Rob Bell is the author of Love Wins, a recent book that set off its own firestorm even before it was released. In it, the well-known, very popular, "evangelical" pastor explained that no one goes to Hell. Love, you see, wins. And those who understand Scripture and recognize the clear teachings of the Church and the Word throughout the history of Christianity were up in arms. There is no question. Hell isn't a fabrication of a few mean guys a couple thousand years ago. It's right there in the pages of the Bible as clear as it gets.
I've written a few things about Hell in general and an entire series on the Bell incident in particular. It's pretty clear from what I've written that Hell is real. On the other hand, I would suspect that the truth is that I don't much believe in Hell ... and neither do you.
It has been (rightly) said that we are activated by what we believe. Do you want to know what you truly believe? Look at what you do. When Al Gore, for instance, preaches the end of the world from human-caused global warming and doesn't do a thing to change his own high-carbon lifestyle, you have to ask, "Does he really believe that?" When a smoker takes a drag on his cigarette and tells his young charge, "Don't smoke, kid. It will kill you," it's reasonable to ask, "Does he really believe that?" Conversely, when a guy tells his friends, "I'm not afraid of them" while whipping his head around to see if they're coming (assuming "them" is some sort of threat), you can be pretty sure that, despite what he says, he is afraid.
So when I walk into a sin with eyes wide open and claim, "I believe in Hell," I'm not telling the truth. At that moment, I'm not really conscious of the reality and threat of Hell. I'm not admitting to the cost of my sin and the quantity of the mercy provided. When I get mad at God for failing to come through on what I thought He owed me, I'm not really believing in Hell. When I can work with people that I care about and not say a word about their need for Christ, I am not really believing in Hell. It's not a real place to me at that moment.
How about you? What do you do that says clearly by your deeds, "I don't believe in Hell"? Do you recognize the justice that would call for you to face judgment, or do you live as if salvation is owed? Are you a vessel of wrath who has been shown mercy or a child of God who has been shown the mercy you deserve? Are you living and speaking Christ to those around you -- your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, fellow humans -- who are condemned already? If any of this gets close to you, perhaps you, too, don't believe in Hell. Moving what's in your head to your heart can be a difficult thing, can't it?
7 comments:
1. That is not what Rob Bell is stating in Love Wins. You are grossly misrepresenting his words… …he does not claim no one goes to hell…
2. Try to construct a view on “hell” from the ground up: ignore everything you have ever been told, and construct your view on nothing more than what the bible says and implies. Nothing in it implies permanent punishment, let alone fire and brimstone. One commonly cited passage for hell is the Lukan parabale of the rich man and Lazarus. Only the word “hell” here is actually (the only such case in the NT) hades, and Abraham is also in hades, only a higher level of hades (the “Bosom of Abraham”). Revelation only says that satan, the beast and false prophet will be tortured forever. Everyone else who is not saved remains in hades (hades meaning what it meant in the Greco-Roman world of the NT: death) and is annihilated by being thrown into the lake of fire. Really the biggest theological problem I see about hell is that the NT isn’t clear about what happens to nonbelievers. Hell is actually a catholic doctrine, created through allegory (the typical method), later ported into protestantism
3. Some quotes from the early church fathers on Hell…
1. If you think Rob Bell is the issue, you radically failed to comprehend the post.
2. Okay, good, no Hell ... except that is not what I find in the pages of Scripture, nor is it what the Church has historically found in the pages of Scripture, nor is it limited to "a catholic doctrine" ... unless, of course, you are using the term "catholic" as it is intended -- a universal doctrine. In that case, I'll agree that it's a catholic doctrine.
