Its hard to summarize anything written by Rob Bell. So I will tread lightly on a book that has created so much buzz and confronts some of the hardest questions within a religion that has been talked about for over 2000 years.
First and for most, Rob Bell's style is unique and innovative. I enjoy the pace of his writing and find the read going very fast. I've been told that one of Bell's both best and worst features is that he is an artist possibly before he is a pastor. Where I disagree that he is an artist before he is a pastor, he certainly is both a pastor and an artist. The questions he is answering comes out of his pastoral heart. He wants people to know that love abides, love presides, and ultimately love wins. Yet, the artist in him is edgy, insightful, and both is and will be well received by his audiences throughout different age groups.
It is the edgy part of the book that, being a pastor, I have a love/hate relationship with. I love it because it is bold. Bell asks questions that need to be asks like "What Jesus are we talking about or following?" So many people either follow a malevolent God waiting to strike them at any time or a Jesus who has oppressed many ideologies throughout the years. Yes, good - I don't follow this Jesus either. But when he follows up the question with an extreme example of a woman being abused for years, I hate the artistic nature. I hate it because so many people will close the book. Sure, some people need that edge. Some people need to have their mind embraced in such a way. Yet, there are too many people who are Christian but have a poor image of God that do not realize it. They are the way they are and have never questioned their "rightness" in front of God" - and these questions will drive them away. These observations make the book almost impossible to use because of what the questions can suggest for both a comfortable Christian and an atheist wanting be an agnostic. Overall though, the boldness makes the book appealing and repelling all at the same time. It is the edge that is Rob Bell. So its part of the book, like it or not.
The theology of the book is strong and weak. It is strong because it shows the true God of the Bible in the sense that this God is always loving, holy, and God's just nature only comes out of these two attributes. Then at times it is weak because Rob Bell does not want to directly say that some people will go to hell. He suggests that our decisions can welcome heaven or hell, which I agree, but he refuses to deal with both the elect or the sinfulness of humanity. He is much more willing to confront individuals decisions suggesting that we all have some say in wether we chose heaven or chose hell. Which, I believe we very much do. But I also believe that without God working in us through the Holy Spirit to bring us to complete surrender at the cross of Jesus Christ we are paralyzed to do so for ourselves. Where Rob does attribute the initial action to God, I still think he places too much emphasis on human decision. We have to be enabled to even be aware that we are sinful. And it is only because of the Trinity that being enabled happens.
Where Bell gets it right, though, is that love wins. The entire Bible is a love story about God pursuing God's creation. It is about God sending a part of God's self to die upon a cross for our original and continual disobedience. This one time sacrifice is the blood that makes the sinner as white as snow. But it is also the blood that brings us into the light because we all have lived in darkness unable to see the light. The Holy Spirit illuminates. Love wins.
Bell also points out the idea of who is in and who is out. Not even John Calvin said who is in or out. He just suggested that those who are in need not question if they are saved or not. This came at a time where indulgences bought a person's salvation. Calvin simply suggested that if grace has set you free, then you are free indeed. You are most certainly a part of the elect and nothing can seperate you from the love of God. No principalities, no hell, and no person or priest can do so. You are part of God's family and part of the elect.
But the elect is language Bell does not want to confront. Bell has to have the elect in his theology, but he does not mention this at all. Who the elect are is completely up for grabs and I do not think using this terminology would make Bell go a different direction or be contrary to his overall theme. Because the elect are the people who benefit from love winning. Where God formed us in the womb, God also longs for his children to come home. Whether we have been living as sinners or as pharisees, God calls us to repent, believe, and live in the Spirit. Those who do are the elect. God further pursues. God has always pursued. And God's heart breaks over even the one who does not come home. But there will be people who have hard hearts. There will be people who refuse the gospel. And for those, there is a hell. As Bell points out, it could be now or it could be later. But there is a very real seperation from God, and to this even Bell says we can call hell. So there is a group who will know of the love and there is a group who either does not know or rejects the love. Either way, God pursues. Either way, love will win because God's plan for the world has always been redemption. To this, Bell says: "Love wins."
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Death is not the end
Sometimes the worst possible events happen. Sometimes the people we love die suddenly, unexpectantly. Sometimes the grief we feel is overwhelming. Sometimes, life is to difficult to bear.
There was a time where death was the end. There was a time where the fallen awaited the day when they could be redeemed. There was a time where the Devil had thought that he had won.
