Rob Bell: Universalist?

[RickC]

Hi Cup,

I was originally on a waiting list, set to get the book in mid-Sept. 'Not sure why I got it in three months instead of six. Probably because you have three days to come get it after being notified, and lotsa people didn't get there on time.

I had read many bloggers commenting on the book before I read it, pro & con. I also heard lots of audios and watched vids, with and without Rob Bell in them.

One thing I found interesting was how folks critiqued small sections or sentences (which was something like "taking a verse here or there out of the Bible"). These critiques were usually valid. That is, they addressed what Rob wrote. But they sometimes missed Rob's larger context (which isn't to say he shouldn't be critiqued).

But as I said earlier, what I wanted to find out was: What is Rob bell all about? (so to speak). So, in taking the whole book for what (all) Rob was trying to say, I enjoyed and benefited from reading it. Rob's overall emphasis in the book is on here-and-now! And while I disagreed with his universalist sentiments (on exegetical grounds), its a good book. Non-believers especially, who are "turned off" by images of God being some kind of "torturer" would like it too.

Thanks!

[TK]

I think i am like 50th in line at my library network for the book.

Last year I watched his video "Everything is Spiritual" and I thought it was very well done.

TK

[Homer]

Very interesting review of Bell's book:

http://thetenthleper.com/category/book-reviews/

Note: the review is a series of posts; scroll down to read part 1 and then you can read all parts in sequence by scrolling up.

Here is an interesting quote from the review:

But as I’ve argued throughout these posts, God is not pursuing his children. He pursues his enemies, adopts them, and calls them his sons and daughters. He loves in the fact that he sent his own Son to suffer and die for his enemies, the ones who deserved nothing but wrath. God’s love wins in the fact that any of these enemies are made sons and daughters. “Out of the anguish of his soul”, writes Isaiah concerning the suffering servant (Jesus) “he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make may (sic) to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11) Christ will be satisfied with the result of his sacrifice. In other words, he wins.

[TK]

Hi Homer-

I have thought about that approach (i.e. that God wins if even one undeserving sinner turns to Him). I suppose in a sense that is possible.

But I am not sure that a pitcher who has a 1 and 8,000,000,000 record (or thereabouts) could be considered a winning pitcher, by any standards. If those same stats could make God have a winning record (or a similar win/loss ratio), I will need it explained to me how that can be.

TK

[Homer]

Hi TK,

I'm not much for philosophical arguments, especially where the scriptures have much to say on a subject such as the final judgement (Steve referenced the "final" judgement the other day on the radio which seems odd given his uncertainty. If universalism is true its not final). However, If a King of ancient Israel had neighbors who were his enemies and the king persueded many of them to come over to his side and destroyed all the others, do you think the people of Israel would have thought the King was a loser?

The review I referenced is very interesting, especially the consideration regarding how our anthropology colors our view.

While God desires all to be saved, that would not be inconsistent with Him desiring all who do not freely accept Him to be permanently separated from Him. I say freely because no matter how you dress up the hell of the evangelical universalist it is still a coercive system. Let them postulate an eternal existence for God's enemies, absent the torment of their hell, and then tell us how many will be won over. After all, given enough time its bound to happen.

[RICHinCHRIST]

If anyone's interested, here is a debate between Rob Bell and an ECT proponent, blogger, and author named Adrian Warnock. The topics are mostly focused on Rob's book and on his personal views on hell. It's not the best debate in the world, but I think it shows that Rob Bell is an honest and open-minded guy. You can see that his opponents are always trying to pin him in a corner and catch him in his words. He often tries to focus on what really matters and on open-minded dialogue and considerations of these topics. I like Rob Bell, so thought I'd share. But I send out a disclaimer that it's not the best interview, but if you're interested in hearing more of what Rob says on the topic this is not a bad avenue for that.


http://www.premier.tv/Top%20Videos-%20Rob%20Bell.aspx