ROB BELL OUT WITH A NEW BOOK

RobBell

As the Lord would will Apprising Ministries emerged as a leading critic of Rob Bell, former rock star icon of the Emerging Church. In fact, back in 2008 I would end up writing Rob Bell And Christian Universalism.

Therein I began to show you that Rob Bell was already leaning toward, as well as beginning to teach, a form of universalism where—even after a time in some type of purgatory—eventually everyone will end up saved.

In other words, God’s love will prove irresistible; hence Love Wins. So, for someone like myself Bell’s book by that name was no surprise being I was familiar with the mythology of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM).

You see, Rob Bell is every bit into CSM as his friend, universalist Emerging Church pastor Doug Pagitt; as well as his own friends, Living Spiritual Teacher and EC guru Brian McLaren and FTS professor, Dr. Tony Jones,

Jones also happens to be the progressive “theologian in residence” at Pagitt’s social gathering Solomon’s Porch. Bell’s mysticism is truly evident e.g. in Influence Of Richard Rohr On Rob Bell And His Love Wins Mythology.

Even so, the shock of Love Wins Mythology Forced Rob Bell Out Of Mars Hill Bible Church Pulpit. Subsequent to that event, we’ve seen more of his true self as Rob Bell Affirms Gay “Christians” & Brian McLaren Is Really Happy.

Since departing MHBC Bell has come out of the closet as the full blown pro-homosexual progressive neo-liberal I told you he was. A source close to Bell himself told me he was set to perform same-sex marriages at MHBC.

Frankly, although he’s touted as being so creative, Rob Bell really isn’t all that innovative. His creativity lies in his ability to repackage neo-orthodox and liberal arguments and pawn them off to doting young evangelicals.

You see, those empty arguments—long ago rebutted by Christian apologists—have appeared to be new and cutting edge to the younger sectors of mainstream evangelicalism largely because they’ve never heard them before.

What Rob Bell has been able to do is appear as an orthodox evangelical while using postmodernity as a kind of cloaking device to hide his advancing the EC’s “big tent” Progressive Christianity aka Emergence Christianity.

Now you’re ready to see through the new book Bell’s about to drop March 13th entitled What We Talk About When We Talk About God (WWTA). ChristCultureNews.com informs us today:

Rob Bell, former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich., and author of 2011′s controversial “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived,” is out with a new book, and it’s sure to be a target for critics. (source)

Well, even though Bell’s not cutting edge anymore, let’s hope and pray that the book does indeed become a target of critics. HarperOne’s Amazon description tells us:

Rob Bell’s bestselling book Love Wins struck a powerful chord with a new generation of Christians who are asking the questions church leaders have been afraid to touch.

His new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, continues down this path, helping us with the ultimate big-picture issue: how do we know God? (source)

The answer to that question is simple: By God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ’s finished work alone on the Cross. As I said earlier, we’ve heard Love Wins rehashed arguments, ideas, and speculations before.

What had happened was Rob Bell waited until his target audience, the younger sectors of mainstream evangelicalism, were brainwashed enough through the teachings of EC leaders to abandon sola Scriptura.

Now issues are being decided by feelings. So, like a viper in its den, Bell waited until he saw that CSM and postmodernism’s inherent narcissism had sufficiently gripped these younger areas of mainstream Christendom.

Then he struck hitting where Seeker Driven prophet-leaders had left their flocks vulnerable because these megapastors appear more interested in building their little kingdoms for themselves than in teaching God’s Word.

You say, “but you make this all sound so insidious.” That’s right; because it was. The EC targeted your youth from its evil beginnings. It all seemed so innocent when evangelical churches began using EC teachings circa 2000.

Remember how churches began having “alternative services” and experimenting with EC contemplative practices in their Youth groups and Young Adult classes? Well, behold the price evangelicalism’s only beginning to pay.

The description of Rob Bell’s WWTA continues:

Love Wins was a Sunday Times bestseller that created a media storm, launching Bell as a national religious voice who is reinvigorating what it means to be religious and a Christian today. He is one of the most influential voices in the Christian world,… (source)

Sadly, there’s a ring of truth here. However, what’s not true is that Rob Bell’s actually “reinvigorating what it means” to be “a Christian.” Bell’s teaching the same form of progressive postmodern liberalism as his EC friends.

Now, what can we expect from Rob Bell’s new book? We’re told:

What We Talk About When We Talk About God, is poised to blow open the doors on how we understand God. Bell believes we need to drop our primitive, tribal views of God and instead understand the God who wants us to become who we were designed to be,…

What We Talk About When We Talk About God will reveal that God is not in need of repair to catch him up with today’s world so much as we need to discover the God who goes before us and beckons us forward. A book full of mystery, controversy, and reverence,… (source)

There you go, more of the same postmodern obfuscation, redefining of Christian terminology, and postmodern neoliberalism. Did you catch that? Look closely, Rob Bell believes that “we need to discover the God,…”

Common sense should tell you that if Bell truly thinks the orthodox Christian community needs to “discover” his view of God, then he must now believe we have yet to do so without the “enlightenment” he has to share.

But the truth is, the Christian Church doesn’t need Gnostics like Rob Bell to help us discover anything. There’s only one God and all of us in Christ already know Him and experience Him through His Word in Holy Scripture.

Actually, Rob Bell’s motivation for writing WWTA is rather revealing:

Bell himself has explained his motive for the book:

“I’ve written this book because there’s a growing sense that when it comes to God, we’re at the end of one era and the start of another, an entire mode of understanding and talking about God is dying as something new is being birthed.”  (source)

No, nothing “new is being birthed” in the Christian faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). And this is your first clue that though Rob Bell went out from us, apparently he was not of us (cf. 1 John 2:19).

Further reading