Rob Bell Again:

I was on vacation and there was a Sunday School class which was dealing with Rob Bell's book "Love Wins." The teacher's approach was to give a few quick sound bytes of Bell's most controversial statements. Nothing positive was given about the book but simply Bell's book was used as a kind of foil of what's wrong with Christian theology today. The church was in the same state as Bell's and some people in the class had even attended Bell's church. Several people alluded to Bell as a false teacher who will experience the reality of hell someday. Others felt sad for Bell for going so far off the beaten Evangelical track and yet none of them said they had even read Bell's book nor could the teacher really say adequately what Bell really believed? Is Bell a universalist? Does Rob Bell believe in Hell? And what about all the scriptures Bell did not quote in his book that were against his view?

Here are my quick responses to these questions about Rob Bell. Bell says he's not a universalist so can we believe what Bell actually says about himself? I would hope Christian charity would give Bell the benefit of the doubt or we end up putting beliefs on others which they categorically deny. Does Bell believe in Hell? Yes he does! Although I also disagree with some of Bell's use of Scripture, I typically have problems giving critical book reviews where people are rebuked not for what they say but for what they do not say. Can we simply stick to what people say?

Rob Bell's book actually challenges me in my own hypocrisies and apathy towards those we perceive as people who do not know God or have separated themselves from God's love. So when it comes to discipleship ethics, I hope Christians will do a lot less stone casting and show a lot more charity towards those with whom they disagree. If orthodox Christians are not careful, they may end up siding with hell against those whom they think are too soft on hell. Just a thought!