I thought I was done with the Rob Bell posts. But when I heard that he appeared this morning on my favorite talking-head program “Morning Joe,” I knew I had one more. The video of Bell’s appearance is above. There’s nothing new here and certainly nothing hard-hitting. The only thing new that I got from this is that apparently Mika likes what he’s selling. The others sounded like they weren’t very interested in the interview. FWIW.
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Mohler Leads Panel Discussion of “Love Wins”
Earlier today Albert Mohler moderated a discussion of Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins. I was grateful to participate in the conversation along with Russell Moore and Justin Taylor. Watch above, listen below, or download audio here. [audio:http://www.sbts.edu/media/audio/Panels/20110317-bellpanel.mp3]
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Review of DeYoung Book
Tim Kimberley of Credo House Ministries has written a short, favorable review of Kevin DeYoung’s Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (Crossway, 2011). I appreciated his advice about how to use this book. He writes: “If I were to start doing a study with someone. Maybe a mentor-type situation with a person in their teens, twenties or thirties this is one of possibly 3 books right now I’d consider reading with them.Â
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Martin Bashir Takes on Rob Bell
I don’t know what else to say. This interview is devastating. It exposes the inconsistency of Bell’s argument. Bell wants to be a universalist without taking the name, and Bashir won’t let him off by a facile appeal to “paradox.” Watch above or read the transcript below.
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Lisa Miller Interviews Rob Bell
Earlier this evening Lisa Miller of Newseek interviewed Rob Bell about his new book Love Wins. If you want to see where the rubber meets the road with the theology in Rob Bell’s book, then you’ll want to watch this. Miller actually does a good job of pressing Bell on some key points. I think she understands the affront of the cross, and even Rob Bell’s inclusivism is offensive to her because it still relies on Jesus as the savior of the world. Unfortunately, Bell fails to state a clear gospel message. Instead, he gives short pat answers and tells lots of stories. Interestingly, Miller calls him a universalist inspite…
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DeYoung’s Review is Must-Read
Kevin DeYoung’s review of Rob Bell’s Love Wins is a theological and pastoral tour de force. If you have limited time to read book reviews, skip mine. Kevin’s is much better.
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John Piper on the Tsunami
It will be a while before we know how many people lost their lives in yesterday’s disaster. The 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries. Hopefully the death toll in Japan and elsewhere will not be as high. Nevertheless, the scope of the yesterday’s loss will no doubt be of disastrous proportions. The questions of theodicy that people had in 2004 will surface again as more news unfolds. In light of that, my mind has been on a discussion that John Piper had with an NPR reporter after the 2004 tsunami. This interview was tremendously helpful to me then. My hope and prayer is that…
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First Review Calls Bell a Universalist
Tim Challies has written the first major review of Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Based on his reading of the entire book, he concludes that Bell is a kind of “Christian Universalist” and that he denies the doctrine of Hell as a place of eternal, conscious punishment. Something tells me this conversation is just getting started.
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Al Mohler on the Rob Bell Flap
Mohler calls Bell’s video a “theological striptease” that deserves a response. From Mohler’s website today: “We must await the release of the full book in order to know what Rob Bell is really saying, but his advance promotion for the book is already saying something, and it is not good. The material he has already put forth does demand and deserve attention. “The Emerging Church movement is known for its slick and sophisticated presentation. It wears irony and condescension as normal attire. Regardless of how Rob Bell’s book turns out, its promotion is the sad equivalent of a theological striptease. “The Gospel is too precious and important to be commodified…
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Rob Bell Outs Himself
False teachers are often described as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Eventually, every wolf loses the disguise. It looks like that is exactly what Rob Bell has done in his new book set to be released next month, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I have had the opportunity to read the preface and the first couple of chapters, and it appears that Bell has embraced some form of universalism—the belief that every person eventually inherits eternal life. Perhaps he is leaving the door open for some kind of annihilationist perspective. In any case, he has jettisoned the doctrine of hell…