Rob Bell
Rob Bell is one of the most popular voices in Christianity today. With an audience numbering in the millions and a stated objective to win many to Christ, one would presume Bell’s primary concern would be to represent Christ in the most authentic and accurate light. However, his forthcoming book, “Love Wins,” is stirring a great deal of controversy about Bell’s theology, whether is it correct or incorrect, and whether that can even be determined by the assertions he makes in the book. Blogger Tim Challies says this in his recent review of an advance copy of the book:
Enter Rob Bell, a man who has spent much of the last seven years asking questions in his sometimes thought-provoking and often frustrating fashion. And when he’s done asking, no matter what answers he puts forward, it seems we’re only left with more questions. This trend continues in his new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, where Bell poses what might be his most controversial question yet:
Does a loving God really send people to hell for all eternity?
Perissos Resources is dedicated to preserving the essential doctrines of Christianity that the church has unified around since Jesus walked the earth. Indeed, we are concerned with helping every person we encounter arrive at a firm understanding of the sine qua non of Christianity — that is, “without which not.” More simply, there are essential truths which, if not held, one cannot claim to be Christian based on the entire history of Christian belief. We may diversify in our traditions and on secondary issues, but these core beliefs are absolutely crucial to unify around. There are more articles and resources coming to this website soon (sign up for our newsletter or “Like” our Facebook page to be sure you don’t miss them), but let’s look at one of those essentials now. All Christians, always, have believed that just as Christ came to earth once to bear the sins of the world, so He will return again to gather the elect and usher in the resurrection of all things. According to historical Christian doctrine, on that day, the just will be resurrected to eternal life and the unjust to eternal conscious torment and separation from the love and grace of God. I can recommend this page at the Christian Research Institute for more on Eschatology and how we separate essential from secondary issues round the subject.
When we divide over essential doctrine, the result is not healthy diversity, rather it is a compromising of the very truth that saves us. To be tolerant of the faith and religious practices of others is one matter, but to allow a fundamental redefinition of what Christianity is and ask us to disregard 2000 years of history and Scripture itself is quite another. Another essential Christian belief is that there is one God and one God only who is sovereign (self-sufficient) and perfect (cannot be in relationship with imperfection or evil). According to Challies’ and several other reviews we’ve read, Bell would — at least indirectly — challenge this concept. Based on the video below which Bell himself promotes the book, and some quotes from the text, Bell is revealing himself to be Universalist in his theology. “Christian” Universalists believe that Jesus’ work on the cross was sufficient to save everyone, which we would not argue, but also that everyone will eventually find their way to this saving grace whether by claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior or by some other means. Ultimately, there is no eternal consequence for unbelief or for the unredeemed…no hell. This belief is inconsistent with the gospel and with historical Christian doctrine.
I can’t help but wonder how we can come to a saving knowledge of God through Christ if we don’t understand why it was necessary for Him to come and suffer so horribly. How can we truly grasp the magnitude of our heavenly Father’s love for us if we turn our faces from the truth about our depraved nature, our utter inability to save ourselves (from what, if not hell?) and the lengths to which our Creator will go to cover us in such a hopeless state? As Bell would have it, this version of the gospel is too unpalatable and actually keeps people from finding salvation. Here, I would beg to differ. If we are lulled into the belief that life is a bed of roses, everyone is good and goes to heaven, and we can invent a God and a gospel that suits us, then we have believed the gravest of lies. Deception is our enemy’s greatest resource because we do not realize we are being deceived. Rob Bell is a compassionate figure, full of earnest expression with a gentle demeanor. He seems genuinely concerned for each and every one of us and I believe his heart is probably in the right place. However, it is a dangerous thing for a leader to wear the “Christian” banner and then teach something that diverges from essential Christian doctrine. It is that much more dangerous when we live in a culture that has all but forgotten what the gospel actually is and relies on media figures such as Bell to tell them rather than study the Scriptures for themselves. This blog is a call to each person reading it to test what you hear and read and make it your priority to know and embrace the truth of Jesus Christ so deeply and so fully that you will recognize deception when you are met with it.
To be complete in my discussion of “Love Wins,” the book will be released on March 15, 2011, at which time we can all read it for ourselves. If you choose to do this, I encourage you to approach the text with caution and great discernment. Your comments are welcome here. Disagreement is certainly permitted, but coarse language will not be allowed to stand on this site.
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