Reading Day

Today my copy of Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins" came today in the mail. (Remember I live in WY!) God knows best since this was my day off and I sat down and read the whole book. (Not something I do very often)  I did take a break to rake the yard since it was such a nice day - that was mostly for Brenda's benefit so she would know I got that done!

Anyway, reading today was a very good thing and I thought it would be good for me to blog about it while it is still fresh on my 50+yr old brain.  I purposefully refrained from commenting on all the other blogs and articles I saw about the book, both pro and con, because I don't like to give my opinion on someone's opinion on someone else's opinion on a book I haven't read.  I ask that you read all the way through my thoughts and not just stop half way and think you know what I think. (you'll see why if you persevere)

I did very much agree with Rob when he wrote, "There is no question that Jesus cannot handle, no discussion too volatile, no issue too dangerous." and I pray that brothers and sisters in Christ can engage in the debate in a Christ-like manner.

There has already been lots of controversy over his thoughts on "heaven, hell and the fate of every person who ever lived."  and I must admit the first part of the book left me very skeptical.  Bell attacks what he calls, "some of the dominant stories that are being told as the Jesus story."  I thought the description of some of those points of view were set up as straw men with a fair amount of generalizing going on.  Granted, the views he addresses are present in modern Christianity but I hesitate to consider them all mainstream even if that is often what is portrayed in the media and is accepted by many.

Also in the first part of the book it seemed as if arguments were being made based on how people felt about things , such as this quote. "Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life?"  The danger in this line of thinking is that it brings into question absolute truth.  If I don't feel good about something does that make it any less true?  Anyway, I think Rob played on that a lot in the beginning of the book.

Bell makes a valid point when he says that it "matters how you respond to Jesus" and then asks, "which Jesus?"  There are so many different ideas that people hold about who Jesus is, how He interacts with us and what He really teaches that it is very important to know what people mean when they talk about Jesus.  Our age of sound bites and tweets doesn't always lend itself to deep conversation when you can really discover what is meant behind what is said.

I still have to wrap my aging mind around some of the thoughts and dig a little deeper to check on Rob's Hebrew and Greek references.  Things like defining eternity and age and how they should be understood in context.  And I have to evaluate my upbringing as well when it comes to Rob's thoughts about "everyone", "all people", and "the nations" being in heaven.  Rob seems to infer that those phrases mean literally everyone, in a universalist sort of way. Am I doing too much mental gymnastics to think that those phrases refer to representatives from every nation, tribe, people and tongue?  We come to a similar conclusion when Bell speaks of the great diversity and unity in heaven and I wholeheartedly agree that "A racist would be miserable in the world to come."

Rob Bell was attacked in one interview I saw as the host believed Bell was implying that what we do in this life has no bearing or impact on eternity. I'm not sure where he came up with that line of questioning!  Rob is very clear that how we live now has a lot to do with our eternal life.  He points out very clearly that our eternity is going on right now and what we do now matters. "While we continually find grace waiting to pick us up off the ground after we have fallen, there are realities to our choices. While we may get other opportunities, we won't get the one right in front of us again."

I have always felt that the whole "hell on earth" concept sort of downplayed the actual torment of the hell described in the Bible.  I am not taking lightly the extreme pain and suffering that is in our world. I am just saying that even the torment many live through in this life is but a reflection of the eternal reality of hell.  As I read the book, I felt that Bell seems to not make that distinction.

I felt like Rob was making a false dichotomy when he asked, "Is God our friend, our provider, our protector, our father - or is God the kind of judge woh may in the end declare that we deserve to spend forever separated from our Father?"  I found myself asking can God not be BOTH Father and Judge?

As I got into the 100's, however, I found I was agreeing more than disagreeing. The thought that, "love, by its very nature is freedom." resonated in me along with the observation that, "We aren't fixed, static beings - we change and morph as life unfolds."  It wasn't until pages 113-114 that I felt I found the key to Rob's line of reasoning.  He is very clear that Heaven will not be home to sin or "those who would continue to do them."  The statement "We are free to resist, reject adn rebel against God's ways for us. We can have all the hell we want," eased my mind concerning Rob Bell becoming a universalist!

Bell leaves open for discussion and disagreement the notion that after death and/or the end of the age people will still be able to change their mind about rebelling against God.  He points to numerous church fathers who held that belief noting that this is nothing new.  Rob Bell states, "Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices? Those are questions, or more accurately, those are tensions we are free to leave fully intact. We don't need to resolve them or answer them because we can't, and so we simply respect them, creating space for the freedome that love requires."  Again, I pray that brothers and sisters in Christ can engage in the debate in a Christ-like manner. 


When Bell states "Yes, we get what we want." in relation to Heaven and Hell I was left thinking of one player that was missing from the discussion.  Remember that Satan is also at work lying to man as he always has, "did God really say...?"  That doubt casting can really influence a person's decisions concerning what they really want.

I appreciated Rob's recognition of the two stories and how one resonates better than the other in our modern world.  I will have to think that through in light of Paul's stated purpose to become all things to all men so that by all means he may win some.

OK this was really long, but it helps me to sort some of my thoughts while they are still fresh on my mind.  I am not ready to make a final conclusion regarding some of the thoughts raised in the book, "Love Wins" but I have always believed that there is nothing wrong with questions as long as I turn to God for the answers!  I invite dialogue about my observations and would love to hear yours as well.  I just ask that you read the book and not just other people's thoughts about it. 

God bless us all in our journey together!

PS - I'm not a fan of the plastic slip cover! Just saying.