Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Bell on Hell (The first review of his new book)

If you've been following AEN over the last couple of weeks you'll have been aware of the controversy that has been surrounding the release of a new book by Rob Bell entitled 'Love Wins'. The promotional video that he produced hinted that his book is denying the biblical teaching on hell, and promoting a form of universalism, that everybody, even if they've not believed in Jesus, will ultimately be saved.

Well it seems that this is indeed the case. Tim Challies has written a review of the book, from an advance copy that he recieved. Here is one of Bell’s quotes:

A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. . . . This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear. (preface, vi)
Tim Challies' review is very helpful and is well worth taking the time to read. He has clearly worked hard at working out what exactly Bell is saying, which can be difficult because of Bell's cryptic style. You can view it by clicking here.