Rob Bell Hell: review of his “hot potato” book
Mar 22nd, 2011 by John
ROB BELL
RAISED
HELL
as a topic to
ponder.
Yes, I have read Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I wrote on my FaceBook page that I agree with 85% of the book and I am seriously troubled by 15% of the book. A friend of my wants to hold me to those percentages, but I confess they came off the top of my head the moment I closed the book.
SOME GOOD THINGS
First, the book is vintage Rob Bell. He’s creative in his style and isn’t given to well-reasoned paragraphs of theological writing. He snippets his way through the book. That’s OK by me. Second, I think the opening chapters (1-3) in which Rob expresses the serious concerns of his generation ought to be read in every church and home. Whether we want to face them or not, these are the questions being asked and the impressions (about God) being given. Third, I am with Rob on Jesus’ mentoring prayer in which we pray, “May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Christianity isn’t a ticket out of this world to heaven, but God’s way of bringing heaven to earth now, today. Michael Wittmer, Professor of Systematic Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary has a book that carefully expands this concept of heaven: Heaven is a Place on Earth. With that book include N. T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope. They are well worth your time to read. Fourth, I am behind any efforts initiated and accomplished in Jesus’ name to eradicate horrible injustices and sufferings in this world. Rob and Mars Hill Bible Church stand for making things right. That is very commendable. Finally, I like Rob’s presentation of the Luke 15 prodigal son story where the Father’s Story re-interprets, re-visions the prodigal’s story and, yes, the older brother’s story. I think Rob is indebted to Tim Keller for some thoughts here.
MY CONCERN
To say that I am troubled by 15% of the book is not to diminish my concern. If 15% of my otherwise healthy body has cancer, my whole body takes alert notice. I won’t rant about Rob’s cavalier use of Bible texts (others have done that). The reason I don’t is because whatever standard we use on Rob, we have to apply to the New Testament authors’ use of the Old Testament. It seems the New Testament authors did not read our best books on hermeneutics and exegesis. However, Rob’s startling “use” (I won’t even call it an interpretation) of the 1 Corinthians 10: 3-4 is indefensible: “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (emphasis mine). From this text Rob unwisely moves from the particulars in a story regarding Israel to some bizarre universal that Christ is the rock everywhere in all times for all people (pages 158-159). Rob should know better than to handle a biblical text in this way. It’s not only bad exegesis, it opens the door to a radical inclusivism that guts the missional nature of the Grand Story of the Bible, the particulars of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah, and the passion for missional work of the Christ-following community that heralds the exclusivity of salvation only by acknowledging Jesus the Christ as LORD. I think it is sadly misguided and dangerous to the very billions about whom Rob seems so concerned. For Rob to write that others are actually meeting Jesus, but they don’t know and don’t even need to know his name seems a sad departure from the evangelical way.
I had a friend write recently that we as Christians should read Rob Bell’s book even if we are adamantly opposed to its message(s). Rob Bell has risked opening the “hell” conversation up for all of us to engage…in this day…in this generation. I am so tired of those who think that orthodoxy simply means parroting John Calvin and Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards and J. Gresham Machen. Those thinkers had their day in the sun. We need fresh thought and expression of enduring biblical realities. Yes, for the sake of God’s glory, for the health of the church, and for the eternal destinies of billions. Rob has knocked over a big domino to get us thinking.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Perhaps what you consider “parroting” is actually thoughtful consideration that has led to the same place as those who have given careful consideration to these same issues in the past?
Now, Morgan, you think better than that. These men were great for their time addressing the issues of their day. You and I both believe that the Bible is the final authority, not Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Swindoll, Piper or Bell. Right? Theology is a thoroughly human enterprise and has every right to be reexamined–reformed and reforming–as the motto goes. Luther believed in killing the Christ-killers (Jews), drowning those who believed in baptism by immersion, a flat earth (very opposed to Galileo). Yet, bless his heart, he did address some issues in a good way. The thing is, he read his fight with the Pope and Catholic Church right back into Paul’s letters and the Gospels. Luther equated 1st century Judaism with 16th century Catholicism. Serious error by the man. So, many Christians think the big issue in the first century was faith versus works. Nope. That’s reading Luther into Jesus and Paul, thinking the Jewish leaders/teachers and people were 1st century Catholics. So wrong. So dead wrong. So I think parroting is a very appropriate term. Peace.
Hi John. On “the rock.” As you point out, Rob’s style of writing is not often in the form of well-reasoned paragraphs. In fact, it’s hard to find a real paragraph! The section about the rock was especially ADHD–or perhaps poetry. But it seems to me that the point Rob was making was that Jesus was there with the Hebrews, but they didn’t know it and didn’t know Him–and that since we know Jesus has always existed but did not appear in the flesh except for three decades, can we even guess where His presence throughout history might have brought salvation of some sort? Was Jesus at Ninevah when the city repented at Jonah’s message? Might some of those who repented in that day have been saved to eventually inherit eternal life–saved by Jesus?
