Holier than thou

By: American Decency Staff

By Chris Johnson Emergent church superstar Rob Bell's latest book, Love Wins, has been the subject of a lot of debate in the evangelical community. For those of you who are unaware, Love Wins describes Bell's beliefs on “Heaven, Hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived,â€Â as the subtitle reveals. It has been described as heresy, which I think is a just description. The main concern that has been discussed is Bell's belief that Hell is not a permanent punishment, as orthodox Christianity has taught for as long as orthodox Christianity has been taught at all. Bell lays out what he knows will be the controversial point right off the bat in the preface of his book. A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus's message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear. And, in the spirit of Spock, "his logic is sound". Except for the whole world desperately needing to hear part, because what he is teaching is not the gospel of Christ. But logically, Bell is correct. If Jesus were the teddy-bear that Rob Bell wants Him to be, Hell would not fit into the equation. What kind of teddy-bear has teeth? It would make much more sense for Jesus to announce in the end, “everybody wins!â€Â as Bell passionately argues that he does. That, unfortunately, is the key to understanding the contention between Bell and evangelical Christianity. We are talking about two different gods. Christianity teaches that God is love. The implication of that doctrine is that all real, true love comes from God. When we have actual pure, others-motivated love (which is rare) that is the image of God in us. That is why we must “love our neighbors as ourselves.â€Â Because when we love those undeserving of love, we are reflecting God's character and bringing Him glory. But Bell has twisted it. For him, Love is god, which may sound the same, but it's not. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, but every time someone mentions the president of the United States, they are not necessarily talking about Barack Obama. President of the United States is part of the definition of Barack Obama, but Barack Obama is not part of the definition of the president of the United States. The position is bigger than the man. Whether he realizes it or not, Bell has made “loveâ€Â the definition of God, which confines God to that one attribute. Hence the title, “Love Wins,â€Â not God wins. But that ignores the many other attributes that God uses to define Himself – just, jealous, patient, holy, etc. In fact, God defines Himself as Holy far more often than He does as loving. Perhaps even more telling than that are the accounts of the few men blessed enough to stand in the actual presence of God. Isaiah and Moses did not run up to God and give him a hug. Isaiah shouted “Woe is me! I am undone!â€Â and Moses had to hide in the cleft of a rock because he could not handle the full glory of God. Moses saw the back of God and literally glowed for a month! This Holy God cannot stand sin. R.C. Sproul explains it well in his book, The Holiness of God. The slightest sin is an act of defiance against cosmic authority. It is a revolutionary act, a rebellious act in which we are setting ourselves in opposition to the One to whom we owe everything. It is an insult to His holiness. When we sin as the image bearers of God, we are saying to the whole creation, to all of nature under our dominion, to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field: “This is how God is. This is how your creator behaves. Look at us. Look in this mirror and you will see the character of the Almighty.â€Â We say to the world, “God is covetous; God is ruthless; God is bitter; God is a murderer, a thief, a slanderer, an adulterer. God is all of these things that we are doing.â€Â God created us in His image, for His glory. A sin is not a small issue to God, it is an act of treason and it is absolutely deserving of the eternal death that Christianity teaches. Yeah, God is that Holy. When Bell questions God's punishment, he questions His judgment and His holiness, and that is dangerous ground. That is my objection to Bell's book, Love Wins. Other much better educated men have given much more detailed rebuttals to Bell's ideas. This book does not stand up to serious Christian scrutiny. But then it doesn't have to in order to damage a lot of people, because a lot of people want to believe it. I remember thinking about Hell as an 8 year old and wishing exactly what Bell describes in this book. Even as an 8 year old though, I was smart enough to realize that just because I wanted it to be, did not make it true. The danger of this book is that it is not Christianity, but it comes perilously close. It looks, sounds, and smells like Christianity, but it's just not. Our God is love, and He is so much more. He is literally “Holier than thouâ€Â in relation to Bell's god. ===================== Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

---