An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 5: Dying to Live

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Chapter 5: Dying to Live (pages 121-37)

1. Animal Sacrifices

“Just the thought of such practices and rituals is repulsive. So primitive and barbaric. Not to mention unnecessary. It doesn’t even cross our minds to sacrifice animals.” (p. 123)

Observation: God instituted the sacrificial system in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. They are symbols of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. To call what God instituted barbaric, primitive, and repulsive is an attack against God.

2. Hebrews 9

Concerning Hebrews 9: “Whole cultures centered around keeping the gods pleased. This was obviously a very costly, time-consuming ordeal, not to mention an anxiety-producing one. You never knew if you’d fully pleased the gods and paid the debt properly. And now the writer is announcing that those days are over because of Jesus dying on the cross. Done away with. Gone. Irrelevant.” (p. 124-25)

Observation: Wrong - - Hebrews 9 is not about all sacrifices in all religions. In Hebrews 9, the author speaks of the fact that the Jewish sacrificial system is no longer needed because of Christ’s sacrifice.

3. Atonement Language

“There’s nothing wrong with talking and singing about how the ‘Blood will never lose its power’ and ‘Nothing but the blood will save us.’ Those are powerful metaphors. But we don’t live any longer in a culture in which people offer animal sacrifices to the gods. People did live that way thousands of years, and there are pockets of primitive cultures around the world that do continue to understand sin, guilt, and atonement in those way. But most of us don’t. What the first Christians did was look around them and put the Jesus story in language their listeners would understand.” (p. 129)

Observation: “Blood” is not just an image limited to the ancient world, but is still relevant today. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). Jesus did not shed symbolic blood, but literal blood!

4. Resurrection

“. . . resurrection after death was not a new idea. In the fall in many parts of the world, the leaves drop from the trees and the plants die. They turn brown, wither, and lose their life. They remain this way for the winter—dormant, dead, lifeless. And then spring comes, and they burst into life again. Growing, sprouting, producing new leaves and buds. For there to be spring, there has to be a fall and then a winter. For nature to spring to life, it first has to die. Death, then resurrection. This is true for ecosystems, food chains, the seasons—it’s true all across the environment. Death gives way to life.” (p. 130)

Observation: Frankly, Jesus is not an ecosystem. Furthermore, Bell’s example does not accurately describe the resurrection of Jesus unless dead leaves reattach themselves to trees and live once more. Jesus’ resurrection is a miracle, not a natural process.

5. The Gospel

“A gospel that repeatedly, narrowly affirms and bolsters the ‘in-ness’ of one group at the expense of the ‘out-ness’ of another group will not be true to the story that includes ‘all things and people in heaven and on earth.’” (p. 135)

Observation: The Bible explains that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who follow Christ and those who do not. Jesus said, He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters (Luke 11:23).

25:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.           25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;                                         

25:33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.                      

25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . .          

25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:31-34, 41)

An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 4: Does God Get What He Wants?

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Chapter 4: Does God Get What God Wants? (pages 95-119)

1. God’s Sovereignty

“I point out these parallel claims: that God is mighty, powerful, and ‘in control’ and that billions of people will spend forever apart from this God, who is their creator, even though it’s written in the Bible that ‘God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2). So does God get what God wants?” (p. 97)

Observation: It is not a valid argument to suggest that people refusing to trust in Christ means that God does not get what He wants. Once more, God cannot be held responsible for the actions of those who reject Him. People are responsible for their rejection of God.

2. Family

“The writers of the scriptures consistently affirm that we’re all part of the same family.” (p. 99)

Observation: Although God is the Creator of all human beings, He is not the Father of every person in a relational since. Jesus told the Pharisees: You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

3. Reconciliation

“This insistence that God will be united and reconciled with all people is a theme the writers and prophets return to again and again.” (p. 100)

Observation: This statement ignores the teaching of Scripture: And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). Verse 15 explains: And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15). Hence, all people will not be reconciled to God.

4. Heaven and Hell

In response to churches sharing about Heaven and Hell, Bell said: “There are those, like the church websites quoted at the beginning of this chapter, who put it quite clearly: ‘We get one life to choose heaven or hell, and once we die, that’s it. One or the other, forever.” (p. 103)

Observation: Bell rejected this biblical teaching, and criticized churches who warn people that they will go to Hell without Jesus. He ignores or reinterprets the biblical teachings concerning Hell.

5. A Way, A Truth, A Life?

“And so space is created in this ‘who would doubt God’s ability to do that?’ perspective for all kinds of people—fifteen-year-old atheists, people from other religions, and people who rejected Jesus because the only Jesus they ever saw was an oppressive figure who did anything but show God’s love.” (p. 106)

Observation: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  (John 14:6)

6. God’s Glory

“Restoration brings God glory; eternal torment doesn’t. Reconciliation brings God glory; endless anguish doesn’t. Renewal and return cause God’s greatness to shine through the universe; never-ending punishment doesn’t.” (p. 108).

