Saturday, March 26, 2011

Hell hath no fury?

Pastor Rob Bell

I'd already read about this controversy in Christianity Today some mornings ago but found too little there to report and the issue itself too big to research, given my lack of time these days, so I let the moment pass and forgot about the issue until I came across a humorous piece by Alex Beam for the Boston Globe demurely titled "A heck of a theological debate" (March 18, 2011) but reprinted in the International Herald Tribune under the less abashed title, "The knell doesn't summon thee to hell" (March 25, 2011).

Wait a minute, you say? Who's Rob Bell? Beam us up to Mars Hill, Alex:
The big noise on the God front this week comes from Rob Bell, the evangelical Christian pastor of the 10,000-member Mars Hill Bible megachurch in Grandville, Mich. Bell, who is nothing if not social-media-savvy, is pushing a new book, and pushing it hard. His co-pastors informed congregants a few days ago that Bell was out-trending Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on Twitter, whatever that means, and that his book is outselling Pope Benedict's book, "Jesus of Nazareth," on Amazon.com.
But what's the book? Love Wins. It has a modest subtitle: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. The sort of thesis topic your English professor warned you against. Too broad, you'll recall. All over the place. Not focused. Some evangelicals also dislike it. The book, anyway. 'Tis heretical:
One big heresy that Bell has been blasting on YouTube and elsewhere is that non-Christians may not be condemned to burn in hell. "[Mahatma] Gandhi is in hell?" Bell asks. "He is? And someone knows this for sure? Will only a few religious people make it to heaven?" Ix-nay, quoth Bell, who must have the inside scoop on this. He is after all, the author of "Sex God," another book with enviable sales figures.
You can see Pastor Bell broaching this devilishly tricky topic here on YouTube, or you can find the same video on his website. No, not on Sex God. On Love Wins. Stay focused. But you're wondering why I called Alex Beam's report humorous. Because he writes:
For obvious reasons, I take a personal interest in news of the underworld. I will be packing my flame-retardant pajamas for my final journey, and I am counting on a long stay, surrounded by lifelong friends and many, many fascinating writers and journalists. To say nothing of all those Wall Street types and corporate lawyers, with their clever one-liners and acerbic sense of humor. What was Mark Twain's famous line? Heaven for the climate, hell for the company.
Beam, however, also takes a more serious interest in this realm where angels fear to tread and contacts Harvard Divinity School to speak to a professor there and get the lowdown about the bottomless pit:
But what about Bell's so-called universalist heresy, which would allow for all manner of the unwashed getting into heaven? "The Bible is very diverse in its voice on this question," says Matthew Boulton, an associate professor at the Harvard Divinity School. "If God is not going to save everyone, that gives you some sort of hell. But some theologians are expressing the hope that hell may be empty."
Empty? But some entity should be there, else what the hell's hell for? Is it merely some furious infernal furnace furnished for firing up to heat the universe? I wonder if Boulton -- or better, Bell -- has anything to say about that. Beam, by the way, doesn't mention whether or not Professor Boulton cited the specific diverse universalist and non-universalist verses on hell.

But here's what I have to say about hell, and the place ain't empty of reprobates, so be forewarned: hell's language is not for the faint of heart.

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14 Comments:

At 5:50 AM, Anonymous dhr said...

here's what I have to say about hell

Your masterpiece, among the poems by you I happened to read.

Goethe (Goethe!) wrote something like that, when in the "Faust" Mephistopheles explains volcanos as the effect of devils crowding cramped in hell and farting.

 
At 6:00 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Hell is an obscene place . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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At 6:14 AM, Anonymous dhr said...

... as well as a Harsh Mistress.

 
At 6:20 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

But less harsh in her fury than a woman scorned . . .

Jeffery Hodges

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At 11:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Apostasy - check
Earthquakes and disasters - check
Wars and rumors of wars - check

hmmmm...

Anyway, the fundamentalist radio minister (now deceased) I listen to, J. Vernon McGee, also says hell is empty - for now.

I forget which scriptures he cited, but he said hell is empty until the final judgement. Until then, the damned are held elsewhere or allowed to roam the universe until that day.

 
At 11:28 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Interesting theory, and one that I'd never heard. Thanks.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 1:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I found a sermon by McGee on this issue. I can remember him mentioning the "hell is currently empty" idea here and there throughout his 5-year Bible study program.

Sermon

 
At 1:06 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Now, I understand how you listen to him even though he's deceased.

Thanks again.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 1:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here is another sermon. He jumps directly into the scriptures in it, and he gets directly into linguistics related to Bible versions which might interest you with your background.

Sermon II

 
At 1:17 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Thanks again. I might not have time to listen for a while. This semester is a killer.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 2:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Around 3:08 minutes into this YouTube audio of a Bible Q&A, McGee mentions the hell is currently empty idea and about Hades/Sheol.

YouTube Commentary

 
At 2:38 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

That certainly makes listening more convenient. I'll be sure to check it out soon.

Jeffery Hodges

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At 1:01 AM, Anonymous Tom Ball said...

I long ago concluded that an omnipotent, infinitely loving God requires a "universalist" outcome. I read somewhere that Christ came "into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world." Since I can't imagine some power that can thwart God's purpose, it automatically follows that the world is, essentially, already saved.

 
At 4:50 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Great God, another heretic!

Jeffery Hodges

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