What is Rob Bell Up To Now? Hmmm.

[DMcFadden]

I came across a VERY interesting piece on Rob Bell in the RNS.

What ever happened to Rob Bell, the pastor who questioned the gates of hell? - Religion News Service

Some samples:

Does he still consider himself an evangelical?

“If we mean Jesus’ message of God’s revolutionary love for every person, and we can surrender and give our life to acts to loving kindness, then man, sign me up,” said Bell, 44.

“The Rob Bell Show” will premiere Dec. 21 on the Oprah Winfrey Network, a one-hour show that features Bell and is co-produced by him. He also recently toured the country with Winfrey on a “Life You Want Weekend.”

He came out in favor of same-sex marriage in 2013, and few evangelicals seemed surprised. If he could question the existence of hell, they said, why wouldn’t he shift on his views about sexuality?

Bell says he would conduct a same-sex ceremony, and he encourages churches to welcome gay members and allow them to be ordained.

“This is a justice issue,” Bell said. “We believe people should not be denied the right to have someone to journey with.”

“All of these things that people think dropped out of the sky by divine edict are actually a reflection of ongoing human evolution and a thousand other factors that have shaped why we as humans have done what we’ve done,” Bell said.

Now resettled near Los Angeles, the couple no longer belongs to a traditional church. “We have a little tribe of friends,” Bell said. “We have a group that we are journeying with. There’s no building. We’re churching all the time. It’s more of a verb for us.”

Many evangelicals are suspicious of Oprah, leery that she represents what many see as the worst of self-help spirituality. Bell, not surprisingly, disagrees once again.

“She has taught me more about what Jesus has for all of us, and what kind of life Jesus wants us to live, more than almost anybody in my life,” Bell said.

“Is she a Christian? That word has so much baggage, I wouldn’t want to answer for someone. When Jesus talks about the full divine life, you think, this is what he’s talking about.”

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

No words, other than "sigh".

 

[KMK]

Is she a Christian? That word has so much baggage

Wow!

 

[Andres]

I pray that God grants Him repentance.

 

[Gforce9]

The train derailed and flipped over......and just when you thought it was as bad as it was going to get, the train slid off the cliff......

 

[Rom]

Inconceivable!

 

[Alan D. Strange]

I believe that we will see more of this in the coming days, i.e., false professors showing their true colors, as happened at the time of the Decian persecution in 250 AD.

We live in a society in which the Christian faith is openly derided, seen to be in its historic teachings opposed to our current public policy, which is viewed as enlightened and compassionate. Even as Nero and his successors often portrayed Christians as "haters of mankind" because they did not participate in the games, theatre, and other immoral Roman practices, so, too, we are being portrayed as such because we do not support the homosexual agenda, teach that there is a hell for unbelief, and the like.

As it gets progressively challenging to maintain the Christian faith, we will have the Rob Bells of the church, both office-bearers and members, bailing and joining the world. They may not repudiate God in some form altogether, but they will certainly repudiate the God of the Bible.

These are dark days for the church. What we must do is pray that out of this darkness, our Sovereign God would cause light to emerge and bring to Himself a mighty host that no man can number. Post tenebras lux (after the darkness, light) is what the Reformation was all about and how we need such in our day. It may be long in coming, however, and we need to persevere until our Lord brings about a better day, either through reformation and revival or the Coming of the Lord.

Peace,
Alan

 

[Bill The Baptist]

Meum cerebrum nocet

Indeed.

 

[whirlingmerc]

On sliding off the cliff... I like the contrast between Joel Olsteen and Ravi Zacharias on Mormonism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA_zsmd85eg

 

[KMK]

Post tenebras lux

Will it be as the days of Jeremiah?

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.b *6For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. *7And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Jer 24:5-7

 

[Loopie]

“We have a little tribe of friends,” Bell said. “We have a group that we are journeying with. There’s no building. We’re churching all the time. It’s more of a verb for us.”

I only have one response:

 

[Phil D.]

The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

2. Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth;
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

3. Though with a scornful wonder
we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping;
their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

4. Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war,
she waits the consummation
of peace forevermore;
till, with the vision glorious,
her longing eyes are blest,
and the great church victorious
shall be the church at rest.

5. Yet she on earth hath union
with God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

 

[ZackF]

Why is anyone caught off guard by this? I would have been more surprised if he defended biblical marriage. People like Bell, RHE and so on break me out of a yawn ONLY when they defend traditional Christian teaching.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

The devolution of the likes of Rob Bell serves to confirm Rev. Strange's observations from Scripture. Rejoice that God's word is true and cannot be broken.

 

[Ken_lamb]

He's just blazing a wider path for the lost to follow and so called Pastors to widen further. This path will be well trodden but sadly not lead to the narrow gate.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hammondjones]

Farewell, Rob Bell - Feb. 26, 2011

A tweet for which he took some flak.

 

[DMcFadden]

It all depends on whether one views the Bible as more of an anchor or an albatross.

Some seminaries are more intent on creative "shaping" of the Christian tradition, innovative "restatements" of it for the needs of today, and bold attempts to "recast" the timeless message in terms "relevant" to the cultured despisers of the Gospel than teaching seminarians to be faithful exponents of the tradition handed down to them. When the seminary brags about taking a "third way" to issues that cuts the Gordian knott of "liberal" vs. "conservative" and privileges asking provocative questions over giving faithful answers, you will get a fair percentage of graduates ending up like the Rev. Bell. He is the alum of two of the most intellectually elite, but "edgy" theological institutions of evangelical persuasion in America (Wheaton, FTS).

 

[PaulCLawton]

There are several posts of real substance in this thread, and while not wanting to take away from them, I would also like to point out how terribly over-the-hill and lame Mr. Bell sounds, "...should not be denied the right to have someone to journey with.” "We’re churching all the time.". Are these quotes from a Christian hippie surfer retreat in 1999?