Thoughts on Rob Bell?

[redblue22]

his church is down the road. never been there. I've looked at some of his books and other emergents, but they are unreadable catchy format. I don't know. does anyone think this is even worth looking into? catchy name Rob Bell. I wonder if he is connected to Bell's Beer.

 

[KingCrimson250]

Simple, Rob Bell is a heretic. He teaches that someone can repent from and that is if there is one. So, yes he is a heretic.

He is, is he? Which exact heresy would you say he is committing?

 

[GQ Chris]

If you like so called Spiritual Teachers who can eloquently play with words, arrange them in ways that don't offend some people, all the while claiming he's Christian, and has "other" perspectives on the Bible, then Rob Bell is the guy for you.

 

[xiqtem]

He is, is he? Which exact heresy would you say he is committing?

When a person teaches that there is no eternal punishment for the unsaved sinner that is a heresy. If hell isn't eternal than there is no eternal punishment. He teaches a modified universalism or purgatorial system. He uses questions to lead you down a path of heresy like the devil questioning God's word, "Thou shalt not surely die." Causing people to doubt what they have come to know and accept. He teaches in his book that if there is a hell you can repent from it. So all people from other faiths will be in hell and go, "gorsh! this stinks! I think now that I have seen the truth I'll repent." and then Jesus saves them from there. Heresy, simple. The orthodox teaching of the Bible is clear that there is a place of eternal punishment where the unsaved sinner has the wrath of God poured out on them for all eternity.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

In my opinion, one of the most dangerous teachers out there. If in doubt watch "The Real Roots Of The Emergent Church" documentary by Elliott Nesch from start to finish. Gives a comprehensive insight into who influenced people such as Bell, McClaren, Chalke, Pagitt et al. Mind boggling stuff.

He's not Emergent, he's always distanced himself from the movement.

Simple, Rob Bell is a heretic. He teaches that someone can repent from hell, and that is if there is one. So, yes he is a heretic.

Oh please. Just like the preface of his book says, these thoughts have been a part of the Christian conversation down through the centuries since the Early Church. The point is that it's okay to leave space for, and fitting for a Christian to hope for that all will may up with Jesus. God is sovereign after all (thankfully), we're not the ones writing the list of who's "in" and who isn't.

How many times will his critics ignore those those two words? We should all hope that God may save everybody, anything less and we're wishing hell on others. I don't know about you all but I do not relish anybody to spend one nanosecond in any sort of hell, whether it be in this life or the next.

his church is down the road. never been there. I've looked at some of his books and other emergents, but they are unreadable catchy format. I don't know. does anyone think this is even worth looking into? catchy name Rob Bell. I wonder if he is connected to Bell's Beer.

His books read just fine, I think it's pretty ridiculous that people nitpick over the writing format he chooses. I find it to be pretty compelling and adds emphases to crucial parts of the texts, so it makes one stop and think for a moment instead of glossing over something significant.

IMHO, all of his books are worth a [legitimate] read, and no, I don't think he's connected to Bell's Beer in anyway.

If you like so called Spiritual Teachers who can eloquently play with words, arrange them in ways that don't offend some people, all the while claiming he's Christian, and has "other" perspectives on the Bible, then Rob Bell is the guy for you.

He is a Christian. Plain and simple. It's ironic that you're labeling him as a teacher that words things that "don't offend some people" yet you and others in this thread apparently have their knickers in a terrible bunch about him.

 

[welshman]

While he will not admit it, he is. Rob Bell was asked if he considered himself "emergent" and he said he didn't want to label himself as anything because "it is not what Jesus would do"...

I would urge you to watch that documentary I suggested and read his books, especially "Love wins" and "Velvet Elvis"...if that is not emergent then I don't know what is.

Horrible, horrible books giving hope to those who are not saved that one day they will be in heaven.

