Tag Archives: rob bell
Great Deal on My Book WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HERESY?
Friends: Have I got a deal for you! My book, Whatever Happened to Heresy?, will be sent to you IF you send $8 to my PayPal account: theoprof@bellsouth.net.
Go to Paypal.com, click on “Pay or Send Money,” and that’s it! I’ll be notified via email that you have paid for the book and I’ll send it to you. You are also welcome to send me your shipping address (email me at theoprof@bellsouth.net).
Whatever Happened to Heresy? is a collection of essays that were originally published in The Emmaus Journal. We define heresy, touch on some famous heretics in church history, and analyze contemporary false teachers and their aberrant doctrines. (By the way, the cover’s original artwork is meant to represent Rob Bell’s rowing away from orthodoxy).
Dear Rob Bell: The Church Isn’t Giving an Inch on Gay Marriage
Click on the following link for the full article:
Dear Rob Bell: The Church Isn’t Giving an Inch on Gay Marriage.
What on Earth Are We to Do about Unbelief? (Part 8 of 10)
Unbelief is rampant in our world. Specifically, unbelief in the gospel. What’s a Christian to do? We have seen from the little epistle of Jude that first, we are to keep ourselves strong in the faith (vv. 1-4). Second, we must be aware of attacks on the Christian faith (vv. 3-4). Third, we must be prepared to do battle for Christianity’s truths (vv. 3-4). Fourth, we must acknowledge the fact that the God who delivers is also a God who destroys (vv. 5-7). We must, fifth, realize the dangers of false teaching (vv. 8-10). Sixth, we must see that false teachers are simply repeating the errors of history (v. 11). Seventh, we should realize that false teachers have nothing to offer (vv. 12-13).
Let’s look at an eighth part of our response to unbelief in our world and it is this —
Step #8- We must recognize that false teachers inevitably lead to ungodly living! (vv. 14-16).
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
These false teachers may have taken the believers to whom Jude is writing by surprise, but they did not surprise God. We saw at the beginning of the epistle that these teachers are “certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago.” We see in verse 14 that they were prophesied about by Enoch. Who is this Enoch? He is described as “the seventh from Adam,” so he can’t be Enoch, the son of Cain (Gen. 4:17) who was the third from Adam.
The saying of Enoch here quoted is found at the beginning of the Book of Enoch (Jude 1:9): “And behold He comes with myriads of saints to execute judgment on them, and He will destroy the ungodly and judge all flesh concerning all things which the sinners and ungodly have committed and done against Him.” These words are taken from a speech in which an angel interprets a vision which Enoch has seen, and in which he announces to him the future judgment of God.
Enoch was a important person mentioned in Genesis 5:24, the 7th from Adam, the son of Jared (Gen. 5:18) and the father of Methuselah (5:21; Luke 3:37). After the birth of Methuselah at 65, Enoch lived 300 more years (Gen 5:23-24). “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Enoch was transported into heaven without dying. With Enoch was conveyed the teaching of both heaven and immortality.
The concept of ten thousand saints is not unique. In Deut. 33:2 And he said: “The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them.” Revelation 5:11 says, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. ” The Bible teaches that heaven has a vast population of both angels and people — saints. These are those (either one or both groups) who will come with him when he comes to earth to judge and set up his kingdom.
Jude was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21), so we know 
that what he quoted from Enoch was true. This is confirmed by the fact that the same idea about the Lord returning with His holy ones to render judgment is found elsewhere in the Bible (Zechariah 14:5, Isaiah 66:15, and Psalm 96:13, Deut. 33:2).
The true prophecy of Enoch, though unrecorded, could have been handed down by tradition, as the Jews had a meticulous way of keeping both written and oral tradition. Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres the Egyptian magicians, names known in Jewish tradition, but not from Scripture (2 Tim. 3:8). For him to do this and be accurate God would have had to confirm the tradition.
