I told you in Apprising Ministries: Rob Bell Resources that online apologetics and discernment ministries have been warning you about the warped and toxic teachings of the Emerging Church rock star pastor Rob Bell for years now.

I know I’ve been trying to tell you that Bell himself is under the spell of a ne0-Gnostic corruption called Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM).

Unfortunately this is now pandemic within mainstream evangelicalism through its foolish embrace of the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church with its quasi-universalism in a new version of postmodern Progressive Christian theology under their spiritual circus “big tent” of empty Emergence Christianity.

And this is the point being missed: Rob Bell’s gospel is essentially the same as the newer postmodern form of progressive/liberal Christianity—Liberalism 2.0—that McLaren began laying out systematically in his last book A New Kind of Christianity (ANKoC). You need to remember that liberal theology, aka modern theology, was the doomed attempt to come up with a verison of Christianity compatable with the modern culture of its day; and with the EC, what we’re dealing with is the same ill-fated idea; only this time to a postmodern culture. 

This brings us to Rob Bell’s popularity makes clear biblical response critical, evangelical panel says from Baptist Press where you’ll see why I’ve been so thoroughly dissecting the increasingly mystic musings of Rob Bell:

A panel of Christian leaders said March 17 that Rob Bell’s popularity among evangelicals — particularly among younger ones — makes it critical for the church to respond with biblical clarity to his new book. Bell, the panelists said, has redefined the Gospel and his beliefs clearly fall outside historical biblical orthodoxy. In “Love Wins,” Bell denies a literal hell and affirms a form of universalism.

“We wouldn’t be having this panel discussion if John Shelby Spong wrote another book,” R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said. Spong, 79, is a former Episcopal bishop and a well-known liberal scholar who has denied virtually every major Christian doctrine. “… Rob Bell is a different story. He has a tremendous influence, especially with younger evangelicals, and I think that’s why we have to talk about this. We’re very concerned about the loss of the Gospel.” (Online source)

Mohler is dead on target; as I just told you in Spiritual Blindness And Famine In The Land, no longer in the postmodern fog of the Emerging Church scene, Rob Bell is a very major player within the younger sectors of mainstream evangelicalism:

Joining Mohler on the panel at Southern Seminary were Justin Taylor, a blogger and a vice president at Crossway publishing; Russell Moore, dean of the school of theology at Southern Seminary; and Denny Burk, dean of Boyce College. Taylor, who wrote the first major critique of the book’s premise, called Love Wins a “one-dimensional view of God shrunk down to the size of Rob Bell’s own creative mind” that “fundamentally misses the Gospel story.”

“It misses the holiness of the Creator God, the sinfulness and the fall of man, the accomplishment of what Christ did,” Taylor said. Bell’s book also overemphasizes the love of God with little acknowledgement of God’s justice and wrath, Burk said.”There is no final, punitive, retributive justice from God,” Burk said. “.. Paul says in Romans 12:19, leave room for the wrath of God. One of the fundamental errors, I think, of this book is right there: There is no room for the wrath of God in his theology.”…

The panelists agreed that Bell promotes universalism in his book, but they also said he does so inconsistently. For instance, Bell argues that God will not violate human freedom — and thus people who want to end up in hell will do so — but he also argues that God will save everyone in the end. At the same time, he clearly denies the existence of a literal hell.

“I am not trying to be cute or pejorative, but I think he’s an incoherent universalist,” Taylor said. “He, on the one hand, says that God’s love will melt even the hardest of hearts, and on the other hand he says that God will always let us do what we want. That’s a contradiction, but there’s no attempt to resolve that. That’s not living in a paradox, it’s living in a contradiction. I don’t understand, at the end of the day, what he believes.”

Scripture, Moore said, clearly clashes with Bell’s beliefs. (Online source)

You’ll find the video of this panel discussion concerning Love Wins by Rob Bell right here.

See also:

APPRISING MINISTRIES: ROB BELL RESOURCES

ROB BELL ON THE RECORD CONCERNING SCRIPTURE

UNREST WITH ROB BELL INSIDE MARS HILL BIBLE CHURCH