Lets Freak out about Rob Bell!

Run for the hills! Rob Bell is heretical! Ahhhhh!!!

If you have not followed the story, famed pastor, speaker, author, and Nooma guru has a new book coming out entitled, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. A few chapters were released to a few bloggers and writers.

Those who have read the incomplete manuscript resolve that Rob Bell is a heretic  and his career is over. The claims have ranged from he is an Universalist or he is the devil.

Here is the video that is causing the stir

Let’s all freak out about Rob Bell!

Folks, Bell has always been on the edge of Christianity and that is a good thing.  More on that later. I have not read the book or seen the pre-released chapters, but let’s not jump to conclusions like some other big time Christian figures, authors, and pastors.  Check out their comments:

Mega church pastor and author John Piper tweeted,

“Farewell Rob Bell. http://dsr.gd/fZqmd8” linking to a post that rips Bell.

Covenant Life Church pastor and author Josh Harris said,

“There’s nothing loving about preaching a false gospel. This breaks my heart. Praying for Rob Bell. http://bit.ly/gsE4Gl”

Harris has explained his tweet on his blog.  Obviously, Harris got some push back.  Both Harris and Piper have not read the book but saw a promotion video. Justin Taylor, vice president of editorial at Crossway wrote a blog about the few chapters he read and said

[T]his video from Bell himself shows that he is moving farther and farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity.”

Christianity Today reports that Taylor revised his comments:

Taylor updated his post, changing some wording and deleting a reference to Cor. 11:14-15: “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” Instead, Taylor ended the post with the following paragraph:

Let’s remember to pray. Rob Bell needs to know and teach the liberating gospel of grace—including that Christ absorbed the Father’s wrath on behalf of those who trust in him and repent of their sins. And there are tens of thousands of folks who look to Rob Bell as a biblical teacher and leader. May God give much mercy.

What you are reading here are some conservative types who have always wanted to take a shot at Bell.  Their flippant comments show their dislike for Bell but their revised comments show that they went too far.  Others came to the defense of Rob Bell.  Blogger Matthew Paul Turner tweeted,

For a moment I was afraid Rob Bell had died. But then I realized that it was just a few Calvinists hating him into a trending topic.

Author Scot McKnight was asked about the situation and told Christianity Today:

I’ve not seen anything like it. And, yes, the quickness of social media have made this such a big issue… and in a week it will all be gone. Justin may be right about what Rob believes, but if he is wrong then he owes Rob Bell a huge apology. I want to wait to see what Rob Bell says, read it for myself, and see what I think of it. Rob is tapping into what I think is the biggest issue facing evangelicalism today, and this fury shows that it just might be that big of an issue.

Rob Bell is on the edge of Christianity sometimes, but he is introducing a lot of people to Jesus.  I may not agree with him all the time, but his ideas ring true in his books and Nooma video series. His ministry is edgy but is connecting people to Christ. It seems this new controversy taps into a concern that many Christians have had through the centuries: If God is all loving, truly loving, how could he let people be damn in hell?”  This question stems from a longing that theologians and lay people alike have.

Scripture is clear that salvation lies in the power of believing in Jesus Christ. I think the majority of Christianity understands that. The issue here is what happens to hell, those who are damn, and Satan. Revelation 20 provides a picture:

¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Theologians over the centuries have discussed that is either a picture of eternal damnation or annihilationism.  Universalism teaches that everyone will be saved. Annihilationism is the belief that, based on Revelation and other passages, after a period of suffering death, the sinful, and Satan will be annihilated forever.  In the end, God’s love wins because Satan no longer exists, and those in hell cease to exist in order that they suffer no more.

Whether or not Bell advocates for annihilationism is unclear, but he wouldn’t be the first. Churches Fathers such as Justin Martyr and Ignatius of Antioch purposed similar ideas.  Evangelical scholar J. I. Packer and author John Stott wrote lengthy articles and books on the subject.  For more on this topic read this.

No matter what Bell wrote, let’s not freak out.  Let us remember that we all cannot be at the same place in our belief and faith at the same time.  Let us have love and patience for difficult ideas. If he says something heretical let’s not be “quick to speak” but be “slow to anger.” Let’s read the book first, then decide how we want to react. Let us not be reactive, but proactive in matters of faith.