You have not read more questions in one chapter anywhere, guaranteed. Those who know Rob Bell as one who asks too many questions and doesn’t give enough answers will quickly notice that he fits that mold in the opening chapter. In fact, in a quick glance through the chapter I counted at least 83 question marks. Yes, 83 in one chapter.

But the questions he asks in the first chapter are good questions. They are the type of questions you ask when you read a sacred text and take it very seriously. One of the themes of the questions in this chapter is “how are we saved?” Bell cites several passages throughout the New Testament that seemingly speak of conversion experiences and then evaluates what they have to say about how salvation came to each individual or group.

Passages like these:

• the sinner who prays in Luke 18
• the thief on the cross in Luke 23
• Nicodemus in John 3
• Jesus on those who will experience the afterlife in Luke 20
• forgiveness in Matthew 6
• the hole in the roof in Mark 2

In each of the above stories Jesus saves, heals or forgives for what appears to be different reasons. Bell analyzes these passages and more by asking several questions about how you are saved (brackets added by me to show corresponding passages):

Is it what you say [Luke 7, 18, 23], or who you are [Luke 20], or what you do [Matthew 6, 7, 10], or what you say you’re going to do [Luke 19], or who your friends are [Mark 2], or who you’re married to, or whether you give birth to children [1 Corinthians 7], or is it what questions you’re asked, or is it what questions you ask in return [Acts 22]?

These are great questions. If salvation is essential, how do we “get” it? Do we “get” it?

As I said in the review of the preface, I believe there is an answer to all of these questions. Hopefully pointing out these questions is a setup for actually beginning to answer them. And hopefully, the way Bell ends the first chapter is his way of letting us know that he will:

This is not a book of questions, this is a book of answers.

This is not a long book. Those who have seen the book know that most of the 224 pages could fit way more text than they already do. How so?

The book is written in an almost poetic form.

Sometimes skipping lines.

Which I found pretty interesting and a bit refreshing.

But it could get old.

I would love to read a review of the layout alone (seriously), but this is not that review.

Now, on to the content.

In the very brief preface, Bell informs us of his audience:

…all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, ‘I would never be a part of that.’

It probably goes without saying, but Bell did not write this book first and foremost for theologians or scholars. As I have been working through the book, I do not doubt that he could have. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but so far Bell has not come across as someone who can’t do serious scholarly work on this topic, but as one who chose not to present this material in a scholarly manner this time around.

Bell also emphasizes that he is not saying anything new:

I haven’t come up with a radical new teaching that’s any kind of departure from what’s been said an untold number of times.

This is something that I hope he elaborates on throughout the book. A brief overview of Church history will show that there are several people and traditions that have thought a variety of things concerning heaven and hell. It would be a disservice to let this statement in the preface stand on it’s own, and I will be disappointed if he never addresses who has said what “an untold number of times,” and how the church has reacted.

Finally, Bell concludes with a statement about his hope for the book:

If this book, then, does nothing more than introduce you to the ancient, ongoing discussion surrounding the resurrected Jesus in all its vibrant, diverse, messy, multi-voiced complexity-well, I’d be thrilled.

For those who are already introduced to the “ancient, ongoing discussions surrounding the resurrected Jesus”, this might not seem like enough. But, staying true to his intended audience, Bell is not writing for those of us who know of the diverse complexity and are seeking answers. He is writing to those who have “heard some version of the Jesus story” and said “I would never be a part of that.”

A concluding note, one that I do not think Bell would disagree with:

In the end, there is one true version of the Jesus story. No, there is not a denomination or flavor of Christianity that can claim to have that version, but recognizing that this one true version exists is crucial when speculating on what it is like.

I love this. I know it looks bad to some, and other worry about how it affects our witness as Christians, but the debate over Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins: Heaven, Hell and the fate of every person who ever lived has caused many to think through many difficult issues. And those issues are not just limited to Heaven, Hell and the fate of every person who has ever lived. Deep, significant issues like What is orthodoxy? Can we know truth? Where do we draw the line? Where does the New Testament draw the line?

I’ve done my best to hold off on commenting on the book or the reactions to the book until I had a copy and had given it a careful read. The book finally came in the mail this week, and I started right away. Already a few chapters in, my plan is to walk through the book with a post on each chapter. If you have a copy, or want to get a digital version soon, I would love to hear from you as we read along.

A few points I am keeping in mind as I read:

1. Many people have a problem with Rob Bell as a person. Rob Bell is cooler than me. And, most likely, Rob Bell is cooler than you. People will read more of him than they will you, Piper, DeYoung or even Driscoll. I do wonder how much of the “I haven’t read your book but I know that it is heretical” stemmed from this root of insecurity.
2. Church history is messy, because no one got it all right. Even the apostle Peter was wrong at times. If we too quickly dismiss a person as heretical for not believing the same thing we do about a subject over which there is much debate within orthodoxy, we also have to stop reading any theologian we’ve ever read. That being said, Paul still corrected Peter. Direct confrontation is needed, because none of us get it all right.  If Bell is off in some areas, my hope is to graciously point those out. Where he is right, my hope is that I can rejoice that truth is being read and given much thought.

Love Wins: Table of Contents

Preface (link to review)

What about the flat tire? (link to review)

Here is the new there (link to review)

Hell (link to review)

Does God get what God wants? (link to review)

Dying to live (link to review)

There are rocks everywhere (link to review)

The good news is better than that (link to review)

The end is here (link to review)