Posts Tagged ‘Love Wins’

What Time Is It?

Monday, September 26th, 2011 by JEL

Time for a Monday grab-bag, I suppose. First off, there was a report that the BBC had officially dropped the use of “AD” (Anno Domini) and “BC” (Before Christ) in favor of “CE” (Common Era) and “BCE” (Before Common Era). Turns out it isn’t true, but it is giving reporters and producers the leeway to use whatever terms they like.

Whilst the BBC uses BC and AD like most people as standard terminology it is also possible for individuals to use different terminology if they wish to, particularly as it is now commonly used in historical research.

A while back we wrote  a post about Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. In it he challenged the thinking that all non-Christians will spend eternity in hell. Predictably, it caused all sorts of closed-minded firestorms. He led a megachurch in West Michigan for 12 years and now he’s leaving. We hope he takes his message of “God is love” to greener pastures.

Finally, I saw this piece regarding the dangers of confusing Christ and Christianity. The whole thing is worth reading, but this paragraph jumped out:

The fact remains that most people don’t desire true life-giving faith in God; they prefer the convenience of inherited religion. The reasons are obvious: Religions give you rules to obey. They are handed down, no thinking need be done, and most people prefer to hang on to their institutional club membership for the tradition and the perks.

Stirring Up the Hornet’s Nest

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 by JEL

I’m a little late to this story, but am glad I stumbled into it today. Over the weekend, the New York Times carried a piece on Pastor Rob Bell’s new book “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.”

In it, he writes that it is:

“misguided and toxic [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.”

Interesting right? Especially since Bell is a popular, quasi-celebrity evangelical preacher who leads the Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan numbering 10,000 members.

Predictably, the blogosphere and Twittersphere are going crazy. Read the full article to see what all the fuss is about.

“Love Wins” is a nice title for a book, no?