The Bell Debate

Does Rob Bell subscribe to universalism?

That seems to be the question rolling around and around on blogs worldwide at the moment.  With the release of his new book "Love Wins" it seems Bell has finally crossed the line where most reformed pastors and Christians want no more to do with him.

The book has not been released yet, and a lot of the argument has come from pre-conceived ideas about what it will contain (raised by questions put forward in a media video release by Bell himself).  Now, however, advanced reading copies have been published for some to review and it seems Bell is moving beyond what I am comfortable as being classed as a Christian belief and that Rob Bell does in fact subscribe to universalism.

Tim Challies has a review after reading the advanced copy on his blog - which you can read here.   I found it a very objective look at the book, which highlights the inaccuracy of Bell's beliefs and a good reflection on what the book provides.

Here's a little of it.

The reader will also find broad statements offered as fact. “At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church has been the insistence that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins.” Is that true? It is easy to say, but can it be proven? Again and again Bell turns to the original languages but he quotes no commentaries, points to no sources. He says things like “‘forever’ is not really a category the biblical writers used.” But he offers no proof. Again, it is easy to say, but can it be proven? Can it be proven from a legitimate source?

I like Challies' summary of what seems to be coming out of Bell's position, and how it will relate to the church in general...

Christians do not need more confusion. They need clarity. They need teachers who are willing to deal honestly with what the Bible says, no matter how hard that truth is. And let’s be honest—many truths are very, very hard to swallow. 

Love does win, but not the kind of love that Bell talks about in this book. The love he describes is one that is founded solely on the idea that the primary object of God’s love is man; indeed, the whole story, he writes, can be summed up in these words: “For God so loved the world.” But this doesn’t hold a candle to the altogether amazing love of God as actually shown in the Bible. The God who “shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8), who acts on our behalf not so much because His love for us is great, but because He is great (Isaiah 48:9, Ezekiel 20:9,14,22,44, 36:22; John 17:1-5). 

That’s the kind of love that wins. That’s the kind of love that motivates us to love our neighbors enough to compel them to flee from the wrath to come. And our love for people means nothing if we do not first and foremost love God enough to be honest about Him.