I finished a podcast transcript over the weekend that I entitled Rob Bell – The Whipping Boy for God’s Grace. I hope to have it recorded and posted by Friday but it looks like my timing couldn’t have been better. Nothing pisses off fundamentalists and literalists than actually saying that God’s grace expressed in unconditional love for sinners is in fact that – unconditional and gracious.
So its no surprise that Rob’s new book, building on Mars Hill’s Love Wins campaign, which has now become a byword for me and many in our congregation, is catching all kind of flack over its promo piece. Like Scott says in his post, twitter is aflame and few in the evangelical community are showing any mercy. No one has read the book but based on a title and a couple of paragraphs, Rob is now an unrepentant unionist, universalist, cheap grace heretic and officially out of God’s club, the club that says there is grace but that’s no excuse not to follow the rules that human beings say will save you from hellfire.
I can’t wait to read the book. I can’t wait to watch certain uber conservative leaders do fine impersonations of 21st Century scribes and Pharisees. God forbid that they as millienialist, rapture riding, fundamentalist, Bible-believing, born-again, adult baptizing, recovering the true church Christians ever be lumped in with all the sinners they condemn (homosexuals, Catholics, mainline Christians, women pastors, biblical scholars with university degrees, South Park fans) who believe that God loves them too.
I’m glad the Gospels make it clear that Jesus stood for believing the right doctrine is more important that reaching out to people who have been pushed out to the margins of society. Yeah, God loves them but he won’t die to save them.
Oh, he did? Never mind.
Go Rob and look for the podcast Friday.