Rob Bell, Christianity Today, Twitter, and the Gospel?!

There’s a video I did a while back on Rob Bell (it’s at the end of the article). In particular, the video is about Rob Bell’s answer to his interviewer from the magazine Christianity Today. The question given to Rob Was: “How would you present this gospel on Twitter?”

Rob Bell’s response was:

I would say that history is headed somewhere. The thousands of little ways in which you are tempted to believe that hope might actually be a legitimate response to the insanity of the world actually can be trusted. And the Christian story is that a tomb is empty, and a movement has actually begun that has been present in a sense all along in creation. And all those times when your cynicism was at odds with an impulse within you that said that this little thing might be about something bigger—those tiny little slivers may in fact be connected to something really, really big.

In the video, I point out that it is Scripture that is profitable for instruction and correction (2 Timothy 3:16), and that given Twitter’s 140 character limitation on posts, a good way to “tweet” the Gospel would be to use:

Romans 5:8: God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

But instead, Rob gave us the quote above. It doesn’t talk about sin, man’s depravity, Jesus, God, etc. Instead, the closest that he gives us is this:

“And the Christian story is that a tomb is empty…”

That’s it? That’s the Gospel? That’s not the Gospel at all, and that was what my post was about.

Out of all the videos I’ve created, this one has caused the biggest stir. I get more hits on that video than any other, and the comments (especially the private ones to my Youtube inbox) are more vicious than any other video I’ve made. Here’s one example:

You seem to forget that if you just throw a bible verse at someone they may not understand what it means or why they should believe, heck, they may even not read it because it’s scripture. If we want to relate to people and actually show them the gospel of love then maybe we actually need to go meet them where they’re at with language that they can relate to. Also, there is no scripture that says that the bible is the ‘ultimate authority’. Further than that, 2 Timothy 3:16 says that it is ‘God-breathed’ or ‘inspired’ not ultimate. And on top of that the original Greek could easily be read as ‘every scripture that is inspired by God is useful…’. Now that changes the meaning hugely. Rob Bell is a man who is after God’s heart and actually has the courage and faith to promote love. He has helped thousands of people in their walks with Christ. And he is part of a long tradition. The long tradition of a reforming church. If you knew about church history, you would know that.

I want to address some of these objections if I can.

First, the writer says: “You seem to forget that if you just throw a bible verse at someone they may not understand what it means or why they should believe, heck, they may even not read it because it’s scripture.”

So, let me get this straight. Rob Bell professes to be a believer, and a pastor/teacher at that. Why would he NOT use Scripture? If someone was going to Rob Bell’s site to read what he tweeted, you’re saying that it’s best NOT to use Scripture because someone may not read or understand it? Should I use that same logic while preaching? Should all preachers jettison the Bible because someone may not understand it?

The Bible itself tells us: “1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Next, the writer says: “If we want to relate to people and actually show them the gospel of love then maybe we actually need to go meet them where they’re at with language that they can relate to. Also, there is no scripture that says that the bible is the ‘ultimate authority’.”

As for meeting people where they’re at with language that they can relate to, sure! I am all about that. But if that is what Rob is attempting to do in his Christianity Today article, he missed the mark. He may have come up with a more palatable message, but by the time he was done, it wasn’t the Gospel.

As for no Scripture that says that the bible is the ‘ultimate authority’, how about rereading Psalm 119? It’s all about the power and sufficiency of God’s Holy Word. I would also ask that you go back and restudy the original greek again. Are you claiming that there are some Scriptures in the Bible that are NOT inspired by God? The Holy Word of God is inspired because it is God-breathed. ALL Scripture is God’s Word, and is inspired.

At the end of the letter, my knowledge of church history is called into question, and the statement is made that Rob Bell is part of a long tradition of reformers. Riiiiiight. Rob Bell’s deconstruction of the Gospel is not reformation. It’s deformation.