Monday, March 14, 2011

"Love Wins" the Smoking Gun That Proves Rob Bell is a "Christian Universalist"

In a recent article at Apprising.org, it was reported that sources from Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI attended a meeting Saturday night at Mars Hill in which Senior Pastor Rob Bell made a statement and answered questions about his controversial new book "Love Wins."  The meeting was called after members at MHBC apparently became concerned over a promotional video for the book in which Rob Bell made statements that led many to question whether or not Rob Bell was a Universalist (i.e., one who believes in universal salvation for all people). In the meeting held at MHBC, however, Rob Bell apparently stated unequivocally he “is not an universalist, believes that Jesus is the only way of salvation, believes in the Virgin Birth, believes Jesus is God.”

Just as we suspected. Really. Because here at Sola Sisters, we've been sounding the alarm not to fight the battle of "Universalism"........but instead to call Bell's heresy what it is: "Christian Universalism" (also known as "Universal Reconciliation"), which is a belief in Universal salvation for ALL, but which comes exclusively through Christ.

We therefore expected that Bell would, in his new book, affirm to one degree or another all of these Christian concepts:
- God's Wrath
- God's Judgment
- Sin 
- Hell
- Jesus, and Salvation through Jesus alone
- the Atonement
And he did. Christian Universalism/Universal Reconcilition - which Bell holds too - does not deny these concepts.  No, they are redefined, as in classic cult methodology (i.e., "Hell" is a place of limited punishment, akin to the Roman Catholic idea of purgatory; the "Atonement" is effectual for saving ALL people, not just those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ's atoning death).

In closing, let us point you toward several very good reviews of this book which have already been published, and which include detailed chapter by chapter analyses of this book.  Tim Challies' can be read here, and Kevin DeYoung's can be read here. And rather than tread the same ground and review a book that has already been very well-reviewed, we will be posting direct quotes from Bell's book in upcoming blog entries.  This will be done so that anyone reading will be able to assess for themselves what it is that Bell believes.

Is he a Universalist? Bell insists no, but we say yes. And his new book is the smoking gun that proves it. For now we'll leave you with several quotes from Bell's new book:
"John remembers Jesus saying, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' 
This is as wide and expansive a claim as a person can make. 
What he doesn't say is how, or when, or in what manner the mechanism functions that gets people to God through him. He doesn't even state that those coming to the Father through him will even know that they are coming exclusively through him. He simply claims that whatever God is doing in the world to know and redeem and love and restore the world is happening through him." ("Love Wins," p.154) 
"What Jesus does is declare that he, and he alone, is saving everybody." ("Love Wins," p. 155)
More to come.....


 Additional Resources 

Is Rob Bell A Universalist?  Yes and No.






Is Rob Bell A Universalist? Yes and No.

Rob Bell, creator of NOOMA videos and author of "Velvet Elvis" and the newly released "Love Wins," recently released a video discussing his controversial new book.  This video has gotten everybody talking because, from the statements made in the video, it appears that Rob Bell might actually be a Universalist. So the question has been raging: is he or isn't he?

Well, yes and no.  And by that I mean, "Yes," Rob Bell is a Universalist, but that "No," he wouldn't call himself that because what he really believes in is a slyer, more "Christianized" version of Universalism called "Universal Reconciliation." And in fact, in a recent meeting at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI where Rob Bell is the Senior Pastor, a source who attended the meeting reported that Bell made a statement and answered questions about his controversial new book "Love Wins."  In his statement, Rob Bell unequivocally stated that he “is not an universalist, believes that Jesus is the only way of salvation, believes in the Virgin Birth, believes Jesus is God.”

How can this be? How can somebody who is a Universalist make such statements? Well, this should come as no surprise, because as we have written before, we fully expected Bell to affirm Christian concepts in this book because he is the particular kind of Universalist mentioned above: he is a Universal Reconciliationist (and please note that Universal Reconciliation is also sometimes called "Christian Universalism").

Universal Reconciliationists often use Christian terminology and claim to hold to certain Christian concepts (like Jesus, Hell, the Atonement, the Cross, etc.).

