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…
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Rob Bell Can’t Tweet the Gospel
Rob Bell tells Christianity Today that he cannot Tweet the gospel. There’s just too much there to fit into 140 characters. Here’s CT‘s question followed by his answer: How would you present this gospel on Twitter? I would say that history is headed somewhere. The thousands of little ways in which you are tempted to believe that hope might actually be a legitimate response to the insanity of the world actually can be trusted. And the Christian story is that a tomb is empty, and a movement has actually begun that has been present in a sense all along in creation. And all those times when your cynicism was at…
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A Critique of Rob Bell’s Feminine God Language
In his latest NOOMA video, Pastor Rob Bell argues that the Biblical depiction of God is often a feminine one: There is this maternal impulse, this ancient nurturing instinct. And it transcends time; it transcends culture; it transcends economics. There is an ancient mothering impulse, and it’s also a divine impulse. Throughout the Bible, God is described as compassionate. In Hebrew, the original language of the Scriptures, it’s the word “raham.” It’s also the word for “womb.” So, God is compassionate. God is “womb-like”? This is a feminine image for God.
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D. A. Carson Comments on Rob Bell’s Ministry
This is a follow-up from my post earlier this week about Pastor Rob Bell. D. A. Carson commented on Bell’s ministry at the 2008 Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology [HT: Justin Taylor]. The title of Carson’s sermon was “Keeping Up With The Conversation,” and it surveyed the Emerging Church, the Emergent Movement, and postmodernism. Doug Selph has the audio, and you can listen to it here: “D.A. Carson on Rob Bell” – ReformationUnderway.com
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An Unbiblical “Gospel†in Rob Bell’s NOOMA Videos?
Have you seen any of Pastor Rob Bell’s “NOOMA” videos? I first viewed a few of them a few years ago when a friend from church brought them to me and said that I needed to watch them. They are impressive in terms of production, and compelling in terms of Rob Bell’s delivery of the material. They are short, hip, punchy sermonettes that do a good job of reaching the pomo set. Greg Gilbert has written a 3-part review of the videos that is now available at the blog for 9Marks.org. Gilbert ends up being extremely critical of the videos because of their lack (and sometimes distortion of) gospel content.…
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Rob Bell’s ‘Sex God’ on CNN
Pastor Rob Bell is in the news again with the release of his newest book Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality And Spirituality. With chapter titles like “God Wears Lipstick,” it’s not difficult to see why a book like this one has gotten so much attention. On Tuesday, a friend sent me a little bit that CNN produced about Bell and Sex God, so I thought I’d pass it on to you. Here it is: Rob Bell on CNN.
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Rob Bell Is Coming to Town
Pastor Rob Bell is bringing his “The Gods Aren’t Angry Tour” to Dallas next week. In anticipation of the big event, Kate Goodloe from the Dallas Morning News called to get me to comment on Rob Bell’s controversial ministry. Like most most reporters who cover controversial issues, Goodloe includes in her story both supporters and critics. I was brought in as the critic. Her account of our conversation is good, so far as it goes. But I thought I would fill in some of the gaps since some of my remarks need some more context. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Goodloe’s report:
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Rob Bell’s Change of Heart on the Women’s Issue
Gender-News.com has a fascinating report on Pastor Rob Bell’s transition from a complentarian position to an egalitarian position. The story is titled “Engaged by the culture: Michigan megachurch goes egalitarian.†The article also narrates the story of Rob Bell’s role in changing his church’s constitution so that women would be permitted to serve as elders.A few things are troubling about this story and are in stark contrast to my previous post about Al Mohler’s change of heart in the other direction.
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Southwestern Prof. Comments on Rob Bell’s Tour
Perhaps you have read about Rob Bell, an emerging church pastor from Michigan who is traveling to major cities across the country this summer and preaching in non-traditional venues (e.g., bars, concert halls). The tour has received some significant media attention that includes articles in both the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle.My good friend Jim Hamilton, who is a professor of biblical studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, commented on Rob Bell’s national tour in the Houston Chronicle. Go check out Jim’s remarks in “Christianity Gets a Reality Check.â€
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How feminism treats heterosexuality as a problem
If you’ve ever wondered about the connection between feminism and LGBT identities, a recent article by Marcie Bianco at NBC News clears things up. Among other things, Bianco says this: Men need heterosexuality to maintain their societal dominance over women. Women, on the other hand, are increasingly realizing not only that they don’t need heterosexuality, but that it also is often the bedrock of their global oppression. Patriarchy is at its most potent when oppression doesn’t feel like oppression, or when it is packaged in terms of biology, religion or basic social needs like security comfort, acceptance and success. Heterosexuality offers women all these things as selling points to their…