Is Rob Bell a universalist? Firstly, I can tell you from the dozens upon dozens of his podcasts I've heard, the three books that I've read of his, and the half dozens of videos I've seen from him, labeling him as a universalist has never crossed my mind.
However, after watching this video I am concerned, actually, more importantly curious about his thoughts on heaven and hell. But I'm a little confused as to what Universalism means. I thought Universalism implies that all religions are the same thus all leading to heaven? Because that doesn't seem to be what his new book is implying. But if by Bell saying that ALL humans may go to heaven through Jesus if they repent and believe then I have no argument against that. However, if he's saying ALL humans are going to heaven because of the work Jesus did whether or not they believe and repent, then yes, that couldn't be farther from the truth. (In my personal understanding and conviction, at least.)
If you saw the video, the moment he mentioned the story of the person who left the note about Gandhi, there was a shift in his countenance and tone. I think he's frustrated with the the gatekeepers of our culture. By that I mean people who think it's their place in saying who made it to heaven or not. As the joke goes: People were waiting in line to go through the gate to enter heaven when someone noticed a crowd heading towards the back. When Peter the gatekeeper asked, "where's everyone going?" They responded, "Quick, Jesus is letting people in through the back door!"
Needless to say, it's not our place to say who's going to heaven or not. We can only observe them, as Jesus says, by their fruit, which makes things a tad complicated when people call his teachings heresy because, I at least, have seen the fruit come out of Mars Hills church. They are a community who do the gospel and not just preach. I've heard testimony after testimony from the Mars Hills community of people's lives changing and drawing nearer to Jesus.
This is a little disheartening and a tad confusing, if we're understanding Bell correctly in this article and video, to hear him make this assertion. Especially after hearing him declaring not too long ago that
click here>> Jesus and his resurrection is solely our only hope. However, note that I have not read the book and most people who are making this claim haven't either. It's gossip at this point.
@JesusNeedsNewPR mentioned earlier responding to tweets like, "dot dot dot, this breaks my heart. Praying for Rob Bell, dot dot dot" when he said, "For a moment I was afraid Rob Bell had died. But then I realized that it was just a few Calvinists hating him into a trending topic."
This is what happens when you're popular. Everyone breaks down every detail of every word you say which reminds me of that
verse we read in the Book of James that says, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." I'd love to take all of Rob Bell's critics and sit them in a room and deconstruct their theology. But fortunately, I have better things to do.