Observation: It is presumptive to assume what does and what does not bring God glory. Simply put, God’s glory is not all about us, as the following verse demonstrates: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1). Whether or not people trust in Christ, God will receive glory because He is glorious!

7. The Locked Door

“Could God say to someone truly humbled, broken, and desperate for reconciliation, ‘Sorry, too late’? Many have refused to accept the scenario in which somebody is pounding on the door, apologizing, repenting, and asking God to be let in, only to hear God say through the keyhole: ‘Door’s locked. Sorry. If you had been here earlier, I could have done something. But now, it’s too late.’” (p. 108).

Observation: Tell that to those who rejected Noah’s preaching until God shut the door to the ark:

17:26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 17:27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

8. Anything Goes (Part 1)

“. . . orthodox followers of Jesus have answered these questions in a number of different ways. Or, to say it another way, however you answer these questions, there’s a good chance you can find a Christian or group of Christians somewhere who would answer in a similar way. It is, after all, a wide stream we’re swimming in.” (pp. 109-110)

Observation: 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 7:14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

9. Anything Goes (Part 2)

Concerning the belief that not everyone goes to Heaven: “Not all Christians have believed this, and you don’t have to believe it to be a Christian. This Christian faith is big enough, wide enough, and generous enough to handle that vast a range of perspectives.” (p. 110)

Observation: See the above comment.

10. Good Story

“. . . it’s important that we be honest about the fact that some stories are better than others. Telling a story in which billions of people spend forever somewhere in the universe trapped in a black hole of endless torment and misery with no way out isn’t a very good story.” (p. 110).

  

       Observation: A “good” story does not make something 

       truthful. How subjective!

An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 3: Hell

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Chapter 3: Hell (pages 63-93)

1. Gehenna

In Scripture, Jesus used the imagery of Jerusalem’s garbage dump to describe the realities of Hell. In reaction to this imagery, Bell said, “Gehenna was an actual place that Jesus’s listeners would have been familiar with. So the next time someone asks you if you believe in an actual hell, you can always say, ‘Yes, I do believe that my garbage goes somewhere . . .’” (p. 68)

Observation: In Bell’s discussion of Hell in chapter 2, nowhere does he mention the Lake of Fire: And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

2. Hell

“For many in the modern world, the idea of hell is a holdover from primitive, mythic religion that uses fear and punishment to control people for all sorts of devious reasons. And so the logical conclusion is that we’ve evolved beyond all of that outdated belief, right? I get that. I understand that aversion, and I as well have a hard time believing that somewhere down below the earth’s crust is a really crafty figure in red tights holding a three-pointed spear, playing Pink Floyd records backward, and enjoying the hidden messages.” (p. 70)

Observation: Once more, notice Bell’s sarcastic approach toward Scripture. Nowhere in Scripture is the devil depicted in a red suit with a trident, but Bell makes this the stereotypic view of believers. Also, he betrays his view that we are more advanced these days and do not need to “buy” the “caveman” ideas of the past. Scripture is not primitive or mythic.

3. The Location of Hell

Bell related a trip to Rwanda in which he observed several children with missing limbs that were shopped off by combatants who wanted to menace the people: “Do I believe in a literal hell? Of course. Those aren’t metaphorical missing arms and legs.” (p. 71).

Observation: The violence that people commit toward others is horrible, but human violence against is not the image of Hell in Scripture: "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. (Luke 13:28)

4. The Rich Man and Lazarus

Bell described the story of the rich man and Lazarus not as a literal picture of Hell, but a story of oppression: “. . . he wants Lazarus to get him water. When you get someone water, you’re serving them. The rich man wants Lazarus to serve him.” (p. 75) Further, Bell held that the rich man’s hell was his own decisions: “He’s alive in death, but in profound torment, because he’s living with the realities of not properly dying the kind of death that actually leads a person into the only kind of life that’s worth living.” (p. 77)

Observation: At this point, Bell regurgitates “liberation theology,” the idea that the poor are good and the rich are evil. Nowhere is this image found in the Bible. In the rich man were a believer, he would go to Heaven, and if Lazarus were and unbeliever, he would go to Hell.

5. Hell on Earth

“Often the people most concerned about others going to hell when they die seem less concerned with the hells on earth right now, while the people most concerned with the hells on earth right now seem the least concerned about hell after death.” (p. 79)

Observation: Once more, this is incorrect. Statistically, more conservative people, a bloc that includes believers, give four times more to charity than other groups.

6. Coming Wrath

“When he warns of the ‘coming wrath,’ . . . this is a very practical, political, heartfelt warning to his people to not go the way they’re intent on going. The Romans, he keeps insisting, will crush you.” (p. 81)

Observation: Simply untrue and revisionist. Notice 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10: 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

7. Sodom and Gomorrah

“In Matthew 10, he warns the people living in the village of Capernaum, ‘It will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for you’ . . . . And if there’s still hope for Sodom and Gomorrah, what does that say about all of the other Sodoms and Gomorrahs?” (pp. 84-85)

Observation: Jesus did not say that Sodom and Gomorrah had hope, but that legalistic people who were not real believers would be judged more harshly than the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. The point is that both groups will be judged.

