Many have commented on Rob Bell's new book Love Wins, several even before it came out. Many are more qualified than me to talk about such lofty things as Heaven and Hell and the fate of every person that has ever lived. My friend has a review up on his blog and he is qualified to talk about such things. So, if you are interested in a real theologian check out his fair treatment, especially if you want an arminian, wesleyan perspective.I will say up front, I like Rob Bell. I've read his books, and listened to his sermons made available on the internet for a few years now. I love his Nooma videos. I liked this book too. So if that makes you uncomfortable, this review might not be for you. I won't parse theology too much. Like I said, others are more qualified. Bell said he believes in heaven, hell and that he is not a universalist. Reading the book, it is clear he is not a heretic. It surprises me when he gets accused of being one. Nothing in his books, or in his words is close to this accusation. There are most likely some heretics out there that are clearly not in the Christian tradition. Rob Bell is not one of them. Even Jesus told his disciples to not worry about the other guy casting out demons in His name. They were all working together anyway.
I noticed in Love Wins, Bell makes many references to possible ways of looking at things, but never says absolutely "this is how it is." It seems his accusers assume he is saying this. I'm puzzled by this. All my life we Christians have had the freedom to stand around at the water cooler, or in the foyer, or on the golf course and ask, "Could hell be...?" without reprisal. Even C.S. Lewis was able to write a fiction story about heaven and hell where people could choose to leave hell and visit heaven and choose to stay there. Everybody knows it is a story. Everybody loves it. Why can't Rob Bell be given the same hospitality?
More of interest to me, is the pattern of interaction this conversation has provoked. I get paid to pay attention to patterns and to use language to help resolve these problems. I have a basic assumption that my use of language and the patterns it invites take precedence over the actual words or beliefs it conveys. I also think the manner in which we respond as followers of Jesus is important, both in the results it gets, and in the ethics it represents.
The whole firestorm started with an inflammatory blog post a couple of weeks ago. I think I read that 12,000 people reposted warnings on FaceBook, "If this is accurate, Rob Bell followers need to reconsider". I saw several of these posts. Influential Christians also tweeted unsavory tweets about Bell. This led to clever rebuttals. Just today I watched a streamed video discussion panel from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that included the above referenced blogger and three other fat white guys sitting on a platform in leather chairs defending the faith. Now, some would consider me a fat white guy. I am not without sin. Somehow, they felt the need to immediately respond with their own live streaming event like Bell. They talked about him with contempt and then at the end prayed for him to come around to their way of thinking.
With all the hoopla, I bought the ebook version in iBooks when it became available. I also bought the audiobook in iTunes. Total cost was comparable to one hard copy price. Bell reads the book himself in the audiobook. I recommend it. You get many nuances of tone and inflection that I'm sure you miss in the print version.
When I bought the audiobook the first review in iTunes gave the book one star. I'm pretty sure the reviewer had not listened to the book. You don't have to buy it to leave a review. Tersely it said, "Who would want the murderers, wife beaters and pedophiles in heaven, if you do away with hell there is no need for Jesus to die on the cross". Obviously, this person had not read the book. I noticed this theme in the questions after Bell's interview on Monday night. One person who identified himself with a prestigious institution said with a bit of derision, "if there is no hell, what happens to the mission of the church?" The Baptist Seminary forum brought up this point by saying, "If we decide there is no hell, people stop going to church, stop paying tithe, the Church shrinks, it doesn't grow."
Love Wins is clear. Bell believes in hell and leaves room for lots of theories of atonement like did the first followers of Jesus. But let me be honest at this point. If fear is the only motivation for mission, where do I get off this train? I think the ideas Bell proposes and the fresh expression of God's Kingdom they are engendering are signs of hope at a crucial hinge in world history. I have been more excited about what God is doing in the world; I have a renewed enthusiasm to read the Bible, go to church and participate in God's renewal of all things as we all have been called to do. Rob Bell has been part of this renewal in my own life. Love Wins is a document that helps constitute this process more fully. It, along with other resources, has helped make sense of a religion that has not always made sense to me. These are good things.
