Love Wins

So, I read "Love Wins" the other day by Rob Bell. A friend of mine and I were discussing the press that this book was getting and I thought if I can give an opinion, it must be an informed one. So, reading the book would be a must.

Let me just say, as I was finding my way in the world of all things church and theology, I came through the evangelical movement called the Emerging Church. This was a focus among Christian leaders to incorporate a wider view of things theological and a broader approach that is inviting of the unchurched. As you probably know, I came through that-finding a home in the liturgical tradition. Rob Bell is a leader in the Emerging Church and pastors a church in Michigan.

"Love Wins" is getting a lot of press because Bell supposes that there is little reason for consideration of an eternal hell. His thoughts keep coming back to a God whose "steadfast love endures forever" whose "anger lasts for a moment but compassion for a lifetime." Amid many references to the Hebrew texts as well as the words of Jesus and Paul, he refutes the idea of an eternal hell based on the concept of a loving God whose love "would melt the hardest of hearts" given time. While refusing to be referred to as a universalist, this is universalist theology clearly.

Bell makes the point that there are few mentions of a literal hell and thus lists them in his book and explains their historical context. While this was a good idea, he leaves out several common references to hell in Paul's letters including the haunting picture in 2 Thess. 1. I understand what he was doing and the point he makes. It is certainly not in the orthodox stream of Christian theology.

Making references to the Bible, he also refers to some of the Church Fathers, one being Origen whose theology of hell has not been accepted by the wider Church. He also suggests reading C. S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce" for further reading on the subject, but fails to mention Lewis' "The Problem of Pain" which discusses openly Lewis' perspective on hell.

The point is (according to Bell)... Our God, who IS love will love you unconditionally unless you make the wrong choice in which he will send you to an eternal consciousness of torment with no chance to "repent." Put this way, I would also question this God of love. It was in this way that "Love Wins" was a good chance for me to question some things.

I don't know where I am on the whole hell thing. I am not sure that a Christian who doesn't believe in hell should be considered a "non-Christian." I do recognize that hell is a part of main-stream theology. I also know that Jesus wasn't really referring to hell in a lot of his stories. Another thing-- Hell is a great conversion tool as used by the Church in the middle-ages and even today.

One BIG BIG mistake in life is to make the here and now about heaven or hell later. This was not the way of life for Jesus. One thing about Jesus was that he lived "in the moment." Christ calls us to live in the moment... as Paul says, "redeeming the time, for the days are evil." Life is too short to make it all about something that is later. YES! One day we can live in the resurrection glory of Christ face to face, but let's live in this glory now... giving it "away" to all that come our way.

This isn't a critical review of Bell's book. It was a decent book with good points. Don't buy it though. It's too expensive. Take a couple of hours and go to the bookstore and read it. It will be good for you and fun to get out of the house and do something different. Be careful in reading it though. He needs a fact checker. He takes some verses out of context and misquotes some passages. This isn't a book that I would quote regularly, let's just say. Also, take it for what it is. It is not meant to be a dense treatise on things theological, it is rather one man's collected thoughts based on his understanding of scripture and his relationships with others.

Pass on the resurrection glory of Christ!

Annunciation of Our Lord

+ March 25 + Annunciation of Our Lord

What a special day this is. Frankly, I didn't know this first thing about this day until two years ago when this date fell on a Chapel service day at LR. Here we have a day celebrating Mary's willingness to serve the Lord. "Let it be done to me according to your word" she says to the Angel Gabriel. In so doing, she opens the door for redemption through Jesus Christ.

"Annunciation" comes from the latin, annunciare which means "to announce." It refers to Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin that God is with her and that she is highly favored among women. Protestants are often afraid of talking about Mary too much. This can be understandable in light of what tradition has made of her, however, consider her plight, or "blessing." Her blessing was one of profoundly unique obedience. In her was the redemption of mankind. In her was the doorway to the new covenant in Jesus. She was not herself our salvation, but she carried our salvation. We celebrate her special obedience to God's calling. We remember her today and venerate her willingness. We do so by being ourselves willing to follow God's calling. In her is our obedience and our selflessness through the power of the Holy Spirit. We look to her for inspiration to put off all doubt and embrace the mystery of true submission. Consider her mystery... virgin birth. We take this all to much for granted. We embrace the mystery of faith in the virgin birth and the deep calling to obedience in her willingness to be the "handmaiden of the Lord."

Set on saving the cosmos, he who set all things in order came down to it of his own volition. And, though being the Shepherd as God, for us he appeared like us as a man; and having called his own, like by like, as God he hears, alleluia. (From the Orthodox Salulation S)

Great and Holy Lent

Another Lent is upon us. Too many folks get confused about this peculiar time of year. What is Lent? Well, the term "lent" is but an old word for "spring." So, what goes on during this time of year?

To put this answer very simply, we remember who we are. We remember that we are called to a common life in Christ in devotion to him and to his cross and what it means. Our lives are lived in the way of the cross. We are called to deny ourselves which is why many take on Lenten "fasts." We must also remember that this time is just that, a time of sacrifice. It has become necessary for some folks to "take on" something during this time of year, something of a positive nature. Sometimes this is a great thing, and it is that in "taking on" something that they are giving up something else. For folks purposing to read scripture daily during Lent, they are giving up the time they would have otherwise had.

It is a season of fasting. In fasting we begin to see precisely that liberty we have in the grace of the resurrection. We are not bound by our addictions, but rather we have the grace through Christ to overcome them. Lent is a "high and holy" time so to speak. It is a time of instruction and learning. Historically, this would be the time that people wishing to join the Church would learn of Christ's teachings and then ultimately be accepted into the body at Easter.

It is a season of remembering our frail humanity. In remembering Christ's life and death, we think of our own mortality. Every day is another grain of sand through the hourglass of our lives. Every moment seeming shorter than the previous becomes more important and more fleeting the longer we live. Lent reminds us that our lives must be lived fully in Christ. Each grain of sand is redeemed in his great love. Each moment is a gem, priceless and worthy to be honored. It is a season to become keenly aware of our fragile nature and to thank God our provider for his many gifts.

Let us attend to those things which Christ would find worthy. Let us be about the reading of scripture and honest prayer. Devoting ourselves to his calling, let us not lose heart but look to the triumph of the cross and let the glory of the resurrection be our joy.