8. Bizarre Passages?

“Failure, we see again and again, isn’t final, judgment has a point, and consequences are for correction. With this in mind, several bizarre passages later in the New Testament begin to make more sense. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he mentions Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom he has ‘handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.’ (Something in me wants to read that in a Darth Vader voice).” (pp. 88-89)

 
         Observation: First of all, to suggest that the Bible contains 
        bizarre passages is an attempt by Bell to downgrade its 
        message. Second, notice Bell’s snide remark concerning 
        quoting Paul with a Darth Vader voice.

An Examination of Rob Bell's "Love Wins." Chapter 2: Here is the New There

Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.

Chapter 2: Here is the New There (pages 21-62)

1. Scare Tactics

Bell began the chapter by explaining that both he and his sister were afraid of a picture that hung on his grandmother’s wall. Across a chasm is stretched a cross that leads to Heaven. Under the cross the “ominous red and black realm that threatens to swallow up whoever takes a wrong step” (p. 21). In the book, Bell reacted against the imagery because of its scare tactics.

Observation: According to the Bible, Jesus’ future judgment of humans as well as the threat of Hell should be a motivation for sharing the Gospel with others:

5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)

2. White Robes

“Think of the cultural images that are associated with heaven: harps and clouds and streets of gold, everybody dressed in white robes. (Does anybody look good in a white robe? Can you play sports in a white robe? How could it be heaven without sports? What about swimming? What if you spill food on the robe?)” (p. 24)

Observation: Although no Scripture mentions that we will strum harps, the Lord’s kingdom is described as glorious. His followers are clothed in white garments that represent purity (Revelation 3:4-5). Bell’s above quotation is an example of his tendency to ridicule images that do exist in the Bible.

3. The Location of Heaven

Bell used the illustration of a woman whose family is lost: “When she asks the pastor . . . if it’s true that, because they aren’t Christians none of her family will be there, she’s told that she’ll be having so much fun worshipping God that it won’t matter to her. Which is quite troubling and confusing, because the people she loves the most in the world do mater to her.” (p. 25)

Observation: Scripture clearly explains that those who do not trust in Jesus do not have a home in Heaven. The sadness of a situation does not negate its reality:

7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" (Matthew 7:22-23)

4. The Lord’s Commandments

“What do you do when your donkey falls in a hole on the Sabbath? Rescuing your donkey would be work, and that would be breaking the Sabbath commandment to rest, but there were also commands to protect and preserve life, including the life of donkeys, so what happens when obeying one commandment requires you to break another?” (p. 28)

Observation: Bell’s suggestion is that God’s commandments contradict each other, but this is not the case. God’s commandments complement each other and are not arbitrary: The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)

5. Jesus’ Intention

“. . . Jesus doesn’t tell people how to ‘go to heaven.’ It wasn’t 

what Jesus came to do.” (p. 30)

Observation: Untrue. Jesus came to give people eternal life: . . . I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10b)

6. Partnership

“. . . Jesus and the prophets lived with an awareness that God has been looking for partners sins the beginning, people who will take seriously their divine responsibility to care for the earth and each other in loving, sustainable ways.” (p. 36)

Observation: Notice Bell’s word order. Caring for the earth takes precedence over loving for others in his mind.

7. Water

“Around a billion people in the world today do not have access to clean water. People will have access to clean water in the age to come, and so working for clean-water access for all is participating now in the life of the age to come.” (p. 45)

Observation: Believers must be involved in the personal plights of others:

2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 2:16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  (James 2:15-16)

This, however, is not the primary purpose of a believer. First and foremost, we must share the Gospel, and we need to help provide for people’s physical needs because we love them and want to use our help as an example of Christ’s love for us.

8. Both, And!

“It often appears that those who talk the most about going to heaven when you die talk the least about bringing heaven to earth right now, as Jesus taught us to pray: ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ At the same time, it often appears that those who talk the most about relieving the suffering now talk the least about heaven when we die.” (p. 45)

Observation: Bell is incorrect to suggest that those who talk about Heaven do not care about what happens in the world today. Statistically, more conservative people, a bloc that includes believers, give four times more to charity than other groups.

9. Sanctification

“Much of the speculation about heaven—and, more important, the confusion—comes from the idea that in the blink of an eye we will automatically become totally different people who ‘know’ everything. But our heart, our character, our desires, our longings—those things take time.” (p. 51)

Observation: Bell ignores the fact that at the return of Christ, believers will be transformed and cleansed of sinful bodies: 

15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 15:53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

10. Good Works

Bell used the illustration of a single mother supporting her kids. The abusive father has abandoned the family and refuses to pay child support, yet the woman does an excellent job of raising her kids: “With what she has been given she has been faithful. She is a woman of character and substance. She never gives up. She is kind and loving even when she’s exhausted. She can be trusted. Is she the last who Jesus says will be first?” (p. 53)

Observation: Once more, salvation is not of works but grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).