a review of Love Wins by Rob Bell

DISCLAIMER:1.) Read the book. If you have strong thoughts on this book but have not read it, I recommend you do. If you feel so strongly, you should know exactly what you feel strongly about. Also, this review won't do justice to the points that Bell is trying to make, nor should it. This is my reflection on the book, with a small amount of summation. 2.) Before you read the book, or this review for that matter, take a few moments to pray, and allow God out of the tiny little box you keep him in (we all have one). Take a step back from the few verses that you put your weight on and look at the story of Scripture as a whole.
A summary of Bell's main points: Bell talks about heaven. He speaks of heaven as both now and not yet. He tells some stories from Scripture, and some stories from ministry. Here are some of his thoughts on heaven that stood out to me: "What Jesus taught, what the prophets taught, what all of Jewish tradition pointed to and what Jesus lived in anticipation of, was the day when earth and heaven would be one. The day when God's will would be done on earth as it is now done in heaven. The day when earth and heaven will be the same place (emphasis his)" (p 43). "Taking heaven seriously, then, means taking suffering seriously, now. Not because we've bought into the myth that we can reate a utopia given enough time, technology, and good voting choices, but because we have great confidence that God has not abandoned human history and is actively at work within it, taking it somewhere" (p45). "Heaven comforts, but it also confronts" (p48). Bell also speaks about hell. Just as heaven is both now and not yet, so is hell. Again, he shares some stories from Scripture and some stories from ministry. Here are some of his thoughts on hell that stood out to me: "It is absolutely vital that we acknowledge that love, grace, and humanity can be rejected. From the most subtle rolling of the eyes to the most violent degredation of another human, we are terrifyingly free to do as we please" (p72). "There are individual hells, and communal, society-wide hells, and Jesus teaches us to take both seriously. There is hell now, and there is hell later, and Jesus teaches us to take both seriously" (p79). Finally, Bell comments on the role of Jesus in the redemption of humanity and all of creation. Yes, all of creation. True to form, Bell shares some Scripture and stories here too. "[Jesus] is as narrow as himself and as wide as the universe" (p155). "Refusing to trust is often rooted in a distorted view of God" (p175). "Jesus meets and redeems us in all the ways we have it together and in all the ways we don't, in all the times we proudly display for the world our goodness, greatness, and rightness, and in all of the ways we fall flat on our faces" (p190). This is by no means comprehensive. Go read the book! My thoughts: First of all, I would like to point out that most of what Bell says in this book he has said elsewhere in his books, NOOMA videos, Tour videos, or sermons. Bell introduces some very interesting thoughts and questions, none of which I think are new or all that shocking. The essence of what Bell is saying (in my opinion and interpretation) is that we have limited God by putting God in a tiny little box and either focusing on one or two aspects of God's character without acknowledging the rest, or viewing God through the lenses of our broken human relationships. The fact of the matter is, God is beyond our comprehension. We can't understand the vastness of who God is, and placing limitations on God is cheating God and ourselves. We are a people, especially the American Church, who have forgotten what it is like to have to rely on each other. We are individualistic and success oriented. We don't really have to trust others, and we don't really have to trust God. And why would we trust God, if the God we believe in is vengeful and angry and exclusive? We have created a God in our own image, to serve our own interests. We have robbed God of the freedom to act in this world and in our lives. Bell says "refusing to trust is often rooted in a distorted view of God". Because we have created this distorted view of God, it is easy to withhold our trust. But God is love. And if God loves us, and not just us but all of creation, wouldn't he be working toward our betterment and reconciliation? Lets quick take a step back and look at the narrative of Scripture. When I read the Bible, I see a cycle of two things for the people of Israel: judgment and restoration. Judgment is always necessary when Israel goes astray, but its goal is always restoration. I believe in a God who is working in the world to reconcile all of creation. I don't believe that it would be glorifying to God for billions of people to be wasting away in a fiery pit for all eternity. The God of the universe that I worship is big enough to redeem everything God has created. Which now begs the question: What about Jesus? If God ultimately will redeem everyone, what's the point in professing faith in Christ and seeking to follow him in our lives? Why don't I just go run off and do lots of drugs, drink all the time, have lots of sex and become the dictator of an impoverished nation? Is Jesus relevant? The answer is: OF COURSE! Scripture is clear that Jesus is the instrument through which God redeems the world. That can't be dismissed. That is the gospel. All of creation will be redeemed because of Jesus's death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. Jesus is savior for all. Bell speaks about heaven and hell being a constant choice. At any given moment we have the choice to move toward God's love or away from it. Heaven or hell. Now and not yet. Further, the idea that Jesus redeems all creation, and the potential directions that this idea leads discussion, doesn't make me question why I worship Jesus. If anything, it drives me further into a state of awe that I am blessed to have a relationship with him. So, of course Jesus is still relevant. Conclusions: Is Rob Bell a Universalist? He says no. I say who cares?! If you are concerned about the issue of universal salvation, go read the book of Isaiah, I guarantee it will raise more questions about universal salvation than Rob Bell does. Rob Bell doesn't know what happens when we die. Neither do I. Neither do you. Anything that anyone says on this subject is pure conjecture. Why waste our energy criticizing and arguing over a point that none of us will know the answer to until our day comes? I don't think the point of this discussion should be where do we go when we die, and who gets in? I think the conversation should form around who we think God is. More than anything, reading this book made me check the assumptions that I have made about who God is, and unlock the box that I keep God in. God has more love than I can fathom, and for me, assuming that I know what God is going to do with other people when they die is limiting the power, love and freedom that God has. Anyone can quote a verse or two of Scripture to make a point. But the Bible is also a whole story. A story of the engagement of a loving God with a broken people. In the words of Bell, "Just read the story, because a good story has a powerful way of rescuing us from abstract theological discussions that can tie us up in knots for years" (p12).