention. Samantha, Jenny, and Hayley Robertson are all juniors and will return next year. If I may indulge in a little parental pride, I have been grateful to see Haleigh named to First Team All-State in both volleyball and basketball this year.

Prayer

            Recently, someone in my congregation asked me to preach on prayer. In my sermon prep, I came to an interesting conclusion. The older I get, the more I value accessing God, and the less I value asking God.

            I still believe in asking God—don’t get me wrong. I’m not a legalist—like the single girl in the old story, who really wanted to get married. She was afraid to ask the Lord directly for a husband, so she prayed, “Oh, Lord, I would never be so presumptuous as to ask you for a husband; however, my mother would sure love to have a son-in-law...”

            One reason for this is, I have come to another conclusion: I believe the Bible is just as much a book about prayers answered “no” as it is about prayers answered “yes.”

            Captives of Israel and Judah sent up a lot of prayers to God, asking that He rescue them from exile. Many died with God’s answer being, no. 

            For centuries, before Jesus, many Jews beseeched God to give them a Messiah to drive out the Romans. God answered, no.

            Paul asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh. God answered, no.

            My favorite, though, is Jesus’ prayer to be spared the cross. God answered, no.

            I have lived enough to see some of my requests answered “no” by God, and I realize how blessed I am that he did not grant my request. This has given me more confidence in God and His work. (As if He needed that!)

            Slowly, almost imperceptibly, I find myself looking for where God is working. I find myself asking God that He reveal where He is working and allow me to be a part of it.

            I still make personal requests of God. But, I value more asking God for you, because I see Jesus doing that a lot in Scripture.

            One last thought. A few years ago, Mark E. Thibodeaux, in his book, THE ARMCHAIR MYSTIC, wrote something that ministered to me greatly. He classified four stages of prayer:

            Talking at God

            Talking to God

            Listening to God

            Being with God

            I have come to appreciate the “Being with God” stage. Not all prayer is asking. 

           “Be still and know that I am God.”

  

            Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. My friend, Patrick Leech, sent me a link this week to an article announcing Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived.

            The author of the article summarized Bell to say some things that are out of the realm of traditional Christian teaching. However, the actual quotes of Bell posted in the article did not support the writer’s summary.

            I have seen enough of these to know that, sometimes, critics select quotes, out of context, to support their bias or to generate news. I think I will reserve opinion until I read the book.

            One thing is for sure; it should be an interesting read.            

2. I saw a hilarious spoof of the Beatles’ story last week. Co-written by Monty Python’s, Eric Idle, it was a movie, broadcast on NBC in 1978. The title was THE RUTLES: ALL YOU NEED IS CASH. I actually watched its original airing and remember cracking up. I found the DVD on NETFLIX last week and enjoyed it, probably more, the second time.

3. No way I’m picking the FINAL FOUR—yet.

4. Judy, Haleigh, and I saw a fascinating documentary last night. It was part of ESPN’s THIRTY FOR THIRTY series. Called FAB FIVE, it chronicled the story of the five freshmen, who started for the University of Michigan basketball team in 1991-92.

            It was totally enthralling. I, especially, was fascinated at how the documentary detailed the Fab Five's blending of hip-hop and popular culture.

            Warning, I am biased. I like a world that is not only safe for bald men, but also one that encourages shaved heads as a legitimate hairstyle. The Fab Five helped make this happen. Moreover, they were the ones that brought modest shorts to the youth. As one fellow said in the program, “Before the Fab Five, men looked they were playing basketball in panties.” Amen. Thanks, Fab Five.

5. God bless the people in Japan. The planet earth can be a fragile place.