A new book by one of the country’s most influential evangelical pastors,
challenging traditional Christian views of heaven, hell and eternal damnati=
on, has created =
an
uproar among evangelical leaders, with the most ancient of questions
being argued in a biblical hailstorm of Twitter messages and blog
posts.
In a book to be published this mo= nth, the pastor, Rob Bell, known for his provocative= views and appeal among the young, describes as “misguided and toxic” = the dogma that “a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better.” <= o:p>
Such statements are hardly radical among more liberal theologian=
s,
who for centuries have wrestled with the seeming contradiction between an
all-loving God (The invented concep=
t of
an “ALL loving God” h=
as been
to cornerstone of some of the greatest of heresies in all of church
history.
Ultimate Reconcil=
iation [Everyone including the devil will be redeemed by the cleansing
fires of hell or by the Doctrine’s creator – “Because of
love.”] One can easily see this doc=
trine
is in part influenced by the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory.
A student of Catholic higher
learning Hans Denk was fluent in Latin, Greek, =
and
Hebrew and edited three volumes of a Greek dictionary. Later Denk became Headmaster of a
Denk in his writings affirmed he did not believe the bible to =
be
the words of God. Instead Denk
put the highest regard on the “Inner
Light that speaks clearly to everyone” [Placing the =
bible
below his own personal spiritual experiences – How many heretic
preachers, teachers, and so called prophets hang their hats on this one?] Right
here Denk is completely off the pasture. With no if, and, or buts.
During his<=
/span> short reign as an Anaba=
ptist
heretic Denk was celebrated as the Anabaptist P=
ope
and a Mystic, he was called a prophet and a great teacher. Regardless of all the adulation during his life – His wor=
ds,
teachings, muses, doctrines and traditions must be altogether cast aside as he did not believe the bible was God’s word and theref=
ore
his writings only in the loosest sense make use of scripture. (Another habit of many here=
tic
preachers, teachers, and so-called prophets of this day.)=
In Whether God is =
the
Cause of Evil or Not Denk Wrote the following logic
statement: Since
love in Him
Without going into an exhaustive bible study on the false
supposition created by Denk we will examine in =
the
Gospels the incident involving the rich young ruler – to see if these
things be so.
The question the rich young ruler asks here is: How can I be sa=
ved,
What must I do to be saved, how can I get eterna=
l life?
The first thing out of Jesus Christ’s mouth here is the word <=
/b>COMANDMENTS
The rich young ruler replies OBEDIENCE
Jesus beholding him LOVED him.
Jesus seeing something in this rich young ruler’s heart, =
and
soul, of this dedication and obedience to the commandments of God outwardly=
responds,
Showing his acceptance of this young man’s=
words. So here the bible declares J=
esus
outwardly LOVED him.
We are going to suggest here that Jesus did more than give a wa=
rm
grin, or a nod or even put His arm around this young man’s shoulder (=
As
these things were not the Hebrew customs of the day). Rather we would sugge=
st
here that Jesus smiled and kissed this young man.
For those who consider this statement outrageous recall now that
Jesus decried a Pharisee for having NOT kissed Him upon his entrance to his house and did not wash His feet. (A
person welcomed or acceptance was commonly kissed. We see remnants of this
custom in Italians, and in Arabs, and Middle Eastern Muslims. In the Roman Catholic church this
practice was done away with. So to Western Christians this custom or practi=
ce
has come to little meaning).
This Custom and Practice also sheds light on the importance Pau=
l the
Apostle placed upon the action of “Greet(ing) one Another with a=
holy kiss” indicating t=
hat
there were those in the church in the apostle’s day that did not so. That there were those that did so without holiness, reverence<=
span
style=3D'font-family:Georgia;color:blue'>, or LOVE as they did so). Over
the years we have heard a number of preachers and teachers mock this practi=
ce –
Other than becoming angry at their mocking the word of God, and their placi=
ng
themselves above the word of God, and the Apostle we did not have any true
understanding of this things – until the moment the Spirit of the Lor=
d stole
over our soul and caused us to see, understand, and write of these things h=
ere.
We are ever amazed that the Lord i=
n His
great mercy and kindness would care to speak and reveal such things unto su=
ch a
nobody in the wilderness for all intent and purposes, when as we have spoke=
n of
many times in the past that in our estimation there are many preachers and
teachers that are so much better placed, and so far more eloquent to see, hear and declare such wondr=
ous and
powerful things.
So here we see that this rich young ruler with his obedience to=
God’s
commandments earned the recognition and LOVE of Jesus Christ. This same LOVE of Jesus and God that Denk speaks
out so freely of (Belaying his lack of knowledge an=
d lack
of understanding of the word of God) declares Jesus and G=
od are
required to save ALL.
Denk here is clearly a fool daring to declare Jesus and God MU=
ST
save all or be a liar and a respecter of
persons. Understand in declaring and teaching this that Denk declared Jesus and God to be l=
iars
and respecters of persons.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall=
offend
one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth=
of
the sea.
