tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post4189237066136823305..comments2024-02-22T04:58:19.083-08:00Comments on My Reflections: Fare Well, Rob BellUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-86625707312984678392011-04-07T06:18:39.697-07:002011-04-07T06:18:39.697-07:00I hesitate to add a comment since I have not yet r...I hesitate to add a comment since I have not yet read the book (I have it on coming on order) but since the topic is out there and current I will comment based upon not on what others have said but upon what I have heard and read of Bell's conversation with LIsa Miller of Newsweek.<br /><br />I found a couple of his answers to be pretty evasive, in particular his statement about hell being tied to our earthly existence. He seems to equate hell with the many horrors, tyrannies, violence, etc. that we observe here on earth. While I deeply would like to avoid it, scripture seems to make it very clear that there is a real hell (Mt. 25:41-46) that seems to go far beyond the horrors we have witnessed on this earth.<br /><br />He said he is not a universalist but said that people of all backgrounds can get into heaven? Scripture makes it absolutely clear there is no avenue to heaven but through Christ's redemptive work on the cross. I found his answer to Miller's pressing him on whether he is a universalist to be vague and unclear.<br /><br />I look forward to reading the book but will do so with a healthy dose of skepticism.<br /><br />Jeff Cripe, ChicoJeff Cripenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-26971885657113789222011-04-07T06:16:01.401-07:002011-04-07T06:16:01.401-07:00I hesitate to add a comment since I have not yet r...I hesitate to add a comment since I have not yet read the book (I have it on coming on order) but since the topic is out there and current I will comment based upon not on what others have said but upon what I have heard and read of Bell's conversation with LIsa Miller of Newsweek.<br /><br />I found a couple of his answers to be pretty evasive, in particular his statement about hell being tied to our earthly existence. He seems to equate hell with the many horrors, tyrannies, violence, etc. that we observe here on earth. While I deeply would like to avoid it, scripture seems to make it very clear that there is a real hell (Mt. 25:41-46) that seems to go far beyond the horrors we have witnessed on this earth.<br /><br />He said he is not a universalist but said that people of all backgrounds can get into heaven? Scripture makes it absolutely clear there is no avenue to heaven but through Christ's redemptive work on the cross. I found his answer to Miller's pressing him on whether he is a universalist to be vague and unclear.<br /><br />I look forward to reading the book but will do so with a healthy dose of skepticism.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-50970023728832350182011-04-04T16:35:49.998-07:002011-04-04T16:35:49.998-07:00I have found Bell brilliant and engaging in his ar...I have found Bell brilliant and engaging in his artistic presentations of what ATTRACTS him to Christianity. The natural corollary of this is for him to question the things he doesn't find attractive. Trying to engage us to enter that struggle can be controversial.<br /><br />I think he is more poetic than profound. He is gifted with inspired gestures of direction rather than clearly defined doctrine. He should not be taken definitively by either detractors or those he attracts. <br /><br />Logically, our conclusions about hell must be mirrored in our ideas about heaven. To eliminate or minimize one is to do the same for the other.<br /><br /> Although Jesus spoke of hell many times more than heaven, similar consequential phrasings apply to each. Existential or eschatological, the real question must always turn us to experiencing of the transforming power of Jesus. Talk of hell is to be just a sign-post, not a doctrinal rest-stop. <br /><br />Bill Jackson, OrovilleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-35841628919511375282011-04-03T20:40:24.299-07:002011-04-03T20:40:24.299-07:00Good comments...
I think Bell is not a great inter...Good comments...<br />I think Bell is not a great interview, but he's a strong communicator. I didn't come to "Love Wins" with pent-up adulation--in fact, I found his writing in "Sex God" a bit irritating--but I think that "Love Wins" has much more to commend itself.My Reflectionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06398084457749292224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-21087289559952958962011-04-03T19:05:06.261-07:002011-04-03T19:05:06.261-07:00I wonder what a 'mainline' church is? It&#...I wonder what a 'mainline' church is? It's been my experience that it's the local congregation that makes it mainline or not. Also from my experience, BPC isn't 'mainline'. In fact, it's a wonderful place to be! In my travels through the various churches; Pentecostal, Orthodox Presbyterian, UPC, Syrian Orthodox, PCUSA, PCA, Federated and now PCUSA again...Bidwell style, not one was was overtly anti-science. They seemed to never care about it one way or the other. But here it is embraced! And I couldn't be happier because of that fact. People THINK here! <br /><br />Regarding Rob Bell...I hadn't heard of him till today. I guess I have some reading to do.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10446337419977796973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20905577.post-61668879698937609092011-04-03T10:23:56.995-07:002011-04-03T10:23:56.995-07:00i don't know rob bell at all (i avoid celebrit...i don't know rob bell at all (i avoid celebrities who have a need to change their look frequently), but after seeing him interviewed on this book a few places, i personally feel like he is working out some serious inner demons, beyond even the subject of this book. his struggle with some of the harsher aspects of christendom seem motivated by his own personal morality, certainly in contrast with contemporary evangelical/fundamentalist culture. having only heard worshipful praise of him before this, i'm surprised at how inarticulate he is in interviews.<br /><br />to his credit, he is asking challenging questions about the nature of god. unfortunately, that doesn't work out well for most people in the church.johnnoreply@blogger.com