Who Said That?

"We're rediscovering Christianity as an Eastern religion, as a way of life. Legal metaphors for faith don't deliver a way of life. We grew up in churches where people knew the nine verses why we don't speak in tongues, but had never experienced the overwhelming presence of God . . . [We are] discovering the Bible as a human product. . . . The Bible is still in the center for us, but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it."

You know the drill!  Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Answer to follow next week.

Update on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 01:30PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is a quote from Rob Bell (along with his wife Kristen) from a recent CT interview. It can be found here (http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/000271.html).

Comments

[Andrew]

Hm... Perhaps it's just because I'm from GR, but that positively *reeks* of Rob Bell. I can almost smell the frosted hair and man-capri pants...

[Stan McCullars]

A knucklehead.

[Eloquorius]

Sorry, but the "...embrace mystery, rather than conquer it" line gave it away (I won't say who, just to not spoil the fun). It's his signature line of notoriety! C'mon, Kim, give a challenging one.

[Si Hollett]

Rob Bell

[John Y]

One of the "orthodox" emergents- ie., those who think there is no such thing as a rational defense of the Christian faith. Or, those who think that truth claims about the resurrection or doctrine are arrogant. I will guess Brian McClaren rather then Rob Bell.

[Ken Rapoza]

My first thoughts are Brian McLaren or Doug Pagitt.

[Carol]

Rob Bell

[John Y]

Lloyd,

How about them Bulls?- I was going to email you directly but could not resist to make it public. Cannot wait to watch game 2 tonight.

[Tad]

Contains all the marks of a Bell quote...

[Peter]

Someone in an alternate universe? Or maybe I'll stick with Stan's suggestion above.

[reg]

This "theology" would go well with a side of astrology and some magic crystals and perhaps a spirit catcher for good measure. What utter gibberish!

As Paul noted in 2 Tim. 3: 6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

[Coyle]

N.T. Wright? just to mix it up a bit...

[dsanger]

Another wolf in sheep's clothing: Rob Bell.

[Ryan]

Ken Jones on his MySpace page.

[Zrim]

Rob Bell seems like the favorite here. If the "Love Wins" bumper stickers are any measure, he is also a favorite around here in Grandville. (The mall is such a fitting meeting place.) But when TIME magazine calls you the next Billy Graham, well...

While Christianity is not a "way of life" and legal metaphors are, in point of fact, its very thrust, there is a lot to be said for "embracing mystery instead of conquering it." Somehow, though, I don't think the author has a theology of the Cross in mind. If it's Bell, and his re-invented evangelicalism, I know he doesn't.

[Lloyd]

John Y:

Congrats to you and the Bulls.

With K.G. out for the year, I don't know how far our Celts will go.

Have a great day!

["lee n. field"]

Nicholas Storch.

(Just kidding.)

[Matt]

Andrew,

I'm in Fremont here so I'm well aware of the influence of Bell in this area, especially on the assistant pastor at the Wesleyan church.

[Jeff Rolfe]

This could be put on the list of a million stupid things Tony Campolo would say.

[Chris Sherman]

Another in a long line of AntiChrists