Hi all -
Anyone who surfs the Christian blogosophere at all is likely to have at least heard about this. It seems that Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church has a new book coming out in a few weeks – one that may teach a universalist approach to Christian soteriology.
See: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/01/what-is-a-heretic-exactly-in-the-evangelical-church/?hpt=C2. The controversy has already become fairly heated, but if true, I guarantee you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Evangelicals like to argue doctrine. This is nothing new. But actual accusations of heresy are relatively rare. Baptist preacher Tony Campolo is the only living Evangelical leader known to have undergone a heresy trial. In the 1980′s Campolo was subjected to a “reconcilliation panel” led by theologian J.I. Packer. The issue? Campolo’s statement that we encounter Jesus in others: “Jesus is actually present in each other person.” The panel ultimately cleared Campolo of the charges, but issued a statement saying that they found his statements “methodologically naïve and verbally incautious”.
Fastforward to 2011: If Bell’s forthcoming book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived really is written from a Universalist perspective, the implications are enormous. Expect a bloodbath – metaphorically speaking, of course. The fact that someone of Rob Bell’s stature is publishing a book like this is huge. I wonder if even he is fully prepared for the potential fallout.
The CNN article I linked to above quotes Carlton Pearson, whose 5,000 member megachurch dropped to a congregation of a few hundred after he publicly professed a belief in Universalism. Maybe Bell is immune to such outcomes, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Being a traditional sort of chap myself, I don’t happen to be a Universalist. Nevertheless, I believe in the free exchange of ideas – especially theological ideas – and I will likely read the book when it comes out. I imagine quite a few people will. Controversy sells books. For now, however, I am going to watch this unfold like a car crash.
Wait for it….
Update 3/02/11: And by “watch this unfold like a car crash”, what I meant to say was “I look forward to the helpful and brotherly dialogue that will be engendered by Bell’s insightful and no doubt prayerfully written book.” I didn’t mean to imply that I would relish a theological throwdown between Rob Bell and say, Al Mohler…. 
In all seriousness though, I love it when stuff like this happens – not because people argue – but because it brings theology into the public spotlight. Most people don’t get terribly excited about the finer points of Christian theology, but when an issue like this surfaces, it gets tweeted and Facebooked and all the rest. Sure, some of the dialogue isn’t particularly helpful, but some of it is. And one suddenly has something to talk about with the other people standing in line at Starbucks besides baseball. If this makes people think more about God, it can’t be a bad thing.
In case you’re interested, here’s what Brian Mclaren (who has read the book and provided a promotional blurb) thinks of the whole issue: http://brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/rob-bell-giving-us-all-a-wonderf.html.
Also, this is far and away the best blog post on the subject I have encountered yet: http://www.redletterchristians.org/love-wins-rob-bell-and-the-new-calvinists/
Update 3/04/11: And this is good too: http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2011/03/02/waiting-for-rob-bell/
According to my Random House Dictionary a heretic is something of a good thing; “a believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to the orthodox and accepted doctrine of his or her church”. In the context of today’s Christianity we need heretics. I can also assume that most Mystics will be given the dubious title of Heretic.
I know what you’re saying, Timothy – and I wasn’t necessarily branding Mr. Bell a heretic.
But I would not personally delight in being labeled a heretic myself, though we may very well need people who will oppose corruption and stagnation in the Church today. I always go back to the literal definition of orthodox: “straight thinking”. Being truly orthodox doesn’t just mean holding the prevailing opinion, but actually being right. As I have stated here and elsewhere, I believe Eckhart to be an orthodox theologian, it’s just that his name has unfortunately been associated with that word, “heretic”. In my opinion he should be considered a doctor of the church, just like Aquinas or Albert the Great…not that it matters – I’m not Catholic.
Whether or not Bell is a heretic in the ultimate sense depends not upon his willingness to go against accepted norms – but on the rightness or wrongness of his position – and of that God is the only judge. I don’t spend much (or any) time thinking about Hell, but I would not presume there isn’t one.
Anyway, Bell will sell some books, make a few million dollars and gradually fade away just as all famous people eventually do. In the final analysis, he hasn’t changed anything. If he is a heretic, he isn’t a terribly exciting one.
Thank you Seth for a very thoughtful response. I’m not sure if this has been your experience? but for me, ending up, unexpectedly, as a Mystic took away confusion around right and wrong and “straight thinking”. All of a sudden things were clear, God was the Source of what I was learning, what I was being taught.
