Rob Bell’s Love Wins—and the PR leading up to its release—ignited perhaps the greatest storm of theological debate today’s Internet-focused church has ever seen (that same church being woefully unaware of anything preceding the Internet; but that’s another topic).
And then he had this interview with Martin Bashir.
I haven’t read Bell’s book. If I had, I might have some idea what he considers worth raising such a brouhaha over. I’ve heard others’ take on it, and I rather thought in this interview I would get Bell’s perspective. Bashir certainly gives him plenty of opportunity to explain himself.
So what does he tell us? God cares deeply for us. The last word hasn’t been spoken and God’s going to fix this place. The problem of evil is a paradox we ought to let be. I’m not a universalist. It’s terribly important how we respond to Christ. Why? Christians have had lots of perspectives on this, and what happens after death involves a lot of speculation and questions. Why do you accept Origen and not Arius? I’m a pastor and it encourages people to know they’re not the first ones to have the kinds of questions they have. What about hell? There’s an entire chapter in my book on that.
I’m still wondering: What do you believe, Pastor?
Jonathan Morrow said, “This was a cultural moment and he balked.” I agree: Bell missed a profound opportunity. I would alter the metaphor, though. Bashir, not Bell, was the pitcher, and he was serving up fast balls right down the middle: the kind that come hard, but that a real hitter longs for. He should have knocked them out of the park.
What pastor wouldn’t want to help the nation begin to understand God in relation to Japan’s disaster? What pastor wouldn’t want to explain that God has revealed himself in ways we can really know? What better moment for a pastor than to be asked what’s important about our relationship to Christ? Bashir kept asking that one. (He interrupted Bell once or twice as he tried to answer, but not every time.) Bell stood there looking at every pitch, called out on strikes without taking a swing.
What makes it stranger is that he was the one who had said “Let’s play ball.” It was his book that got the whole game started. For my part, I refuse to enter into the debate over Love Wins before I’ve read it; that’s just being responsible. But Bell failed to enter into the debate after he wrote it. That’s being something else.
I won’t be so rash as to suppose that this interview represents all that he believes. It’s a very short snippet out of his entire life of preaching, teaching, and writing. If somehow it did represent his beliefs, however, one would be led toward the conclusion that he doesn’t believe much of anything at all.
(By the way, kudos to Bashir for asking good questions and for persisting with them. Would that more journalists would do that with more politicians!)
March 17th, 2011 | 9:11 am | #1
As another footnote, I think Bashir’s first question was out of context for a book interview, and for that reason it was unfair. From the admittedly unhurried comfort of my office I think Bell’s best answer would have been, “That’s a great question, very timely, and I would love to talk about it. It’s going to take me a few minutes to do it justice. How much time do we have?”
March 17th, 2011 | 9:53 am | #2
Yeah, “before we get to your book, just real quick solve for me a question thinkers of all faiths have struggled with for thousands of years.” (Paraphrase.) That was a bit much.
But this was brilliant:
“For my part, I refuse to enter into the debate over Love Wins before I’ve read it; that’s just being responsible. But Bell failed to enter into the debate after he wrote it. That’s being something else.”
March 17th, 2011 | 3:30 pm | #3
Actually, it’s fairly predictable that a religious figure would be asked about the Japan disaster.
March 17th, 2011 | 4:03 pm | #4
Asked, yes. Bashir didn’t just ask.
March 17th, 2011 | 10:31 pm | #5
Rob Bell is not a universalist. He said so.
But………
March 18th, 2011 | 10:38 am | #6
I just now watched it — only I couldn’t bear it anymore when he explained that he determines which historic voices to listen to “because he’s a pastor.” That’s not merely being pragmatic, that’s determining the content of truth pragmatically. It’s really not surprising that many people find this kind of thing attractive, but it’s very sad.
March 20th, 2011 | 11:12 am | #7
Many people would prefer Bell respond as Pastor John Piper did:
“Therefore, God has a good and all-wise purpose for the heart-rending calamity in Japan on March 11, 2011 that appears to have cost tens of thousands of lives. Indeed, he has hundreds of thousands of purposes, most of which will remain hidden to us until we are able to grasp them at the end of the age.”
To paraphrase: “God intended this to happen for some good reason but I have no idea why and none of us will know until we die and (some of us) end up in Heaven.”
That would have been somehow “better”?
March 20th, 2011 | 9:18 pm | #8
“watered versions of Christianity which leave out all the darker elements and try to establish a religion of pure consolation” was how C.S. Lewis described such theologies in “Letters to Malcolm,” chapter 14, adding, “No belief in the watered versions can last…”
“I have met no people who fully disbelieved in Hell and also had a living and life-giving belief in Heaven..
“The soul that has once been waked, or stung, or uplifted by the desire of God, will inevitably (I think) awake to the fear of losing Him.”
March 23rd, 2011 | 5:57 pm | #9
Amazing, thank you Martin Bashir! I think we have a responsibility as Christians to stand up and fight this potentially Heretical campaign. There are many Christians who are to immature and new to the faith to even discern that which is false. Worse is the acceptance of half-truths that are totally parallel (warm and fuzzy) to the feel good “cant we all just get along” post-modernistic world we live in. I myself put it on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKM8aMiAboM
watch!
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