Rob Bell's Recent Interview

I am trying to be more disciplined to only judge the correctness of people’s words, not the content of their character. With that said, Rob Bell seems like a very entertaining and enjoyable person, but his teaching is very lacking. Primarily, it is lacking the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The lack of the Gospel in his teaching is glaringly apparent in his recent interview with Christianity Today. You should read the entire interview, because in the second half of the conversation, the interviewer seems to be deliberately trying to get Rob Bell to talk about the Gospel. Rob Bell of course manages to side step any mention of the cross or atonement.

I don’t understand how a pastor can purposefully avoid talking about the most central component of Christianity (really, the most significant event in human history). Christianity cannot exist apart from the cross of Christ.

Which leaves me with this question: Can we put the label of “Christianity” on what Rob Bell teaches? Can the content of his message be considered “Christian”?

Another way of asking this question is, If someone wants to be a part of a conversation, and tries to stay within a safe distance of the norms of that conversation, but completely misses the main point of the conversation, then are they even in the conversation at all? Or, are they just rambling about something else that seems vaguely related?

I do not want to simply bash on Rob Bell. I do want to cause Christians to consider what Christianity is supposed to be about. The cross of Christ and the Gospel (our sin and Christ's atoning work in our place) are central to Christianity. To lose this is to lose all hope for salvation. We cannot be justified by our good deeds in the community or around the world.

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Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals

While I was working on a project this weekend, I had to cite an older issue of Christianity Today. One of the features in that issue is a list of the "Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals," according to Christianity Today. I remember reading this list several years ago and being surprised, and I was surprised all over again when I reviewed this list again. Here are the top 20 from that list:

20. A Wrinkle In Time
Madeleine L'Engle

19. The Cost of Discipleship
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

18. The Divine Conspiracy
Dallas Willard

17. What's So Amazing About Grace?
Philip Yancey

16. Basic Christianity
John Stott

15. The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
F. H. Henry

14. Let Justice Roll Down
John M. Perkins

13. Evidence That Demands a Verdict
Josh McDowell

12. Power Evangelism
John Wimber with Kevin Springer

11. Celebration of Discipline
Richard J. Foster

10. Evangelism Explosion
D. James Kennedy

9. Through Gates of Splendor
Elisabeth Elliot

8. Managing Your Time
Ted W. Engstrom

7. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger
Ronald J. Sider

6. The Living Bible
Kenneth N. Taylor

5. Knowing God
J. I. Packer

4. The God Who Is There
Francis A. Schaeffer

3. Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis

2. Understanding Church Growth
Donald Anderson McGavran

1. Learning Conversational Prayer
Rosalind Rinker

Keep in mind that this list was created in 2006, so nothing recent would have been considered. Nonetheless, I am confused by this list. I would have guessed only about half of these top 20 titles (3-5, 16, and 19 were definitely in my top top 20). At first, I thought the list was just wrong, but then I saw such names as J. I. Packer and Al Mohler on the list of nominators.

I am wondering if this list is actually accurate, and I am just that far outside the norm for evangelical Christians? Or, I am I closer to the norm and the editors of Christianity Today were confused? What do you think? Check out the entire list HERE.

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If Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians was Published in Christianity Today

Everyone needs to head on over to The Sacred Sandwich and see what would happen if Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written and published today. The post is setup as a series of letters to the editor that would likely be penned if Christianity Today was to publish Galatians as a feature article for today. This spoof is hilarious, insightful, and convicting. Here is one of my favorites:

Dear Christianity Today:

In response to Paul D. Apostle’s article about the Galatian church in your January issue, I have to say how appalled I am by the unchristian tone of this hit piece. Why the negativity? Has he been to the Galatian church recently? I happen to know some of the people at that church, and they are the most loving, caring people I’ve ever met.

Phyllis Snodgrass;
Ann Arbor, MI

I have heard almost these exact comments so many times over the past several years. This post is such a great excercise in cultural assesment. Go read the entire post.

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