Love Wins Chapter 2

So I actually read this chapter a couple weeks ago but I was really struggling with it. I wanted to postpone blogging until I had a better grasp of it.

I feel a lot more confident about my position now so here it is: I felt like this chapter was Bell using two terms interchangeably that weren't meant to be used interchangeably! Eternal life and heaven have a lot in common; but to use them in place of one another seems to be shaky ground.

The title of the chapter is: Heaven! This chapter doesn't really touch heaven too much though. He starts off with the story about the Rich Young Ruler questioning Jesus about how to obtain eternal life? (Matthew 19)

I think Rob is dead on when he says that eternal life is not just life that goes on forever; but a quality of life that is to be lived now. "Eternal life is less about a kind of time that starts when we die, and more about a quality and vitality of life lived now in connection to God." (59) I think you catch glimpses of that in Jesus conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 and the Samaritan woman in John 4.

Rob does bring up that fact that this Young Ruler was not instructed to Accept that he's a sinner, Believe in Jesus, Confess him as his savior, and Demonstrate his obedience. This bothered me for the last week! He's right it doesn't say that this man must trust God for his salvation; but it does! He's trusting his own wealth; not God...but to say that it doesn't say anything about Jesus is not really reading the whole of this conversation. THIS observation becomes really scary when Rob (apparently) takes this conversation as the rule. On page 52 he makes this statement: "Heaven, it turns out, is full of the unexpected."

To illustrate his point, he offers this example: "Think about the single mom, trying to raise kids, work multiple jobs, and wrangle child support out of the kids' father, who used to beat her. She's faithful, true, and utterly devoted to her children...She never goes out, never takes a vacation, never has enough money to buy anything for herself. She gets a few hours of sleep and then repeats the cycle of cooking, work, laundry, bills, more work, until she falls into bed late at night, exhausted. With what she has been given she has been faithful. She is a woman of character and substance...She can be trusted. Is she the last who Jesus says will be first?"

The question I have is this: "What about Jesus?" Circumstances don't get you in! Works don't get us in the party!" In the illustration, he never mentions Jesus changing her life and her decision to trust Him. This may be reading too much into it...but never the less it can become a slippery slope.

Frustratingly...this chapter really raised a lot more questions than it did answers! I am still getting used to his writing style! He doesn't so much have an outline when he writes, but I think he just lets the argument progress...It was a real struggle to outline this chapter. His view of heaven is rather cloudy it seems and he seems awful reluctant to come down on a correct translation of the greek; a certain view of Old Testament passages; and a certain picture of heaven. I think he is using the argument between "transcendence" and "this worldliness" of heaven to hide behind. Heaven is a deep topic; one in which I don't have a ton of research on outside of Alcorn's book and a couple other articles. The fact is: Jesus brought God's Kingdom to this earth. I agree with Bell on this point...but I don't really know where he is drawing the line.

We will see what he does with Hell?

Love Wins Chapter 1

Some of you will call for my head! Others will look to me for a judgement! Others still will denounce me as a heretic, but for you, my adoring fans, I am writing this for you!

In the face of current and past warnings, I am reading the book "Love Wins" by Rob Bell.

I got the emails (21 of them to be precise) warning me of this heresy! I have read the blogs that warn of the dangers of this book so I thought I would check it out myself.

I want to blog after every chapter just to make sure that I am interacting with this book. So you will get to see my thoughts here. I am going into this with an open mind so I am asking for some latitude from you if I don't denounce this book quickly enough.

The Theme of chapter 1 is this: Rob Bell is confused and he wants the rest of us confused as well!

Rob is not really asking any new questions. My jr. high students every week fill out cards with prayer requests and any questions they have so that I can pray for them and answer their questions. Not one of the questions Rob posses in chapter 1 is something that I don't see on those cards! Do babies who die go to heaven? Do people who have never heard the gospel go to heaven? Can you fall away from the faith? Are you saved by faith or deeds or a combination? It all centered around a high school atheist who died in a car accident. Upon his death someone said that there was now no hope for him. Bell countered with "No hope? Is that what Jesus offers this world?" (3) I think Rob took the question too far...Jesus offers hope to the world but we just have to accept it...while we are alive!

The other confusing aspect to Rob is: How exactly are you saved? baptism? sinners prayer? righteousness? Rob brings together texts from all over the New Testament showing salvation in various ways (speech [Luke 7; Luke 18; Luke 23]; being born agian [John 3]; being worthy [Luke 20]; forgiving others [Matt 6]; do the will of the father [Matt 7]; Stand firm [Matt 10]; saying what we will do [Luke 19]; someone else's faith [Mark 2]; being married to the right person [1 Cor. 7]; or giving birth [1 Tim 2]; asking the right questions [Acts 22]; being born to the right nation [Romans 11]).

Im not real sure that all of these texts are talking about "salvation" issues necessarily, but it is awful early and he said he would explain them later. What bothers Bell most is that Salvation seems to not be as cut and dry as he would like it (which a study of conversion in Acts will show you that it is difficult to put it into a formula but has some major themes to it). When I was interviewing at CPCC the longest discussion we had during the process was about baptism. I grew up in a church where baptism was a necessity. When one of the elders was reading through the bylaws of the church the question of whether baptism was needed for salvation came up. I thought so. We discussed for probably 15 minutes about it. The thief on the cross was the dominant point. I would argue that he was more an exception that the rule. I think we just moved topics letting that one rest.

Bell's goal is to raise questions about these issues: How are we saved and who gets saved? Rob is frustrated...and as his way he wants the rest of us frustrated too! My mind is still open and he promises to answer these questions in the next couple chapters!