Justin Taylor has a blog I regularly read on 'The Gospel Coalition.' He put up a post about Rob Bell's new book, coming out the end of March. Justin's got a lot of flack for his comments which are based, among other things, on a promotional video Rob has.
You can find the discussion and video here:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/?comments#commentscomment-80217
For what it's worth, here's a comment I left on the site:
If you've ever watched Rob Bell's "The gods aren't angry" tour/message, this latest iteration should really come as no surprise. In fact, it is entirely logical. In "the gods aren't angry," Rob very skillfully indicates that any notion of an angry God who demands sacrifice is nothing more than pagan in origin and, hence, utterly unChristian. So, the idea of God being angry at and judging his own son is worse than pagan.
He does an absolutely masterful job of unpacking this approach through a narrative that connects with seekers put off by the blood and gore of Old Testament sacrifices, and of the barbarism of the crucifixion.
But it is a pyrrhic victory that costs him and the church no less than the gospel itself. For, the good news is not just Rob's "God is love," so end of story. Rather, the good news is so much better than that. The gospel is good news because in it God lovingly offers to exchange his righteousness for our sinfulness and its consequences. In Jesus' own words: "God SO loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever BELIEVES IN HIM might not PERISH but have eternal life." One doesn't need a doctorate in hermeneutics to understand Jesus, himself, to be stating that those without faith in him are in danger of perishing eternally. Interestingly, John uses the same word that Paul does in Galatians 2:20: "who loved me and GAVE himself for me." The loving giving of himself which Paul has in mind was Jesus' sacrificial death -- "to give his life a ransom for many" was how Jesus put it in Mark 10:45.
This theme of a God who is infinitely loving and yet simultaneously wrathful towards sin is one that permeates Scripture from cover to cover. Yet, it is one which Rob, sadly, ignores. Still, there is no way around it: "God presented him [Christ] as a sacrifice of atonement [propitiation] through faith in his blood" (Romans 3:25). It doesn't get much clearer than that.
Perhaps Rob will surprise us when we get to spend $14 on the book when it comes out the end of March. Perhaps, we will all have a good chuckle and conclude, "Great marketing ploy, Rob." But given his absolute aversion to Scripture's focus on the necessity of Christ's atonement, I suspect Justin's concerns are well-founded. My best guess is that this book will be another, but not the last, step away from the Scripture that speaks, and the Christ who saves.