But then there was one time. One time there was a Jewish man. Carpenter by trade. Wonderer by choice. But he called out to a group of people to follow him. One time, he was sent to save the lost. One time, God saw it fit to send a part of God's self, wholly different, yet Triune in Spirit. One time, Jesus lived a sinless life, but died upon a sinner's cross.
One time, he rose again. Now, every time when we lose a loved one, Christ is risen. And if we are in Christ then we are a new creation. The old is gone. The new is here then, now, and forevermore. And now we are redeemed. In death, there is life.
Now death is no longer the end. Death is merely the beginning.
Now, this time, we begin again as we are raised with Christ. In Christ. Through Christ.
Not our faith, but the faith. Not our will, but thy will. Not our guilt and blame, but only the cross.
And the cross is empty.
-In Memory of Janet Chou, and every loved one who ever has gone to the hereafter all too soon. -
There was a time where death was the end. There was a time where the fallen awaited the day when they could be redeemed. There was a time where the Devil had thought that he had won.
But then there was one time. One time there was a Jewish man. Carpenter by trade. Wonderer by choice. But he called out to a group of people to follow him. One time, he was sent to save the lost. One time, God saw it fit to send a part of God's self, wholly different, yet Triune in Spirit. One time, Jesus lived a sinless life, but died upon a sinner's cross.
One time, he rose again. Now, every time when we lose a loved one, Christ is risen. And if we are in Christ then we are a new creation. The old is gone. The new is here then, now, and forevermore. And now we are redeemed. In death, there is life.
Now death is no longer the end. Death is merely the beginning.
Now, this time, we begin again as we are raised with Christ. In Christ. Through Christ.
Not our faith, but the faith. Not our will, but thy will. Not our guilt and blame, but only the cross.
And the cross is empty.
-In Memory of Janet Chou, and every loved one who ever has gone to the hereafter all too soon. -
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Praying Psalm 29
Psa. 29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psa. 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.
The Lord alone is holy. The Lord alone is our God in any time.
Weakness.
Strength.
Night.
Day.
The Lord alone is worthy of praise. The Lord alone is worthy to be the only God. No other idol will do. No other god will take the Lord's place.
And yet, we replace the Lord all the time. We ascribe glory to LCDs. We worship technology. We think that actors and actresses are the only ones that sit in holy splendor.
But this place is only for the Lord your God. The Lord is the only one who is worthy of any glory we ascribe to anyone or thing. Worship this Lord, and you will live a life abundantly. Not with material possessions, but with the peace that can move mountains and calm storms.
Psa. 29:3 ¶ The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
Psa. 29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord created ex nihlo. The Lord hovered over the world and thought it good to separate the waters from the waters. Through the thunder and the lightning, this God of glory creates life. What power is in this kind of voice. What majesty is in this kind of voice. So worship and rejoice, for the Lord your God is powerful and good.
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Psa. 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.
The Lord alone is holy. The Lord alone is our God in any time.
Weakness.
Strength.
Night.
Day.
The Lord alone is worthy of praise. The Lord alone is worthy to be the only God. No other idol will do. No other god will take the Lord's place.
And yet, we replace the Lord all the time. We ascribe glory to LCDs. We worship technology. We think that actors and actresses are the only ones that sit in holy splendor.
But this place is only for the Lord your God. The Lord is the only one who is worthy of any glory we ascribe to anyone or thing. Worship this Lord, and you will live a life abundantly. Not with material possessions, but with the peace that can move mountains and calm storms.
Psa. 29:3 ¶ The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
Psa. 29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord created ex nihlo. The Lord hovered over the world and thought it good to separate the waters from the waters. Through the thunder and the lightning, this God of glory creates life. What power is in this kind of voice. What majesty is in this kind of voice. So worship and rejoice, for the Lord your God is powerful and good.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A story
Let me tell you a story.
It is about a stubborn man. One that believed that the only way to get rid of a ideology was to persecute and kill the people who believed in that one ideology. He killed them not because of who they were, but because of what they believed. He did so extensively without any reservation as to when and where these believers would die. No, he was a murderer. And not just one or two, but thousands of murders where attached to his name. He believed that these people were a sick perversion of there ancestry and needed to be thinned out. For the preservation of the strong will ultimately destroy any sign of the weak. The preservation of a species is dependent on the fact that the strongest will kill the weak. They will scorch the weak.
