Heaven, Hell & the Theology of Rob Bell

Here are a couple of things related to the release of Rob Bell's controversial new book Love Wins which might be of interest.

Recently, the White Horse Inn hosts interviewed Kevin DeYoung, who has just written a lengthy review of Bell's new book.  The White Horse Inn is making the audio of that interview available as a free bonus track.  You can find it here.  White Horse Inn Bonus Track

Mike Horton has also weighed in on Bell's book.  Here's the link:  Horton's Take on Rob Bell

Bell's book is not out yet--Kevin DeYoung did read key sections of it to us during our interview with him.  As many have already noted, Bell's book (with its reformulation of Hell and eternal punishment) is a faux evangelical-hipster version of German liberalism (Ritschl and Harnack come to mind), or even the American liberal preacher, Harry Emerson Fosdick.

Although there is not much new here--"warmed over liberalism" as Horton aptly puts it--sadly, Bell's book will sell quite well, generate much media interest, stir-up needless controversy, and do nothing but give those who are embarassed by a holy God with wrath against sin, a lame excuse to reject the biblical and orthodox Christian doctrine of eternal punishment.

Comments

[TW]

There's an interview of Bell by Martin Bashir on MSNBC going around some of the news blogs that is worth a listen. Bashir actually asks some decent questions.

[Will]

Bell's view of hell seems like the Roman Catholic view of purgatory...people who aren't ready for heaven go to hell until they have suffered enough and are ready to enter heaven.

[pb]

2 Timothy 4 comes to mind for some reason...

[Perry Robinson]

It seems to me best to wait and see what the book has to say. Do we judge a man without giving him a hearing?

2nd His position, from what I can tell doesn't seem really motivated by Liberlaism, pouring in kantianism or Hegelianism into Christian theology. Rather, it seems to be motivated by older concerns (of which Bell is probably not aware) from Origenism. But of course Augustinianism is also a form of Origenism, just the other side of it, either freedom is parred down to secure impeccability (Augustine) or freedom is maximized at the loss of impeccability. (Origen)

[DSY]

I agree that we must read the book before commenting. It may not change anything if we have excerpts and all, but actually reading the book takes away the criticism that we critique something without knowing enough about it. This charge can be embarrassing and hard to overcome.

DSY