The Controversial Mr. Bell
About five years ago I was introduced to Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids Michigan. Rob created a film series called ”Nooma”which in an artistic way walks people through a wide array of issues and topics that we deal with in everyday life. Truthfully I really love the series and have a good number of them in my own resource library.
Recently however Rob has come under fire for his new book, Love Wins (which is being release on March 15). A lot of the controversy has stemmed from a promo video for the book in which a number of statements are made that seem to run counter to Christian theology. Interestingly enough these judgements are being made in most cases without having even read the book.
While I too agree that some of his statements in the video are concerning, I’m going to reserve judgement until after I read the book. We live in a day and age where provocative advertisements are the norm even within many churches.
In the end I may agree with some of the statements of criticism that have been made in regards to the book and Rob Bell’s theology, but I strongly believe that it is unfair to write blog post, or send tweets that discredit the man without any concrete evidence that he has in fact taken a theological position that is not in alignment with the Bible.
Here is the promo video for Rob Bell’s book, and even if you find yourself in disagreement with comments he makes I would encourage you to read the book for yourself before making any final decisions about him and his theology. It’s important to have all of the facts before such determinations are made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ev4VdNbBPA
Posted on March 7th, 2011 by David | 6 Comments »
I posted the following on a blog about the controversy. Let me know what you think:
We’ve got to reserve judgment until the book comes out, for sure. But at the same time, Rob’s video HEAVILY hinted at Universalism. He asked, sarcastically, “Gandhi’s in hell? Really?”
Well, we can’t say for certain because we’re not God, but yeah, he probably is. Yes, you do have to believe in Christ to “go to Heaven.” Scripture makes that clear. If we stray from that, we’re straying into something the is not a “Christian” faith. It’s something else. That was my fear when I watched the video. But again, let’s reserve judgment until the book comes out. If our fears are realized, then yes, there does need to be a public rebuke and correction of Bell from Christians and Christian leaders.
Stephen I appreciate the comment and don’t disagree with you. There are things said in the video that a. I don’t agree with and b. seem to be contrary to the Bible. My concern however is that people are making very strong judgements without really having the whole picture AND this is being done by some pretty influential writers, bloggers, etc.
With all of that being said, if people’s (mine included) fears and concerns are in fact found to truly be justified, people need to be made aware of what Bell is teaching and how it is not Biblically sound.
Very interesting. Definitely going to read this one.
I agree Taras, this is definitely a book that I’m interested in reading.
Thank you for calling this out. Was surprised by people’s reactions to a book no one has read yet.
KC, I was somewhat surprised as well. Granted, if the book turns out to be what many people expect than there is serious cause for concern. However, at this point we don’t really know exactly what is in the book and for that reason we need to be careful not to make such grand assumptions (even if they end up being accurate).