He was asked in Christiany Today magazine to give his best account of how he would describe the gospel (in something like a Twitter post)...This is what he said:

"I would say that history is headed somewhere. The thousand ways in which you are tempted to believe that hope might actually be a legitimate response to the insanity of the world can actually be trusted. And that the Christian story is that of a tomb empty, and a movement has begun that has been present in a sense all along in creation. And all those times when your cynacism was at odds with an impulse within you that said that this little thing in you might be about something bigger - those tiny little slivers of fact might be connected to something really big."

Where is the gospel in that?

I also see that you have said elsewhere his books read perfectly fine...how about this in his book "Love Wins":

"Jesus' story has been hijacked by other stories that a select few Christian will spend eternity in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spend forever in torment and punishment in hell, with no chance of anything better. This is misguided, toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desparately needs to hear."

I rest my case.

He's not Emergent, he's always distanced himself from the movement.



Oh please. Just like the preface of his book says, these thoughts have been a part of the Christian conversation down through the centuries since the Early Church. The point is that it's okay to leave space for, and fitting for a Christian to hope for that all will may up with Jesus. God is sovereign after all (thankfully), we're not the ones writing the list of who's "in" and who isn't.

How many times will his critics ignore those those two words? We should all hope that God may save everybody, anything less and we're wishing hell on others. I don't know about you all but I do not relish anybody to spend one nanosecond in any sort of hell, whether it be in this life or the next.



His books read just fine, I think it's pretty ridiculous that people nitpick over the writing format he chooses. I find it to be pretty compelling and adds emphases to crucial parts of the texts, so it makes one stop and think for a moment instead of glossing over something significant.

IMHO, all of his books are worth a [legitimate] read, and no, I don't think he's connected to Bell's Beer in anyway.



He is a Christian. Plain and simple. It's ironic that you're labeling him as a teacher that words things that "don't offend some people" yet you and others in this thread apparently have their knickers in a terrible bunch about him.

 

[SnowyMacie]

He's not Emergent, he's always distanced himself from the movement.



Oh please. Just like the preface of his book says, these thoughts have been a part of the Christian conversation down through the centuries since the Early Church. The point is that it's okay to leave space for, and fitting for a Christian to hope for that all will may up with Jesus. God is sovereign after all (thankfully), we're not the ones writing the list of who's "in" and who isn't.

How many times will his critics ignore those those two words? We should all hope that God may save everybody, anything less and we're wishing hell on others. I don't know about you all but I do not relish anybody to spend one nanosecond in any sort of hell, whether it be in this life or the next.



His books read just fine, I think it's pretty ridiculous that people nitpick over the writing format he chooses. I find it to be pretty compelling and adds emphases to crucial parts of the texts, so it makes one stop and think for a moment instead of glossing over something significant.

IMHO, all of his books are worth a [legitimate] read, and no, I don't think he's connected to Bell's Beer in anyway.



He is a Christian. Plain and simple. It's ironic that you're labeling him as a teacher that words things that "don't offend some people" yet you and others in this thread apparently have their knickers in a terrible bunch about him.

I never really thought about how ironic that is that the people who claim he's afraid to offend anyone are the ones who are most offended by what Rob Bell has said.

As someone who does not hate Rob Bell, I would agree he is a heretic because a heretic is someone who's opinion or belief is at variance with the accepted doctrine. That's different than someone who is just blaspheming. Heresy is defined by the church, blasphemy is defined by God. Some people on here would consider me a heretic because my beliefs are different than what they grew up in, and I would consider some on here to have heretical beliefs. Last time I checked, having the "right view" on Hell wasn't a requirement for being a Christian, it may be for being apart of your faith group but that's completely different.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

While he will not admit it, he is. Rob Bell was asked if he considered himself "emergent" and he said he didn't want to label himself as anything because "it is not what Jesus would do"...

I would urge you to watch that documentary I suggested and read his books, especially "Love wins" and "Velvet Elvis"...if that is not emergent then I don't know what is.

Horrible, horrible books giving hope to those who are not saved that one day they will be in heaven.