Let me repeat that: There is a stream of Universalism (again, called "Universal Reconciliation," but sometimes called "Christian Universalism") that teaches Jesus, Hell, the Atonement, and the Cross. Yes, really.  How can they teach such Christian concepts? This is how: all of these concepts have redefined meanings.

So let's look once again at Universalism, that is to say, the straight up, New Age, Oprah kind of Universalism that most people have at least some understanding of:
UNIVERSALISM: ALL paths leads to God.  You can be a Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, whatever, and you get to God through your own path, whatever that looks like according to your faith tradition. In the strictest sense of Universalism, there is no Jesus, no Cross and no Hell.  (Please note that these are the main points that distinguish Universalism from Universal Reconciliation)
And now Universal Reconciliation:
UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION (a.ka., CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM): ALL people are ultimately saved through Christ. They may not have a complete understanding of who Christ is, but in some way, the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ constitutes the mechanism that provides redemption for all humanity and makes atonement for all sins.  A limited form of hell is sometimes held to, but not always.
My friends, this really does matter because if we try to contend for truth on this issue in the same way we would contend against Universalism (i.e., quote scripture affirming Jesus, Hell, the Atonement, the Cross, etc.), we're going to get head-pats and chuckles from the more "enlightened" Rob Bell followers.

Case in point:

I went on Rob Bell's FB page a few nights ago, and saw a number of sincere and earnest Christians trying to contend with Bell's followers about the issue of Universalism.

They kept insisting - “But there is a hell!” And Bell's followers would answer back - “Well of course there is!”

I could see that the Christians were truly stumped.

And they would try again: "Jesus is the only way anyone can be saved!" And Bell's followers would answer back - "We believe that too!"

I could only imagine what the Christians were thinking as they processed these answers:

("Wait? Did they just say that there is a hell? And Jesus is the only way? Then...okay....my work here is done.....I guess...")

And away they would go.  These earnest contenders, you see, have been reading the glut of articles stating that Rob Bell is a Universalist without understanding that Bell is a Universal Reconciliationist, and he therefore does affirm there is a Hell (though in his view it is a temporary, purgatorial version of "hell"), and he does affirm Jesus and the Cross (but only in the sense that he believes ALL are saved through Jesus' death on the Cross).  Understanding these distinctions is crucial if we are to plead this point with any hope of exposing Bell's dangerous heresy. When we call Bell a Universalist without making the distinction that he is a Reconciliationist, and attempt to argue that he is denying there is a Hell (he isn't), and that he doesn't believe Jesus died for sins on the Cross (he does), then we will be hamstrung in this debate. And for the sake of our Christian children - who, trust me, are very familiar with who Rob Bell is - it really, really does matter that we understand this distinction.  


See also:






Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Christian Universalism" The Hot Trend Among Christian Youth?

Posted by Christine Pack

A Christian youth pastor wrote me recently and shared that, from what he has observed, the hottest thing today among church-going youth is something called "Christian Universalism.  Do you remember from some of our earlier posts what this is also called? That's right, "Universal Reconciliation." And why is this movement sweeping through our youth and children? I think in large part it is because  Rob Bell, pastor, writer and creator of the mega-popular NOOMA videos, sowed the seeds for this thinking in his book Velvet Elvis (2005), a blockbuster favorite among Christian youth, when he wrote this:
"Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for." (“Velvet Elvis,” p 146)
Parents, we are now reaping the bitter fruit of this heretical, but seductive, false teaching that has captured our beloved children and turned their hearts and minds away from biblical truth.
"I know that, after my departure, ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock." (Acts 20:29)
"For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:4)

We need to make sure that we are taking seriously our responsibilities as Christian parents.  It is not the responsibility of youth pastors to biblically disciple our children. It is not the responsibility of Christian teachers at private schools. It is our responsibility.
“You shall teach your children diligently about the ways of the Lord, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut 6:7-9)
We need to have our Bibles open – as well as our eyes and our ears - and we need to be testing everything against Scripture.  And if something has crept in that's not right, and our children have been exposed to it, we need to sit with them and help them see why it's not right. There are so many examples in the Bible of Godly parents whose children fell away, and we don't want to end up like those heartbroken parents.

