• Book Reviews,  Christianity

    Book Length Responses to Love Wins

    John Starke has a helpful round-up of book-length responses to Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. He notes that the one by Francis Chan is probably the highly anticipated of the bunch. He also observes the following: “These books are being published very quickly after the Bell’s book began mailing and hitting shelves. The obvious reason for this was how much the blogs dominated this discussion. Most of the notable reviews occurred within a few days of the book’s publication date. Subsequent reviews seemed dated and almost had to interact with others reviews as much as the book itself. So the speed of these publications says something of the speed of…

  • Theology/Bible

    Richard Mouw on “Love Wins”

    From Cathy Lynn Grossman at USA Today: Richard Mouw, president of the world’s largest Protestant seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary based in Pasadena, Calif., calls Love Wins “a great book, well within the bounds of orthodox Christianity and passionate about Jesus. The real hellacious fight, says Mouw, a friend of Bell, a Fuller graduate, is between “generous orthodoxy and stingy orthodoxy. There are stingy people who just want to consign many others to hell and only a few to heaven and take delight in the idea. But Rob Bell allows for a lot of mystery in how Jesus reaches people.” I think this quote from Mouw portends the shape of the…

  • Christianity

    Rob Bell has left the church for a “quasi-intentional spiritual community”?

    Jim Hinch argues in The American Scholar that evangelicalism is on the decline in America. This thesis is not new. He’s accessing trends in polling data that evangelicals have been aware of for years. The article focuses on the demise of Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral as a parable of what’s happening in evangelicalism writ large. Hinch then argues that Rob Bell’s flight from the pastorate and from his own megachurch is a leading indicator of where younger evangelicals are trending. In short, they’re leaving the movement. And in Bell’s case in particular, they’re leaving the church altogether. Hinch writes:

  • News

    Top 10 Posts on DennyBurk.com for 2011

    Here are the top ten posts on DennyBurk.com for 2011. Unlike the last post, this list is scientific. It’s based on page view statistics from Google Analytics. I am very grateful for all of you who read the blog, and I am honored that you take the time to keep up with the conversation here. Blessings to you, and happy new year!

  • Christianity,  Humor,  News

    Top 10 YouTubes of 2011

    It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s crop contains items relating to sports, theology, news, Christianity, and more. Some of the videos are humorous, and others are poignant. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding it to the “Honorable Mention” category. This year’s slate of videos is arranged in no particular order, as number ten is obviously in a class all by itself. If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous…

  • Christianity,  News

    Rob Bell Resigns from Mars Hill

    The elders at Mars Hill Bible Church have announced that Rob Bell is resigning from the pastorate of the congregation he founded 12 years ago. Sarah Pulliam Bailey has the scoop. Here’s a bit from the statement that the elders posted on the church’s website: Feeling the call from God to pursue a growing number of strategic opportunities, our founding pastor Rob Bell, has decided to leave Mars Hill in order to devote his full energy to sharing the message of God’s love with a broader audience. It is with deeply mixed emotions that we announce this transition to you. We have always understood, encouraged, and appreciated the variety of…

  • Christianity,  News

    Rob Bell on the Cover of TIME

    TIME magazine’s cover story this week is about Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Here is John Meacham’s one line explanation of what the fuss is about: “[Bell] suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal — meaning that, as his book’s subtitle puts it, ‘every person who ever lived’ could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be.” Every year during Easter season, the news weeklies like to feature stories that tweak traditional Christian belief (for example, The Gospel of Judas, the tomb of Jesus, etc.). For these publications, Holy Week has become heresy week. I think it says something that Bell’s book has now…