Dean,
I am not sure that Jesus was *there with the Hebrews* in the way Rob imagines as the meaning of Paul’s use of the allusion to Moses and the rock. Gordon Fee takes it as a “typological” reference to Christ, not to a reference to the preexistence of Christ. David Garland believes that Paul is building on the widespread metaphor of “rock” for God in the O.T. and believes that it means that all sustenance and salvation derive ultimately from Christ. The rest of Rob’s thinking sounds like Jesus is this force behind and working through all religions and beliefs, which IMO goes far afield.
John,
This is the problem with Rob’s form of communication. In being provocative, he can leave people wondering. After hearing several of his messages, I can say that I have never heard him suggest that Jesus is in all religions and beliefs and that people can come to him, say, by being faithful Hindus. In fact, I think Rob would agree that other religions are indeed deceptive and can blind people to Christ. I believe that Paul was indeed making a metaphor re: Jesus as the rock; but I don’t think it is out of line to suggest also that Jesus was present to the Hebrews and was a part of their rescue (He was certainly there as Sustainer of all things and as a member of the Trinity). Don’t you think Rob is trying to address the sticky problem of the millions of people who never had and never will have the opportunity to actually hear the gospel message from human agents? Ironically, John Piper reiterates the “age of accountability” tradition to assume that all infants and children who die before age 13 (arbitrarily set age of “knowledge” re: Romans 1:20 [see it on his blog]) go to heaven where they are introduced to Jesus as their Savior–many of these, in fact, having actually heard the gospel all through their young lives. He bases that on the merciful attributes of a loving God. That’s not much different from Rob’s wondering if Jesus reveals himself as Savior in many ways, times, and places to people who have never heard the gospel.
Dean,
If we grant that Rob speaks one way and writes another and that his communication can be a hazard to what he’s actually trying to suggest, then he needs to get more counsel before going into print. Carefully read pages 158-159. Rob’s sentences are clear, precise and, for me, alarming. Too much in the Old Testament is driven by God’s desire for the nations to acknowledge his “Name” (see Christopher Wright’s *The Mission of God*). Jesus comes as the incarnation of the Name of God–YHWH in the flesh, i.e., LORD (kurios), the LXX’s term for Hebrew YHWH. God *wants” his name to be known on the earth. He doesn’t, IMO, want to found by any other name(s). That idea ventures toward pluralism. I think the book is more Rob’s theology of God than it is a theology of heaven and hell, etc.
Good review of Bell’s book John,
While I don’t agree with everything Bell states theologically, I disagree more with those who think he shouldn’t have written a book like this. The questions he raises are incredibly relevant and important for the Jesus discussion.
Rob Bell is first and foremost, an artistic communicator, so he will not answer questions as propositional responses. I understand that this could be frustrating for some, but that’s just not his style. If this is an invitation to dig deeper into these theologically important questions… then that’s a good thing.
Hi Guys
May I make a wee suggestion. Read Gregory McDonald’s book ‘The Evangelical Universalist’: it’s much better than Rob’s.
Hi, John. Like a lot of perople, I haven’t read the book. I don’t want to like Rob Bell, but his artistic bent is really appealing to me, as is the obvious fact that he’s done his homework and read and studied the texts.
Just a few ponderings here:
1) I’m wondering why so many evangelicals have such trouble with universalism. Peter says that God is anxious for the salvation of all. Paul says that as in Adam many died, God’s grace is even bigger in Christ.
2) And why is “going to heaven” so important to so many people? The Bible talks about resurrection, what N. T. Wright calls “life after life after death”, not about going to a purely spiritual existence.
3) Dean Ohlman said Bell doesn’t suggest that people can come to Jesus by being a good Hindu, but evangelicalism’s gift to the wider church is the assertion that being a good practicing Christian isn’t what it’s all about, anyway. It’s about Jesus, pure and simple.
4) What if some of us are called to be Christians, the broken bread of life for the world, working for God’s kingdom here and now, while all of us fall under the mercy of Christ’s death and resurrection? What if the scriptures are telling the truth, and we do not have eternal souls to suffer forever, and eternal life is God’s gift to us?
Love the review John. I had a similar reaction to the book, although my percentages were more like 83/17. :>)
I think the thing that bothered me the most is not even the universalism. For me, it was the sloppy sourcing. I can appreciate any point of view that is well-developed and well-documented. But this so-called “artistic” writing is an excuse to not actually say what you are actually saying while attempting not to take full responsibility. Bell presented himself as the first universalist without citing even one thinker before him. If the lack of sourcing was intentional as to not appear academic, it is condescending. If it was lazy, then it is a shame.
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