Иконописмека мебел Tom Wright talks about the orthodox church and its view on Hell.

ИкониПодаръциikoniикониикониПравославни икониикони на светцииконописikoniсвети георги

Much has been said and written about Rob Bells Love wins.

Much has been said about heaven
much has been written about Hell
far less has been written about love

I have read much, but far from all. But more important I have read the book. And everything else Rob Bell has ever published.

it is simple

It is not an academic work
He does not claim to scholarly work himself through these subjects
And I am fine with that. There are countless amounts of academic work on these topics.Did I like the book? I will get to that.

As always when I read I change. My beliefs change. When I converse the same thing, I change.

Christians who read Rob Bell are of course full of generosity towards him and very open minded. They wrestle with what he has to say before they open there mouth. They walk a mile in his shoes before they talk. They show love and extent grace despite coming to different conclusions than mister Bell. They help him in the task of breaking down walls and showing those close and those far away how much Christians really love and serve each other. And how Jesus is the most important thing in everything we are and everything we say and do.

The last paragraph is unfortunately not true.
This is not how Christians are known to engage in differences, and once again this has proven to be true. Christians can’t handle disagreeing in a loving and respectful manner.

dogma
theory
theology

is more important than

love
family
friendship
relationship
tribe

I want to ask; is Rob Bell a Christian?

Is he in or out? On much I have read he is out.

Is what we believe about heaven and Hell an essential?

Well now to the theology represented in the book.

Rob Bell has taken much of his thinking and theology from the Eastern Church. Here the view of salvation, Heaven, Hell, God, man is very different than Western Christianity represented by all reformed Christianity and what most western Christians view as true and biblical.

Eastern theology is very much influenced by

The disciple of Jesus

John the apostle

his disciple Polycarp and Polycarp’s disciple

Ireneus

He was a pastor and father

Life is important, relationship is important. Salvation is understood in a therapeutically way. Not in a judicial system.

God is first and foremost

A Father

A Mother

A Sheppard who guides his people through history

Punishment is seen as a process of growth and healing rather than being cut off and punished as in the judicial understanding of punishment: you get what you deserve!

Western thinking has a long love affair with theologians who were judges and lawyers. One of the first and most influential is Tertullian.

He was a lawyer.

For him God is first and foremost a judge. Jesus place in history is explained by a court room and in a courtroom. He took my punishment on him and all the other language we use to explain who God is and Jesus is.

The bible is first and foremost a book of law.

And then Calvin of course

A lawyer

a soldier

The same.

When the Judge and the father clashes in Christianity the Judge always wins. Calvin always wins. He was a soldier. He fought for what was true. He kills for what is true in his eyes. Calvin won.

Maybe there are other ways of explaining Jesus and God?

Maybe they are also found in the bible? Maybe they also go way back in the Christian tradition?

Maybe they are forgotten?

Maybe Calvin was wrong on some issues?

Maybe Bell is wrong on some issues?

But what really matters in the end?

love?

Jesus?

So, after all the fuss and accusation, what does Rob Bell actually say about heaven and hell? Interestingly, he locates them in the same place. Using the story of the prodigal son, he notes that the older brother was invited to and is pretty much at the party. But his resentment made him seethe with anger at the festivities. He couldn’t enjoy the taste of heaven, because he’d grown up with a twisted view of duty, of work, of his family and friends. He didn’t know how to love, because he hadn’t put his selfish self to death.

To paraphrase and precis his whole argument:

If you don’t die to self, then heaven will be hell.

The rest of the book? Well it’s a great read. He simplifies difficult concepts brilliantly.

I recommend it. I support the thinking behind it. It is truly Christian, It is soundly biblical and I hope many will read it and find a renewed hope, faith and love. And maybe find and see a repainted picture of Jesus.

Let me end with Rob Bells conclusion.

Love is what God is,
love is why Jesus came,
and love is why he continues to come,
year after year to person after person.

love is what I want to leave you with.
May you experience this vast,
expansive, infinite, indestructible love
that has been yours all along.
May you discover that this love is as wide
as the sky and as small as the cracks in
your heart no one else knows about.
And may you know,
deep in your bones,
that loves wins.

Read more about the forgotten Christianity in my post: The lost Christianity

A few weeks ago the Scottish government released Al-Megrahi, the man convicted of bombing U.S.-bound Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

The past few weeks have been rough ones for the Scots. Angry Americans threatened to boycott Scottish products. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lined up to condemn the move. (I was by the way a strong supporter of Hillary, and I still am, but disagree with her on this reaction)

This is one of many good examples on the polarization and the great gap between American thinking and European thinking when it comes to Justice and the theories and platforms on which this thinking is built.

Let me generalize to try to show my point.

An eye for an eye

The American system wants the offender to get what he deserves. The punishment is then awarded according to the crime committed.

In Europe it’s very different. Let this encounter serve as an example.

I was talking to a friend of mine some time ago. He works as a Judge in one of the biggest courts in Oslo. I asked him about a case he had presided over and asked him why he only gave 2 years in jail for what I considered was a grave offense. (It was the case in which Munch’s scream painting was stolen)

His answer was this. First of all he told me that he felt 2 years was a very tough and hard sentence for the offender.  Second of all he told me that his main purpose as a judge was not to give this man what he deserved, but give him a chance to both live with the consequence of what he did and get back into society and become a good citizen again.

The decision to free Al-Megrahi was made in accordance with Scottish legal practice, which makes explicit provision for the early release of prisoners on compassionate grounds.

Let me summarize: In Europe the goal is not to give the offender only a punishment in accordance with the gravity of his crime, or to give him what he deserves, but  also to show and give grace with the desire to help him into a normal life some day again.

Intertwined with view of God

This fundamental view on justice is also very much intertwined in the view on salvation, God and Christianity. One can argue that both views come out of how one understands salvation, humans worth the bible and God.

The dominant American Christian view is again God as a judge, giving us what we deserve. And in this aspect the western European church follows the Americans. But the Eastern European church(Orthodox) have a totally different view. God as a father, trying to help his children with their mistakes.  As a parent guides his children. This thinking is very far from a judicial view of God and his relation with humanity.  The way of Jesus is never one that gives back what one deserves. It is one that shows grace and mercy also in the Judicial sphere of humanity. I applaud the Scottish for following the way of Jesus in this case. Grace and Peace to Al- Megrahi.

Read more about Eastern Christianity and the difference between western and eastern Christianity in my post; “The lost Christianity”

Emerging Church theology compared to Irenaeus “lost Christianity”

In my thesis with the title; ”the dream of a perfect church – Emerging Church”, I compare Emerging Church theology, with the theology of Irenaeus and, the Christianity which has its roots in Asia Minor and Antioch.

The most significant exponent of the theology of the northeastern Mediterranean was Ireneus. Antioch is where Christianity first comes after Jerusalem. In other words it is the oldest Christianity we can trace back to the present day. I shall call this theology for Type C theology as explained below.

A part of my conclusion is that the church again is reminded about this “lost Christianity,” through Methodist writers like Geoffrey Wainwright, Justo González and Runyon. Other writers like Robert Farrar Capon, N.T Wright and Dallas Willard, and as I point out in my paper, many of the Emerging Church Leaders and personalities like; Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and Rob Bell.