Heaven, hell and Rob Bell controversy

By R. Wayne Hagerman and ChristianWeek | June 7, 2011

At first glance, Love Wins looks like a book which may offer some answers to the age-old topics of heaven and hell. Rob Bell claims his controversial new book is "about the love of God for every single one of us. It is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love, and it is for everybody, everywhere." So far, so good.

Bell goes on to say, "There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus' story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn't interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do. The plot has been lost, and it's time to reclaim it."

"What is the plot that has been lost?" I asked myself.

"I've written this book for all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, 'I would never be part of that,'" writes Bell. The "that" is the traditional, classic, accepted (so I thought), Christian doctrines of heaven and hell.

The thesis of this book is that for several millennia now, the Christian Church has gotten it all wrong, betrayed the message of Jesus, God and the Bible, and condemned people to a hell that does not exist while promising the others heaven. After the preface of the book, Love Wins lost me, and I thought I was fairly intelligent and Biblically literate, well trained in biblical exegesis and interpretation. This is heresy, impossible to defend theologically, intellectually, spiritually and biblically. Love Wins is 202 pages of wasted paper and ink.

Bell's thesis simply does not hold. Contrary to his bad philosophical arguments, Christianity teaches that not everyone goes to heaven, that hell is real and that some people are going there. Bell tells a good story in places, one which sounds so loving and appealing, and yet his theology is so very wrong. It just does not match up with Jesus' teaching or the biblical truth on these tough matters.

It makes me quite sad to think that Rob Bell, who has a large following and to whom so many look to for solid Christian advice and truth, could swing so far away from biblical truth. I don't think he knows just how much damage he has done in writing this book. My hope is that faithful Biblical theologians in the Christian Church will respond wisely, kindly, and firmly to this heresy.

Rob Bell, you've dropped the ball so badly this time!