He was asked in Christiany Today magazine to give his best account of how he would describe the gospel (in something like a Twitter post)...This is what he said:

"I would say that history is headed somewhere. The thousand ways in which you are tempted to believe that hope might actually be a legitimate response to the insanity of the world can actually be trusted. And that the Christian story is that of a tomb empty, and a movement has begun that has been present in a sense all along in creation. And all those times when your cynacism was at odds with an impulse within you that said that this little thing in you might be about something bigger - those tiny little slivers of fact might be connected to something really big."

Where is the gospel in that?

I also see that you have said elsewhere his books read perfectly fine...how about this in his book "Love Wins":

"Jesus' story has been hijacked by other stories that a select few Christian will spend eternity in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spend forever in torment and punishment in hell, with no chance of anything better. This is misguided, toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desparately needs to hear."

I rest my case.

I have indeed read all of his books (except Sex God which I intend to begin shortly) and I find them to present wholly orthodox views. I think it's great that he's stepping on the toes of evangelicals by reaching back to the historic and orthodox Christianity that existed long before evangelicalism.

Velvet Elvis, Jesus Wants To Save Christians, Love Wins... all of those are amazing books that have shown me that the movement Christ started is so much bigger than the narrow and reduced ideology of evangelicalism.

I see nothing wrong with his statement to C.T. about the gospel, he's proclaiming the tomb is empty and that's wonderful, glorious news. Why does the gospel have to be damning? Who said you nonbelievers not only have to be objectified by those that would convert them, but they should also be made to feel like absolute rubbish in the process. How is that the good news?

It's not.

Neither myself nor Bell are minimizing the fact that we're all sinners, but we definitely don't want to make the mistake of minimizing the resurrection either—something I think evangelicalism (and in some ways Protestantism as whole) in large part is atrociously guilty of.

I never really thought about how ironic that is that the people who claim he's afraid to offend anyone are the ones who are most offended by what Rob Bell has said.

Yes, it's indeed interesting and somewhat humorous when you think about it.

As someone who does not hate Rob Bell, I would agree he is a heretic because a heretic is someone who's opinion or belief is at variance with the accepted doctrine. That's different than someone who is just blaspheming. Heresy is defined by the church, blasphemy is defined by God. Some people on here would consider me a heretic because my beliefs are different than what they grew up in, and I would consider some on here to have heretical beliefs. Last time I checked, having the "right view" on Hell wasn't a requirement for being a Christian, it may be for being apart of your faith group but that's completely different.

I suppose by your definition he is, but I would say he's not a heretic in the sense that he presents heresy to the Christian faith. Rather he may be a heretic by mere evangelical standards, but I would wager my life savings that what he endorses is already the subscribed theology of most prominent Christian traditions. Evangelicalism is hardly representative of the whole and sadly evangelicals themselves forget that (I was guilty of this as one for most of my life). We're forgetting that the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches and most Mainline Protestant Churches (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc) makeup the majority of the Christian faith and they align with this theology with small variations thereof.

 

[Goodbook]

One lady in my bible study wants us to listen to his love wins audio book.
At first from hearing what other people said he might be universalist and i was like, uh oh.
But hes not, so maybe hes just Empahsising scripture that Jesus doesnt want anyone to perish. Undoubtedly some people do..but it seems like hes suggests preaching the gospel in a loving way? I dont know.

After all God so LOVED the world...its not 'God so hated the world and already decided the 'elect' would be saved. '

 

[GQ Chris]

It's ironic that you're labeling him as a teacher that words things that "don't offend some people" yet you and others in this thread apparently have their knickers in a terrible bunch about him.

No "knickers in a bunch" here; if it were so I would've passed out and died a long time ago from the many heretics masquerading in the church. Mr.Bell is just one of many, and he shouldn't be immune from criticism just because he's so syrupy and sweet sounding.

 

[Goodbook]

Well the bible study was cancelled so won't be going and hearing about it.
Not sure that I really want to read books other than the bible in a bible study anyway.