So let's take to heart God's promise from Prov 22:6...
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
....and let's be very serious about our responsbility as parents who love their children, and who desire for them to walk in the way of the Lord.


 Additional Resources 






Tim Challies Reviews Rob Bell's New Book "Love Wins"

An excerpt from über blogger Tim Challies' review of Rob Bell's book "Love Wins" -


 The Toxic Subversion Of Jesus’ Message 

Bell begins the book with surprising forthrightness: Jesus’ story has been hijacked by a number of different stories that Jesus has no interest in telling. “The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.” (Preface, vi)
"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…. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
You may want to read that again.

It really says that. And it really means what you think it means. Though it takes time for that to become clear. (Read entire article here)


See also:

Rob Bell: Don't Call It Universalism





Monday, March 7, 2011

Rob Bell's New Book: Don't Call It Universalism

This whole Rob Bell thing has been a brain puzzler.  That guy, he's a slippery one, for sure. But for those of you who have maybe been out of the country or perhaps fasting from social media over the last few weeks, this is what has been going on inside of evangelicalism...

Rob Bell, a leader in the postmodern emergent church movement and "a rock star in the church world," recently released a video discussing his upcoming new book "Love Wins."  This video has gotten everybody all a-lather (and a-twitter), over what appears to be an apologetics defense for Universalism.  So Christian bloggers, pastors and leaders immediately started getting out there, calling this out, and naming by name what they think this is: Universalism.

But here's the deal: yes, Rob Bell IS a Universalist - only not in the classic sense. What I mean by that is I think Bell believes - à la The Shack - in Universal Reconciliation. The difference is subtle, but, once this book is actually released, the difference is going to be enough for Bell (and all of his supporters) to slam those who are calling him out on Universalism for being alarmists and haters. And why? Because Universal Reconciliationists often use Christian terminology and claim to hold to certain Christian concepts. Like I said, the difference is subtle.

So what I suspect is that, in this new book, Bell will affirm that.....
- Absolutely, Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross.  (When what he really believes about the cross, if he is a Universal Reconciliationist, is that for us to think that this implies exclusiveness is narrow-minded because everybody gets there in the end anyway.) 
- Absolutely, there is a hell. (When what he really believes about hell - again, if he is a Universal Reconciliationst - is that there is some kind of purgatorial, burning-off-of-sins form of hell, but after that - of course - everybody gets to heaven).
So I have a suggestion about how to approach the Rob Bell thing so that maybe - just maybe - we evangelicals have at least a shot at being heard on this.  We need to call this what it is - Universal Reconciliation - and we need to know the difference between this and Universalism, so that when the verbal body slams start coming as soon as the book is released (March 15), we won't have egg on our faces and look foolish when Bell and his peeps start mocking us for saying he's denying hell and Jesus and the cross.

So let's look at Universalism, that is to say, the straight up, New Age, Oprah kind of Universalism that most people have at least some understanding of:
UNIVERSALISM: ALL paths leads to God.  You can be a Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, whatever, and you get to God through your own path, whatever that looks like according to your faith tradition. Absolutely no Jesus necessary. (Please note that this is the main point that distinguishes Universalism from Universal Reconciliation)
In the strictest sense of Universalism, neither the cross nor any form of hell are affirmed.

And now Universal Reconciliation:
UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION (also called CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM): ALL people are ultimately saved through Christ. They may not have a complete understanding of who Christ is, but in some way, the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ constitutes the mechanism that provides redemption for all humanity and makes atonement for all sins.  A limited form of hell is sometimes held to, but not always.
As Todd Friel of Wretched Radio/TV recently pointed out on a great video clip, Rob Bell should have never become a problem, not if our pastors and leaders had been willing to do the hard thing, and step up and name names and call out false teachers before they - and their heresies - became full-blown.  But most of them didn't, sad to say, and the result of this has been that false teachers like Rob Bell, a postmodern hipster who has always made it his goal to be culturally relevant and thus appeal to the youth, has captured an entire generation of young people with his damnable heresies. Brothers and sisters, and especially, Christian parents: Let's please try to get ahead of this one so that we will be equipped and ready to answer back to Bell's lies.
"And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:15

 Additional Resources 

Jesus Gave Us Almost All We Know About The Doctrine of Hell