Rob Bell and a New American Christianity (Musing about the non-existence of Hell)

Ministry Matters ^ | 11/15/2012 | By James K. Wellman, Jr.

[taterjay]

why young Christians are leaving the church: churches are overprotective; shallow; anti-science; simplistic about sexuality; exclusivistic, and unfriendly to doubt.

I think the young need to stay with it long enough to see the other sides. I didn’t leave when I was young, however, I did have MY ideas and thoughts and wanted to push them as most of us do. Now what I see from those older and those who have gone on is a faithfulness to God, and doing what they knew best to follow him. It humbles me. So, I see in cases a chip on the shoulder of the young. I think it goes along with the current secular, societal view of the young knowing it all. Running away from the Church and the Lord is not going to bring one closer to God. What is there to run to? The culture??? If you are young and reading this....DO NOT QUIT on your church and God.

[Lee N. Field]

The face of American Christianity is in transition

Do people say this when they don't have anything to say? The face of Am. Christianity is always changing.

Much of this piece seems like, honestly, blather.

As a pastor and an artist, Bell exhibits the irrepressible irresponsible spirit of the American religious entrepreneur,

Fixed it.

And, for people's edification through amusment, a parody of a Rob Bell video: Robbed Hell. It's really quite good. Enjoy.

"And the good news is, no one hast to know about the zit."

[Licensed-To-Carry]

You don't have to believe in Hell to go there.

John 14:6

[Lee N. Field]

A professor of theology I once knew said that the trajectory of Protestantism historically is toward unitarianism and universalism. He didn’t approve of it. It was just an observation that I think has some truth to it.

He didn't approve of what, unitarianism and universalism, or protestantism?

Yes, there is some truth to his statement. It's been seen before. Fortunately, protestantism is not a monolithic thing.

[SaraJohnson]

Church, inclusive of sin, is much more interesting for “young people” raised in amoral public schools pushing homosexuality, abortion, feminism, divorce and sluthood and fed a steady diet of materialism’s gangsta rap, occultism and reality tee vee.

It would be wise for Evangelicals to turn from materialism (wracking up building debt and big pay for ministers) and focus on doing what Jesus told Christians to do. No one who belongs to a Christian church should feel alone in life while surrounded by brothers and sisters who know and love them.

For example, there should be talk about problems and wise advice, support and healing for confused minds and broken hearts. Charity, in word and deed, begins at home in the congregation and moves out from there within the members. Charity does not begin in the local, godless humanist feeding center for socialist browny points.

Real Christians are going to be hated and ghettoized as the dummies become more and more intolerant of Christian faith, morality and wisdom. They are going to demand you sin with them and deny Christ in order to work or operate in their society. This is the real problem that young Christians face. They stick out like a light in the darkness and the darkness is tolerant of light.

Young Christians are outcasts in the public culture and institutions. If an Evangelical avoids the humanists in early education, they will catch up on your child at college or the workplace making him feel like a foreigner in his own country. If they don’t get them in the public schools, they will get to them in video games, movies, song and dance. Liberals are into TOTAL darkness for any aspect of society they control.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

He used to sing “A Mighty Fortress” in German on Reformation Day, so he certainly approved of Protestantism! This was 30 years ago. And he had the mainline denominations in mind. Even a single denomination is not monolithic, but where there has been a departure from orthodoxy among denominations or individuals, it is generally in the areas of christology and soteriology.

[Biggirl]

Take confort, the King of Kings is coming back, “soon and very soon.”

[Biggirl]

Look for the USA to become a mission field again, with devout Christians from the “global south” nations who are on fire for the Lord. As the USA once sent missionaries out to the global south, so the global south in turn do the same and they wlll send the missionaries.

[Biggirl]

I do have a question, how much more did Christ teach on Hell then on Heaven, the precentage? Thank-you for your answer.

[brent13a]

I've never heard of this Rob Bell, and of all the types of christianity that are taught 'Universalism' is most definitely in the top 5 of "christian" scourges that corrupt the weak minded.
Mixing and matching doctrines from different times and versions of "christianity" breeds pure ignorance.
Neither a Mount Olympus/Asgard "heaven" exist nor does a Hades/Inferno "hell". The fact will always be that those concepts are not "judeo-christian" in origin and do not nor ever have originated in the "Old Testament" nor the "New Testament.
Neither Sheol nor Gehenna are "hell" and outside of mystical pagan versions of Judaism have they ever equaled "hell".
Both false concepts were introduced at least a 100 years after the death of Jesus. The Latin Vulgate and the Original King James translations were the most corrupted translations of G-d's Word ever put to pen and paper or printing press. Absolute travesties.
The fact that the corrupt doctrines of "heaven and hell" are not biblical, and were never taught by G-d, His prophets, nor Jesus, doesn't mean salvation is "universal"....again that too is ignorant. That nonsense goes right along with the stupid phrase "G-d hates the sin, but loves the sinner". What an absolute corruption of such simple teachings from G-d and Jesus.
Besides the Hebrew Tanakh there are many bibles that don't use the mythological iconography as well:
Hanson’s New Covenant, Young’s Literal Translation, Twentieth Century New Testament, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, Weymouth’s New Testament, Jewish Publication Society Bible OT, Emphatic Diaglott Greek /English Int., Tanakh/The Complete Jewish Bible to name a few.
She'ol, The Pit, The Abyss, Gehenna, these are not "hebrew terms" for hell, they are names and titles that have specific meaning and have nothing to do with a mythological "hades-realm full of fire".
Reading Tanakh & Revelation reveals that upon the final resurrection at the End-of-the Age, His(G-d's) Wrath will be like a Refiner's Fire sweeping away Death, The Adversary, and all the Wicked forever. They don't go to a mythological hades-realm full of fire, they get burnt out of existence altogether....by G-d's fiery wrath.
You either end up in G-d's Restored Kingdom (that would be restored on earth) or you get blotted out of existence altogether. People don't have separate magical souls that go to a magical Mount Olympus in the sky. Your breath is owned by G-d it goes back to Him and you turn back to the dust of the earth (you sleep with everyone else). At the End-of-the-Age when the Restoration happens you get your body and breath back.
Besides the gross mistranslation and corruptions of "heaven and hell" the mistranslation and corruptions of the biblical concepts of G-d's finite Ages (End-of-the-Age, Age-to-come, and Age-lasting) their corruptions into substituting "FOREVER" and "ETERNAL" and "EVERLASTING" instead of the actual concepts of G-d's Ages is downright idiotic and blasphemous.
Egads, no matter what flavor of "christianity" it is, each and every one is corrupted.

[Biggirl]

Yet to “correct you” the Christian faith is the fastest growing faith there is despite what you wrote.

[Biggirl]

Plus “paragrapsh” is your friend.

[Biggirl]

Sorry, paragraphs is your friend.

[Biggirl]

Reads like a Gnostic teaching here.

[Biggirl]

Links PLEASE. Thank-you.

[Lee N. Field]

Sorry, paragraphs is your friend.

Paragraphs are your friend.

[Biggirl]

That was me before first cup of coffee this morning. :)

[ravenwolf]

This is a good example of why Jesus said that i preach freely but the hirelings would flee when the wolf comes.

Take the money out of preaching and it will be amazing how many preachers will no longer be preaching.

It may also be amazing who you will see doing the preaching for nothing.

Take the money and or monetary benefits out of preaching and you will know who the true servants of God really are.

[RnMomof7]

He is a wolf leading a pack of goats... the sheep leave

[Lee N. Field]

Yeah, I should talk. I’m pretty bad with typos, and “thinkos” (think one thing, something not quite that gets typed).