Liberal Media Use Heretic to Counter Christ

Rob Bell of the "emergent church" movement is finally being fully exposed as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and the liberal media just can't get enough of him.

For background, read Heretical Preacher Embraced by Liberal Media

-- From "'Love Wins': Pastor's book kindles firestorm over hell" by Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY 3/14/11

Bell's new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, has provoked weeks of fierce infighting among pastors, theologians and anyone else who scans the Christian blogosphere where critics rage that he's a hipster heretic.

But Richard Mouw, president of the world's largest Protestant [liberal] seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary based in Pasadena, Calif., calls Love Wins "a great book, well within the bounds of orthodox Christianity and passionate about Jesus.

In Love Wins, which arrives in stores Tuesday, Bell claims:

• Heaven and hell are choices we make and live with right now. "God gives us what we want," including the freedom to live apart from God (hell) or turn God's way (heaven).

• Death doesn't cut off the ability to repent. In his Bible, Bell sees no "infinite, eternal torment for things (people) did in their few finite years of life."

• Jesus makes salvation possible even for people who never know his name. "We have to allow for mystery," for people who "drink from the rock" of faith "without knowing who or what it was."

• Churches that don't allow for this are "misguided and toxic."

Small wonder that traditionalists call him a false teacher of a Jesus-optional Gospel, leading innocents to damnation and a traitor to the evangelical label.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.


From "Hard-hitting Rob Bell interview goes viral" by Michael Foust, Baptist Press News 3/16/11

"What you've done is you're amending the Gospel -- the Christian message -- so that it's palatable to contemporary people who find, for example, the idea of hell and heaven very difficult to stomach ... That's why you've done, isn't it?" [MSNBC reporter Martin] Bashir asks Bell at one point.

At another point, Bashir asks Bell if it is "irrelevant" for someone to follow Christ in this life if -- as Bell argues -- non-Christians will be saved anyway.

Bell's evasive answers to questions have frustrated Christian leaders. Even in the interview, he denies he is a universalist, and then proceeds to make universalistic arguments.

To read a partial transcript of the YouTube video above, CLICK HERE.

From "What Happened to Heaven and Is Gandhi There?" by John Wilson, Wall Street Journal 3/18/11

Something strange has happened in evangelical churches over the past generation. Not in every congregation, but in the main, sermons devoted to the grim prospect of hell have become rare, and even talk of heaven is muted.

. . . So is Mr. Bell one more Christian liberal describing God as a mountain you can climb any way you want? Not exactly.

. . . anyone who carefully reads "Love Wins" will see that Mr. Bell is not a universalist. As C.S. Lewis did, he suggests that God grants free will to all, including those who do not want his divine company and therefore choose damnation.

Still, the account of heaven and hell that he rejects does sound a lot like what most Christians have taught and been taught for 2,000 years . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Rob Bell and the (re)emergence of liberal theology" by R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 3/16/11

For the last 20 years or so, a movement identified as emerging or emergent Christianity has done its determined best to avoid speaking with specificity. Leading figures in the movement have offered trenchant criticisms of mainstream evangelicalism. Most pointedly, they have accused evangelical Christianity, variously, as being excessively concerned with doctrine, culturally tone-deaf, overly propositional, unnecessarily offensive, aesthetically malnourished, and basically uncool.

And yet, even as many of these [emerging/emergent] leaders insisted that they remained within the evangelical circle, it was clear that many were moving into a post-evangelical posture. There were early hints that the direction of the movement was toward theological liberalism and radical revisionism, but the predominant mode of their argument was suggestion, rather than assertion.

Rather than make a clear theological or doctrinal assertion, emerging figures generally raise questions and offer suggestive comments. Influenced by postmodern narrative theories, most within the movement lean into story rather than formal argument. Nevertheless, the general direction seemed clear enough. The leading emerging church figures appeared to be pushing Protestant liberalism -- just about a century late.

. . . Rob Bell uses his incredible power of literary skill and communication to unravel the Bible's message and to cast doubt on its teachings.

Bell clearly prefers inclusivism, the belief that Christ is saving humanity through means other than the Gospel, including other religions. But he mixes up his story along the way, appearing to argue for outright universalism on some pages, but backing off of a full affirmation. He rejects the belief that conscious faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, but he never clearly lands on a specific account of what he does believe.

. . . Yes, we have read this book before. With Love Wins, Rob Bell moves solidly within the world of Protestant liberalism. His message is a liberalism arriving late on the scene. Tragically, his message will confuse many believers as well as countless unbelievers.

To read all of the above in-depth analysis of Rob Bell's "theology," CLICK HERE.

UPDATE 5/3/13: Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson debate homosexuality & the Bible (video):

Heretical Preacher Embraced by Liberal Media

Demonstrating its ignorance of Biblical Christianity (as usual), the liberal media is quick to refer to Rob Bell as a voice of evangelicals, but in promotions of his yet-to-be-released book, Bell refutes Jesus Christ in regards to the doctrine of Hell (for starters).