Jesus in his Love for the rich young ruler found respect of this man’s
person – only in his obedience to God’s commandments. Here we can plainly see having Jesu=
s personal
love or the personal love of God does NOT equal salvation, or gaining etern=
al
life. (Salvation is more than having a personal relationship=
in
your prayer life with Jesus Christ and the Father. Having the approbation of God R=
11; having
Jesus and God the Father’s love does not equal eternal life. It is an important step, but in an=
d of itself a deep abiding personal prayer life does not ge=
t it
as we are to see.
Here now Jesus said I love you for your obedience to the
Commandments of God – BUT despite gaining my love and approbation
here this will not gain you eternal life. Even though I love you – ev=
en
though you exhibited faith and belief, you came to me, you called me master=
and
you prostrated yourself before Me (All of which the bible believing church =
has
falsely declared THE FORMULA for gaining eternal life – Jesus declare=
s It
just ain’t so)
Here Jesus point blank blows out of the sky for once and for al=
l,
declaring the foundational doctrine of evangelical and fundamentalist Churchianity to be utterly f=
alse.
Rather Jesus declares here that belief in Him<=
/b> as Lord and Master is not a simple confession or profession but to believe in Him is to take up one=
217;s
cross and become his
Despite gaining my LOVE --one thing, one step lackest
thou to gain eternal life. Ga=
ther
up all thou hast and
Likewise John Calvin’s doctrine of Divine Electio=
n. God chooses who =
are to
be saved and who are to be damned. Neither can either undo the choice o=
f God concerning
heaven and hell regardless of their acts and deeds. God creates people to be forever da=
mned. So that even in the death of these little unchosen
babies they remain eternally damned. -- John Calvin
This same text of the rich young ruler proves John Calvin’= ;s doctrines of: Once saved always saved, and Divine election= to be utterly false, just as Denk’s doctrine of= Universalism or Ultimate Reconciliation. <= o:p>
(The writer continues)
Such statements are hardly radical among more liberal theologians, who for centuries have wrestled w=
ith
the seeming contradiction between an all-lovi=
ng God
and the consignment of the billions of non-Christians to eternal suffering.=
(The writer is referring to John Calvin and Hans Denk) But to traditionalists they border =
on
heresy, and they have come just at a time when conservative evangelicals fe=
ar that
a younger generation is straying from unbendable biblical truths.
Mr. Bell, 40, whose
His book comes as the evangelical community has embraced the Internet and social medi=
a (Compounding the Evangelical Churches march to destruction) to a remarkable degree, so that a
debate that once might have built over months in magazines and pulpits has
instead erupted at electronic speed.
The furor was touched off last Saturday by a widely read Chris=
tian
blogger, Justin Taylor, based on promotional summaries of the book and a video produced by Mr.
Bell. In his blog, Between
Two Worlds, Mr. Taylor said that the pastor “is moving farthe=
r and
farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity.” =
(We strongly agree)
“It is unspeakably sad when those called to be ministers of
the Word distort the gospel and deceive the people of God with false
doctrine,”=
wrote
Mr. Taylor, who is vice president of Crossway, a Christian publisher in
By that same evening, “Rob
Bell” was one of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter. Within 48 hou=
rs,
Mr. Taylor’s original blog had been viewed 250,000 times. (Wow!) Dozens of other Christian leaders and bloggers jumped=
into
the fray and thousands of their readers posted comments on both sides of the
debate, though few had yet seen the entire book.
One leading evangelical, John Piper of
Others such as Scot McKnight, a
professor of theology at
“Rob Bell is tapping into a
younger generation that really wants to open up these questions,” he
said. “He is also tapping into the fear of the traditionalists —
that these differing views of heaven and hell will compromise the Christian
message.”
Mr. Bell, who through his publish=
er
declined to comment on the book or the debate, has resisted labels, but he =
is
often described as part of the so-called emerging church movement, which ca=
ters
to younger believers and has challenged theological boundaries as well as
pastoral involvement in conservative politics.
As the controversy exploded last =
week, HarperOne moved up to March 15 the publication date o=
f Mr.
Bell’s book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fat=
e of
Every Person Who Ever Lived.”
Judging from an advance copy, the
200-page book is unlikely to assuage Mr. Bell’s critics. In an ellipt=
ical
style, he throws out probing questions about traditional biblical
interpretations, mixing real-life stories with scripture.
Much of the book is a sometimes o=
bscure
discussion of the meaning of heaven and hell that tears away at the standard
ideas. In his version, heaven is something that begins here on earth, in a =
life
of goodness, and hell seems more a condition than an eternal fate — &=
#8220;the
very real consequences we experience when we reject all the good and true a=
nd
beautiful life that God has for us.”
While sliding close to what criti=
cs
consider the heresy of “universalism” — that all humans w=
ill
eventually be saved — he never uses the term.
Mark Galli,
senior managing editor of Christianity Today, called in an =
article
on the magazine's Web site for all sides to temper their rhetoric and welco=
me
more debate.
“We won’t be able to
discern where the Spirit is leading if we don’t listen and respond
respectfully to one another,” he wrote.
“God once used a donkey to =
make
his will known,” he added, “so surely he is able to speak throu=
gh
both traditionalists and gadflies.”