This morning, as I was perusing my personal twitter feed, I came across a post by Phil Johnson pointing to his thoughts on the Rob Bell issue over at Pyromaniacs. In old-school blog fashion, I'd like to answer his final question “What do you think?” This post is written with the assumption that the reader has first read Phil's post.
Phil has twice been a guest of Echo Zoe Radio, and I have great respect for him, both “on-air” and off. I can say that everyone I have ever had on my show has been as friendly, accommodating, and pleasant off-air as when the recorder was rolling, and Phil is no exception. I don't have a critical word to say of him or his ministry. Add to that the fact that I am, in more secular-sounding terms, and “amateur theologian”, and have always run this site in a hobby/part-time basis, I look to Phil and others like him to do the heavy lifting within the realm of theology.
In this case, Phil is dead-on right about the reaction of the Reformed community to Rob Bell's heretical work “Love Wins.” Rob Bell's vision of Heaven and Hell is not an insignificant difference between otherwise orthodox believers. This is an essential issue, that must be addressed in serious terms to, at the very least, let the world know what the scriptures actually teach. Standing against Rob Bell's heresy is exactly what Jude instructed us to do in verse three of his epistle when he commanded the church to “contend earnestly for the faith.”
The Reformed community has been fairly vocal about Bell and his book, and has been since Bell released his first Youtube video promoting the book some time before it was released. While criticism of the criticism should be expected, It's a bit frustrating for me to see such coming from within the Reformed community. If there's anything we can agree on, it's that the importance of sound doctrine. Also, while watching one's tone is important, I think the cry of contending “lovingly” is often abused and overused. There's little that is less loving than allowing an outsider who has yet to receive salvation to think that heresy is okay, and that the differences are minor. If one does not get the person and works of Christ correct (or as Brett Kunkle put it in our episode on Mormonism: the Nature of God and the Nature of Salvation), one cannot be saved. That's not to say one need have a Doctorate in Theology, but one cannot hold to false teaching on these very essential issues. To claim that Hell doesn't exist, or is only temporary, as Rob Bell does, is to fail miserably in regards to Salvation/the Works of Christ.
Phil also addressed the notion that some had that too many people were weighing in on the issue. Again, Phil is right that there are no designated spokespeople for the Evangelical world, nor should there be. Often the reaction to false teaching tells the rest of us more than just that the teaching is false, it lets the rest of us know where one stands. It gives us insight into other ministries. The explanation of why a teaching is bad shows other Christians just how learned and grounded a ministry is in truth. Agreeing that just a few speak and the rest remain silent would deprive the church of this valuable insight within our own ranks.
Also, my greatest criticism of the reaction to Bell is that too many want it to be too swift. Not withstanding this post, shooting off a blog post or two addressing an issue and forgetting about it isn't going to suffice. Unfortunately, Rob Bell has more exposure and name recognition within the greater Christian community than do the most popular Reformed personalities. Should we limit ourselves to a book review from Tim Challies or Kevin DeYoung and an article by Justin Taylor, we'll be lobbing a few shots in a battle and hoping the enemy will cease-fire and surrender with little engagement. It's asking our adversaries to reduce a major war to a minor skirmish by simply asking nicely, it just isn't going to happen. To be honest, I barely recognize the name “Justin Taylor”, and I'm reformed. I know nothing about him. To expect our non-Reformed, Evangelical friends to keep up with them is asking too much. What we need is more voices in the discussion, not less.
It seems to me that as the influence of Christianity wanes in society at large, the boldness of Christians wanes as well. We've been too “Americanized” in that we just want to be comfortable. Engaging in the culture war is far from comfortable. Phil acknowledges the necessity of some forms of controversy, which is also uncomfortable. We don't want to engage false teachers, and when we do we want to win a war with a Molotov Cocktail, lobbing a shot here and there to address false teaching, without seeing the battle through to the end. I tend to be overall oblivious to the world around me, and late to just about every party, but I have noticed that the complacency of many Christians has given way to “Discernment Ministries” that may be strong on doctrine, but tend to be weak on presentation. We need more of our leaders that have developed a more thoughtful approach to be engaged. Sometimes that means giving them a little time to work out a response in wisdom. I'd rather they be late to the battle if it means they are better armed to win the war.
So to summarize, I am glad that Phil Johnson has weighed in on the issue, and am in full agreement. I fear that the issue will wane in the minds of the Reformed community, and Rob Bell will see his career as a public figure survive to promote more heresy. Addressing his heresy needs to be done early, often, and for as long as it takes to prevent him from ensnaring the unsuspecting in his trap.