". . . but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions . . ."
-- 2 Tim. 4:3 (ESV)

UPDATE 3/15/11 Interview with Rob Bell (video):


-- From "Pastor Stirs Wrath With His Views on Old Questions" by Erik Eckholm, New York Times 3/4/11

A new book by one of the country’s most influential evangelical pastors, challenging traditional Christian views of heaven, hell and eternal damnation, has created an uproar among evangelical leaders, with the most ancient of questions being argued in a biblical hailstorm of Twitter messages and blog posts.

In a book to be published this month, the pastor, Rob Bell, known for his provocative views and appeal among the young, describes as “misguided and toxic” the dogma 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.”

Such statements are hardly radical among more liberal theologians, who for centuries have wrestled with the seeming contradiction between an all-loving God and the consignment of the billions of non-Christians to eternal suffering. But to traditionalists they border on heresy, and they have come just at a time when conservative evangelicals fear that a younger generation is straying from unbendable biblical truths.

Mr. Bell, 40, whose Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., has 10,000 members, is a Christian celebrity and something of a hipster in the pulpit, with engaging videos that sell by the hundreds of thousands and appearances to rapt, youthful crowds in rock-music arenas.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Christian author's book sparks charges of heresy" by Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor 3/1/11

Universalism, in its broadest terms, preaches that everyone goes to heaven and that there is no hell. Critics say it represents a break from traditional Christianity, which they say holds that heaven and hell are very real places. In most Christian circles, universalism is a dirty word.

Last year, Brian McLaren – a popular Christian author and a former pastor - was accused of breaking with Christian orthodoxy and delving headlong into universalism in his book A New Kind of Christianity.

But it's rare that theological arguments become top ten trending topics on Twitter, as Rob Bell did . . .

In the promotional video [for the new book,] Bell refers to the nonviolent Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, and asks, "Gandhi's in hell? He is?"

"And someone knows this for sure?" Bell continues. "Will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell? And if that's the case how do you become one of the few? "

The video follows a trend in Bell's career as a pastor . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Universalism as a Lure? The Emerging Case of Rob Bell" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 3/1/11

. . . Rob Bell and others within the Emerging Church movement represent what can only be described as a new form of cultural Christianity. Bell plays with theology the way a cat plays with a mouse. His sermons, videos, books, and public relations are often more suggestive and subversive than clear.

. . . [Bell's raises] the question of the exclusivity of the Gospel of Christ. With that question come the related questions of heaven, hell, judgment, and the fate of the unregenerate. The Bible answers these questions clearly enough, but few issues are as hard to reconcile with the modern or postmodern mind than this. Of course, it was hard to reconcile with the ancient mind as well. The singularity of the person and work of Christ and the necessity of personal faith in him for salvation run counter to the pluralistic bent of the human mind, but this is nothing less than the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation.

The Emerging Church movement is known for its slick and sophisticated presentation. It wears irony and condescension as normal attire. Regardless of how Rob Bell’s book turns out, its promotion is the sad equivalent of a theological striptease.

. . . Universalism is a heresy, not a lure to use in order to sell books.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

'Faith' Leaders Mislead Youth

Jim Wallis, Rob Bell, Tony Campolo, Mel White and even Phillip Yancey are among 'faith' leaders who range from wishy-washy to downright rebellious with regard to Scriptural teaching on homosexual behavior...

From "'Faith' Leaders Mislead Youth" by Linda Harvey at MissionAmerica.com

So homosexuality, bisexuality and cross-dressing are okay with our Lord? That would mean there’s no difference between such an “enlightened” approach and the behavior of pagans in the Old Testament...hmmm...

“This one...keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So said a homosexual gang member to Lot in the city of Sodom (Genesis 19:9).

If you listen to some prominent religious leaders today, the same attitudes prevail. It’s all been a big misunderstanding, because it's traditional Christians who are at fault. They are simply primitives enslaved by their own “fear” and even “hate.” We are not to take Scripture too seriously because there are newer messages, newer insights revealed to those who can be entrusted with such things.

The superstars of the “evangelical” left who take this view have strong credibility with youth and students in today’s high schools and even some Christian colleges. This isn’t too surprising, when some of these colleges increasingly permit behavior that violates core biblical principles. (Example: Spring Arbor University in Michigan hemmed and hawed for many months last year before finally deciding to dismiss a male professor who had begun cross-dressing. To its credit, the school finally did the right thing.)

Secular academia is of course enamored with these wolves in sheep’s clothing, because they work hard to distance themselves from the “religious right.” Their spin on “faith” makes it possible to define for today’s youth what constitutes real freedom, faith, and dignity: going to homosexual bars and bathhouses, or women having breasts amputated to “become” men. This can all take place before and after one’s mystical prayers to a New Age “Jesus.”

What do the “evangelical” left offer our kids? A little research reveals glaring problems with the following folks...

Read the rest of this commentary.