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Wondering Pilgrim

~ the ramblings of a perambulent and often distracted sojourner

Wondering Pilgrim

Tag Archives: Rob Bell

I thought good news was supposed to be palatable…

16 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by wonderingpilgrim in Personal

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Tags

afterlife, Love of God, postaday2011, Rob Bell

St. Isaac the Syrian (ortodox icon)

Image via Wikipedia

YouTube – MSNBC Host Makes Rob Bell Squirm: “You’re Amending The Gospel So That It’s Palatable!”.

Rob Bell squirming? I guess it depends on your perspective. I find the polemical and propositional tone of the interview embarrassing at its source more than its reception. I’d be squirming in my effort to remain polite. I haven’t read Bell’s book yet, but I recognise in his argument a proximity to the Eastern Orthodox stance – an understanding that I suspect many of his detractors have no clue about.

Many are the ancient pioneers of the church, along with Augustine, who thought about and reflected on the nature of God’s love revealed and experienced through Jesus. Why the west dips its lid only to Augustine is beyond me! Origen, Irenaeus and a host of others are well worth listening to. St. Isaac the Syrian in the sixth century writes “Paradise is the love of God” and he also writes “…those who are punished in Gehennah, are scourged by the scourge of love”. So the “fire” is the love of God, and we experience His love as either divine love, or as painful “scourge”. See an article from the Orthodox point of view at Heaven and Hell in the Afterlife, According to the Bible.

It would be a good exercise to compare/contrast Rob Bell’s thinking  alongside sound eastern Christian views that have withstood 2000 years of faith and practice.

-31.911079 115.772731

Red Letter Christians » Love Wins: Rob Bell and the New Calvinists

04 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by wonderingpilgrim in books

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Tags

Jarrod McKenna, Love Wins, postaday2011, Rob Bell, universalism

A controversial book of the moment before it is even released is “Love Wins: a book about heaven, hell and the fate of every person who ever lived” by Rob Bell. Apparently it is creating a storm amongst the leading lights of the “emergent ” part of the Christian spectrum, with some condemning what they imagine the author says and others saying, “Hang on, who reviews a book on the basis of a publishers PR blurb anyway – and, should his views be more inclusive than you would like them to be, why the vehemence?”

Jumping into the fray is our old mate Jarrod McKenna, who is becoming a well known media commentator, and who reviews not so much the book, but the storm. I have seen his article pop up several times this week, most recently at Red Letter Christians » Love Wins: Rob Bell and the New Calvinists.

Nothing like a good controversy to get a book noticed. Must get a copy.

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