Rob Bell Is (Not) a Universalist: What the Book Is

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:58 pm by Tony Jones

Rob Bell Is (Not) a Universalist: What the Book Is 2015-03-13T16:58:18-05:00 Tony Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

All this week, I’ll be posting about Rob Bell’s controversial new book, Love Wins. And this Sunday, April 10, I’ll be guest hosting Doug Pagitt Radio from 12-2pm CDT, talking with Keith DeRose, Michael Horton, and a special surprise guest! The entire two hours will be devoted to a discussion of the book, in advance of Rob’s appearance the following night at Wayzata Community Church.

Last Friday, I already complained about the font of the book. Paul commented that it’s Gotham, the typeface preferred by the Obama campaign and other movers and shakers. I also pointed out a grammatical conundrum, and I commemorated the typo in the final line of the book, now available as a t-shirt!

Today, however, I want to muse about what the what the book is, and what Rob is attempting to do with it.

The book, I think, is a natural outgrowth of Rob’s primary gift, and that is his ability to speak publicly. He is, as his various tours and his video have shown, an artist with the spoken work word. In fact, he’s almost a performance artist.

He is not, nor does he claim to be, a theologian in the traditional sense. In his interview last month with Lisa Miller, he said as much, claiming to be neither a theologian nor a biblical scholar, but a pastor. But, of course, Rob Bell is much more than a pastor.

The book is, as has been noted elsewhere, deeply biblical. In many places, Rob uses single verses, sometimes bordering on proof-texting. He also supplies lists of biblical references, like when he lists all the verses that mention heaven or hell. But at other points, Rob has extended excurses into a particular pericope, as he does with the parable of the Prodigal Son.

And, of course, the book is also deeply theological. I was reminded about a conversation I had several years ago with my friend, Spencer Burke, who had co-written a book about this very subject, A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity. Spencer, who advocates an “opt-out” rather than an “opt-in” version of heaven, was disconcerted about the vituperative attacks he had received from evangelical theologians. When he protested that he was writing a pastoral book, not a theological one, I responded, “You don’t get to write about the doctrine of hell, debated for two millennia, without opening yourself to criticism from theologians.”

Well, Rob has done much of the same thing, but he’s shown even fewer of his cards than Spencer did. There are no footnotes — even a block quote at the beginning of the book from Renee Altson is not referenced. There’s a short section in the back with some titles for further reading, but in general, Rob doesn’t show his work. This drives critics a little crazy, because it leads them to all sorts of speculation about whether Rob has a shrine to Ken Wilber in a corner of his house.

The book reads like the manuscript of a Rob Bell talk. It’s not a book, in the traditional sense. It’s more like a meditation on paper. If ever there was a book to get as an audiobook, this is it (well, this and anything by David Sedaris).

But this does not exempt Rob, or the book, from theological and philosophical scrutiny, to which I will turn tomorrow.

Previous Post

April 1, 2011

Loves Wins: The Typo That Is Not an April Fool's Joke

Next Post

April 5, 2011 Rob Bell Is (Not) a Universalist: Who Is this God?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category bible blogging books christianity in america church church history dissertation divorce Dog Training education emergent church essay family funny glbt jopa productions ministry minnesota movies music parenting philosophy politics Prayer publishing Questions That Haunt random same sex marriage speaking spirituality Teaching technology television theology Travels Uncategorized writing youth ministry

Select a Month January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 June 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004 February 2004 January 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

For it is by _____ you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Select your answer to see how you score.

Grace Love Jesus' Blood Faith