3. FYI, someone making a statement in the days of the Early Church does not an "Early Church Father" make. Having said that, of the genuine "Early Church Fathers", Augustine was not happy about the failure to believe in endless torments, Iraneaus was not talking about eternal damnation, but the removal of Adam and Eve from the garden before they ate from the Tree of Life, St. Clement made no reference to eternal damnation in that quote, St Jerome speaks of the "ultimate forgiveness of the devil" which would violate your own "only ... satan, the beast and false prophet will be tortured forever", Chrysostom didn't reference Hell at all ... wait ... I'm sensing a pattern here.
Finally, there is no answer yet from the "no hell for humans" side. If there is no eternal torment, why worry? Tell Christianity as a whole to SHUT UP because there is no bad news and everything will turn out alright. Jesus is not "the only way" because ALL ways lead to heaven. Eat, drink, and be merry! It will all be okay.
1. Did not state "Rob Bell is the issue", merely pointed out that you brazenly published inaccurate take on what he has written and spoke on.
2. Catholic doctrine spun a lot of "tradition", much of which the Reformers stripped away (and rightfully so), but conceptions of heaven & hell still manifested a vision unlike the early church fathers, as evidenced by that sampling of quotes. For more detail, read the N.T. Wright (former Anglican bishop, acclaimed Bible scholar, ancient historian) Surprised by Hope
3. On ECT -- you're putting the cart before the horse, IMV. Commanding people to "believe" or else to face of the wrath of stick -- very legalistic and formulaic for something that is impossible for you to "earn". Instead of merely opening yourself up to the vast love of God, which scripture clearly and repeatedly propounds is for ALL.
1. Rob Bell himself considers himself a "universalist" (although he denies the term) in the sense that he believes that God will redeem all mankind.
2. Based on the many references by Christ on eternal torment, the Church has held that there is eternal torment. (Convenient, isn't it, that you ignored my comments on the quotes from the early church fathers who did not, as a whole, deny the reality of eternal torment for those who die without Christ. Your sampling of quotes doesn't say what you seem to think it says.)
3. Without "bad news", there is no "good news". By erasing any bad news, you eliminate the good news. Further, it wasn't my idea to point out the threat of curses along with the promise of blessings. That was God's idea.
1. No, you do not understand what "universalist" means -- if you want to read what a universalist thinks on hell, here is a good source, and it's quite different that what Bell, N.T. Wright are proffering (although Wright says Bell not exactly the same, though it sure seemed quite close from my reading).
2. I don't know how to say this, other than you miss the point -- salvation is not something you "earn" -- you and many others simply are not honoring Jesus (and Scripture) and, in my estimation, peering at the matter from an adolescent point of view. I realize that sounds harsh, but God's love is indeed a gift, one that it is possible for one to spurn, but love is the language of God, love never fails, #lovewins.
1. From Ken Allen, Th.D., from Auburn University, "Christian Universalism DOES INCLUDE THE BELIEF that God 'will have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim. 2:4)." (Emphasis in the original text.) That is the universalism I am referencing and the universalism that Bell himself espouses. (It is, in fact, the very verse on which he bases it.) If you mean something else by it, that's fine. Based on this (the standard) definition and Bell's clearly stated agreement with this belief, Bell is a universalist.
2. How you get anything remotely close to "salvation is not something you 'earn'" -- that I or the rest who agree with Jesus regarding the danger of going "into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-44, etc.) believe something about earning salvation -- is way beyond me. I believe 100% that salvation is not something that is in any way earned, and if you think there is something in my beliefs that says otherwise, you really don't know what I believe.
On the other side of the equation, what possible reason can you offer for arguing any of this with anyone since it's all moot? If all are saved, what's the point in arguing? Why bother telling me I'm wrong since I won't be dissuading anyone from heaven? Why bother arguing for Christianity if everyone is going to be saved in the end? If I know that everyone around me is going to end up just fine, why would I be disturbed if they have a few misguided beliefs in this short life? Why not just get along?
Final question/point. You don't appear to believe in Hell, so why should you complain if I write a post about my problem when I don't believe in Hell?
Great post Stan. Check out this video if you haven't seen it.
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