Rob Bell’s new book “Love wins” has stirred up quite a lot of controversy recently, which I have been slow to pick up on. Initially I was quick to dismiss Bell’s critics as much of it seemed like sensationalist ranting. However, since then I’ve begun to reconsider my initial reaction. I began to ponder whether his critics had a point after seeing this video:
Bell’s critics are charging him with universalism, which is quite serious as it is not generally considered mainstream theology. I haven’t read the book yet and I wouldn’t be too quick to label him a universalist from the video alone. I personally (as a person with some occasional inclusivist leanings) would feel uncomfortable saying that “Ghandi is in hell” with any degree of certainty. I’m very troubled by Christians who seem content to condemn others to hell without reservation, that I have in common with Bell.
I also agree with Bell’s title that “love wins” I just don’t know if we each have the same meaning attached to those words. Bell could easily be a univeralist from some of the reviews I’ve read (such as this one here which picks apart his theology. I find peoples questions regarding hell/love/mercy interesting but I’m worried that people forget about holiness/justice/atonement. So I’m interested to see how the controversy/situation continues to unfold.
“A God all mercy is a God unjust.” – Edward Young
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