Strength in power.
Strength in terror.
Strength in a certain one ideology.
And the rest of the world will burn.
Who is this man? Who is such a wretch that would kill and destroy and plunder and try to get rid of an ideology?
Hitler?
Stalin?
Bin Laden?
No, none of these, although they would fit. No, this man is the most sinful of sinners. The most deserving of hell than arguably anyone else who came before and will come there after.
No, this man is Paul.
The Paul who was once Saul.
The Saul who was a murderer.
The Saul who believed Christ had died on a tree and thus was in Hades.
The Saul who persecuted any follower of the Christ who now was in Hell.
And yet, the Saul, who Christ met on the road to Damascus and called out "Why do you persecute me?" The Saul who was blind in unbelief, yet could see through any veil in belief. The Saul who once was blind but now could see. The Saul who we know as Paul. Paul, who wrote epistles that would be canonized. The Paul who was a missionary to the Galatians when so many would not go. The Saul, who is now Paul, who's ideas now define the religion he once persecuted.
And this is the power of the Gospel. That where there is perceived power, there is weakness. Where there is perceived weakness there is now power. And where we are all sinful and not one of us is justified in God's site, Jesus Christ became the curse for us. But this Christ was not condemned to hell, but God glorified Jesus to His right hand in raising the Christ from the dead. This Christ calls out to you and me, the most sinful of sinners, the saints, and any outcast to one course of action.
Repentance. Where we were once going in the wrong direction, we turn from the dark to the light. The Holy Spirit empowers us to call Jesus Lord and in doing so we claim the one true Son to be our Messiah. So we believe, not because we are able, but because Christ' faithfulness enables us to do so.
I do not know who is going to hell. I do not know who is going to Heaven. But I know that the power of the Gospel re-shapes and re-defines life and death. For Christ overcame death. And if Christ intercedes on our behalf, who/what shall we fear?
It is about a stubborn man. One that believed that the only way to get rid of a ideology was to persecute and kill the people who believed in that one ideology. He killed them not because of who they were, but because of what they believed. He did so extensively without any reservation as to when and where these believers would die. No, he was a murderer. And not just one or two, but thousands of murders where attached to his name. He believed that these people were a sick perversion of there ancestry and needed to be thinned out. For the preservation of the strong will ultimately destroy any sign of the weak. The preservation of a species is dependent on the fact that the strongest will kill the weak. They will scorch the weak.
Strength in power.
Strength in terror.
Strength in a certain one ideology.
And the rest of the world will burn.
Who is this man? Who is such a wretch that would kill and destroy and plunder and try to get rid of an ideology?
Hitler?
Stalin?
Bin Laden?
No, none of these, although they would fit. No, this man is the most sinful of sinners. The most deserving of hell than arguably anyone else who came before and will come there after.
No, this man is Paul.
The Paul who was once Saul.
The Saul who was a murderer.
The Saul who believed Christ had died on a tree and thus was in Hades.
The Saul who persecuted any follower of the Christ who now was in Hell.
And yet, the Saul, who Christ met on the road to Damascus and called out "Why do you persecute me?" The Saul who was blind in unbelief, yet could see through any veil in belief. The Saul who once was blind but now could see. The Saul who we know as Paul. Paul, who wrote epistles that would be canonized. The Paul who was a missionary to the Galatians when so many would not go. The Saul, who is now Paul, who's ideas now define the religion he once persecuted.
And this is the power of the Gospel. That where there is perceived power, there is weakness. Where there is perceived weakness there is now power. And where we are all sinful and not one of us is justified in God's site, Jesus Christ became the curse for us. But this Christ was not condemned to hell, but God glorified Jesus to His right hand in raising the Christ from the dead. This Christ calls out to you and me, the most sinful of sinners, the saints, and any outcast to one course of action.
Repentance. Where we were once going in the wrong direction, we turn from the dark to the light. The Holy Spirit empowers us to call Jesus Lord and in doing so we claim the one true Son to be our Messiah. So we believe, not because we are able, but because Christ' faithfulness enables us to do so.
I do not know who is going to hell. I do not know who is going to Heaven. But I know that the power of the Gospel re-shapes and re-defines life and death. For Christ overcame death. And if Christ intercedes on our behalf, who/what shall we fear?
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