Rob Bell, known famously for his unorthodox approach in publishing and now for his potentially unorthodox faith, has been the center of twitter frenzy about his new book release,Love Wins. Throughout the years, Christian observers have commented that he has grown toward Universalism, which promotes the idea that there is no true/right way to God or that there are many ways to go to heaven beyond salvation through Jesus Christ. Popular Calvinist blogger Justin Taylor offered a response in this article here about Bell’s purported stance that hell is empty & that God would never sentence souls to eternal suffering.
I’ve grown more weary and hesitant to jump into the Christian discourse on the blogosphere, maybe because I’m afraid or too angry/frustrated. I’ve decided to process a few reflections online after reading blog responses from my friend Calvin (entitled “Somebody Call the Heresy Police! (Not!). He ascribes to Reformed theology, by the way) and Christianity Today. I think it will also help me process some of my own longstanding feelings as well.
Some reflections:
- I think it’s admirable that there are Christian leaders (servants?) who desire to stand for Biblical truth. I would consider my belief system to be orthodox doctrine (in Scripture & in the tradition of the historical Christian creeds, Nicene etc), I believe there are many philosophical problems with Universalism in general (I think its rooted in Western arrogance, read Chapter 1 of Tim Keller’s Reason for God for a good explanation for why that is.) I agree that Gospel/Christian message is has empty meaning if my Savior, brother, leader and captain Jesus were not the center of the story of Him being sent into the world to rescue it.
- However, I am weary of how this “in-house” discussion on the internet never seems to bring about Christian peace and unity. I’m more and more discouraged by the disrespect and slander that I see in many of the comments by Christian readers that dehumanize Rob Bell to a mere ideological offense, and not as a human. I forgot when we were found to be so above another person that we would resort to mudslinging on the internet. Perhaps this relentless pursuit of truth makes sense in a Western setting, but our non-Western communities would be in shock over the lack of harmony and peace. For what reason would they want to be a part of this ‘religion’ if they are embarrassed to show their friends that this is the culture they would enter into? (Note: Justin Taylor has revised his comments.)
- I call it “in-house” and “for those who care” (admittedly tongue-in-cheek with slight cynicism) because this discussion draws out how irrelevant the Christian community could potentially become to the greater world. This shows exactly how we have become a Christian “tribe”—the blogs are written for affinity groups around Christianity (nothing wrong with that) but we aren’t bringing this dialogue into the greater world around us, relegating us to our Christian debates in our Christian corner of the internet. Very few of my friends who are not Christian could care less. In fact, I feel embarrassed talking about how irreverent and disrespectful the Christian community is when it comes to “protecting truth.” I can talk all I want about how Christian community is still broken and an imperfect people, but flippant comments/slander/malice/mudslinging still seem to be one of our besetting sins, and I have very little explanation for it.
- This could potentially become a missed opportunity to have a greater dialogue about faith. I resonate with my friend Calvin’s provocative thought: “If people like Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung devoted even a fraction of the energy to sharing the Gospel that they currently devote to speculatively policing it, perhaps the Church would truly rise up in ways unimaginable.” We could have easily capitalized on this opportunity, turning Bell’s controversial book into a thought-provoking discussion with friends and asking them what they think about the existence of heaven/hell and why. Could this become a redeemed moment? In fact, our calling as Christians is beyond critique and condemnation. This is good to do when necessary and appropriate (perhaps when the book comes out and we confirm that Bell is indeed a universalist.) Our calling is to become creators of culture, leaving the policing behind and promoting the beauty of Biblical narrative and orthodox faith by actively living it out. Jesus did address those in the wrong very overtly (i.e. Pharisees) but He went ahead did his thang, establishing the Kingdom of God.
- For those of us who just returned from MAC (Ministering Across Cultures), this could be anecdotal for the “Approaching Differences Diagram” where the intention and attitude before actually encountering the difference (i.e. before Bell’s book has actually been released) is suspicion and fear. I think that is what is causing friction in my own heart/mind. Is there a way we can move toward a positive result i.e. opportunities for ministry (“green line”) instead of un-Christian responses and no opportunities for ministry (“red line”)?
Joyce,
Excellent article and I definitely agree with your points. The only thing I would caution on is assuming that Taylor and DeYoung don’t share the gospel. Just because they are policing it doesn’t mean that they aren’t also out there passionately sharing it with friends, neighbors, etc. Just like people are favoring giving Rob Bell the benefit of the doubt until the book comes out, I’d like to do the same for Taylor and DeYoung.