I suspect that Rob Bell and a lot of the other Emergent authors are not Mystics. I live in Minneapolis and know some of the local leaders here and my sense is that they are Evangelicals, Thinking Outside of the Box.
I’m enjoying this Mystical Blog-o-sphere. Thanks for your contribution, Tim
I’m familiar with many of the big names of the Emergent movement and have read some of their books, but I could never quite figure out what they’re about. They seem to delight in asking a bunch of questions with no answers. As you seem to say in your comment, there really is just one answer to all questions – and once you arrive at that place, all uncertainty dissolves.
One of the ways I understand at least part of the emergent movement, and it’s a part I like, is that it takes the emphasis off what we’ve come to know as the traditional approach to theology. It avoids the assumption that there is one and only one right way for everyone to understand what messages God wants us to get from scripture (which seems to be what “orthodoxy” has come to mean for most people). So, rather than seeking to impose conformity in our thinking and submission to ecclesiastical authority, it encourages open and honest dialogue, much like we are doing here at ChristianMystics.com. With this approach, the emergent movement embraces all forms of Biblical criticism, which to me is a tacit acknowledgment of human consciousness as mediators between the Divine and the written word. In this sense I suspect most people who identify with the emergent movement would agree that there is one and only one answer to all questions, but that the particular ways each of us experience and translate that answer into our own words and actions is very very diverse. Rather than something to be fearfully suppressed, that diversity is joyfully welcomed as offering a broader, richer and consequently more complete experience of God’s presence in the spirit of humanity.
Agape,
Chuck
On the topic of universalism, here is a page with an interesting summary of conclusions about universalism from the book, Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years, by J.W. Hanson, D.D. (1899).
http://flyinabove.bloghi.com/2006/06/08/universalism-the-prevailing-doctrine-of-the-first-500-years-of-christianity.html
Seth,
I just started a seven-part review this past Friday. Check out the overview: http://bit.ly/gWLCcb
Thanks JR – you have clearly put a lot of thought into this! As to whether Bell’s beliefs are corrosive to authentic Christianity, time will tell. I don’t label the man – nor have I read his book. For me, as I note in my most recent post “On A Christ-Shaped Orthodoxy” Christ is the measure of authentic belief and practice. The Incarnation, Christ come in the flesh, is the center of Christian orthodoxy – everything else is just details.
Thanks for stopping by – I’ll definitely be checking out more of your blog in the near future!
In his new book “Love Wins” Rob Bell seems to say that loving and compassionate people, regardless of their faith, will not be condemned to eternal hell just because they do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Concepts of an afterlife vary between religions and among divisions of each faith. Here are three quotes from “the greatest achievement in life,” my ebook on comparative mysticism:
(46) Few people have been so good that they have earned eternal paradise; fewer want to go to a place where they must receive punishments for their sins. Those who do believe in resurrection of their body hope that it will be not be in its final form. Few people really want to continue to be born again and live more human lives; fewer want to be reborn in a non-human form. If you are not quite certain you want to seek divine union, consider the alternatives.
(59) Mysticism is the great quest for the ultimate ground of existence, the absolute nature of being itself. True mystics transcend apparent manifestations of the theatrical production called “this life.” Theirs is not simply a search for meaning, but discovery of what is, i.e. the Real underlying the seeming realities. Their objective is not heaven, gardens, paradise, or other celestial places. It is not being where the divine lives, but to be what the divine essence is here and now.
(80) [referring to many non-mystics] Depending on their religious convictions, or personal beliefs, they may be born again to seek elusive perfection, go to a purgatory to work out their sins or, perhaps, pass on into oblivion. Lives are different; why not afterlives? Beliefs might become true.
Rob Bell asks us to reexamine the Christian Gospel. People of all faiths should look beyond the letter of their sacred scriptures to their spiritual message. As one of my mentors wrote “In God we all meet.”
Here’s a recent review you may want to look at:
http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/04/is-rob-bells-love-wins-a-clanging-gong/
I’m VERY glad Rob Bell has enough of a foundation in the Evangelical world to get noticed and taken seriously enough to inspire such a large debate. It’s a timely book and a ripe moment to push our culture towards moral and spiritual evolution. The world desperately needs more unity and understanding.
Of course, from my cynical, sarcastic perspective, the realization discussed in his book is about 2000 years overdue. To me, it’s as if everyone is still arguing whether or not the earth is round or flat! Or, it’s the equivalent of declaring that, perhaps Zeus and his family of god people don’t really live at the top of Mt. Olympus after all…