“Even if Jude cites a passage from this non-canonical book, it does not mean he accepted the whole book as true, only this particular statement. I think it is more likely Jude did not lift this statement from the non-Biblical book of Enoch,. It was either something passed on orally or he received it as a direct revelation from God.” (http://www.letusreason.org/Biblexp118.htm)
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At any rate, we have Jude predicting (from this non-biblical source) God’s judgment 
upon ungodly, false teachers. His emphasis in on their ungodliness! “. . . to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (v. 15).
He then describes the present teachers as “grumblers and faultfinders.” They follow their own desires, boast about themselves, and flatter others for their own advantage. (v. 16). We must recognize and point out ungodliness, especially if we wish to guard God’s people!
“Sin is not judged by what we think about it — but by what GOD thinks about it!”
Questions:
1. Would you say from the quote above that Rob Bell is advocating ungodliness?
2. How difficult it is to stay biblically true, regardless of the blowing winds of culture. What are other examples of ungodliness that you see today?
My Response to Rob Bell on Soul Sunday with Oprah (Part 2)
Here’s what I heard Bell say: “Things are headed somewhere — and that somewhere is good.”
Oprah asked him directly, “Are we ultimately headed to somewhere that is good?” He then refers to the Ted Conference at which only 2% of the attendees
professed to be religious. Bell was struck by the fact that the speaker got a standing ovation when he said that “The moral arc of the universe is long but bends towards justice.” Bell seems to make the point that there is within us all an intuitive impulse that life has a point — It is the sense that there’s a reason to keep going.
My thoughts on this video:
“Things are headed somewhere — and that somewhere is good.” Oprah specifically asks Bell, “Are we ultimately headed to somewhere that is good? Do you believe that?”
Bell didn’t directly answer her question. He referred to a recent Ted Conference, that only 2% of the attendees at the Ted Conference were religious. But the speaker made the point that “The moral arc of the universe is long but bends towards justice.”
Bell uses that line to say that we all have an intuitive impulse that life has a point — It is the sense that there’s a reason to keep going.
MY QUESTIONS TO ROB: But what is that “point,” Rob? Is it self-defined? Are there many possible answers to Oprah’s question? What about the claim of Jesus that He and He alone is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that “no one comes to the Father except through Him”? What about His promise of an abundant life to all who believe in Him?
Is Oprah fine in her spirituality, Rob? I can appreciate wanting to identify with another person’s quest for meaning and for something deeper, but where do we share the sometimes incredibly offensive truth of the gospel? Off-camera, Rob, do you share the gospel with Oprah?
Response to Rob Bell on Soul Sunday with Oprah (Part 1)
Here’s the short video of Bell on Oprah’s “Soul Sunday.”
I asked for your thoughts. Here are a few of mine. I have been highly 
critical of Bell since his book Love Wins came out a couple of years ago. I believe his “spirituality” has veered far away from biblical Christianity and try to prove my case in my booklet Farewell, Rob Bell.
Here are a couple of notes I took on the questions Oprah asked Rob and the answers he gave:
Oprah: The difference between religion and spirituality? Bell: “Religion is people don’t want to go to hell; spirituality is people who’ve been to hell already.”
Oprah: What’s one lesson that’s been the hardest for you to learn? Bell: “That’s there’s nothing to prove! All we have to do is enjoy.”
Oprah: What do you think happens when we die? Bell: “There’s a ton of [greeting] all these people. Meeting my grandpa [is more exciting to me] than meeting God.”
Oprah: What do you know for sure? Bell: “That you can say yes to this moment & experience a joy that can’t be put into words.”
Oprah: The world needs _____ Bell: “All of us to wake up.”
Bell: “I believe that we’re going to be fine.”
Oprah: God is ________ Bell: “Love. Stick to that one.”
Oprah: My favorite thing to do on Sunday morning ________ Bell: “Going surfing with his 13 year old.”
My thoughts on this short video: I’m sure I don’t understand the arrangement between Rob Bell and Oprah for her Sunday morning show. It appears that short interviews with him will be a semi-regular feature, sound bites which fit into Oprah’s approach to spirituality.
Part of me wants to be grateful that someone professing to be a follower of Jesus is actually having a regular audience with the billionaire woman who has impacted the spiritual perspective of millions of people. A greater part of me grieves that he seems to be fitting in nicely with her New Age advocacy of “the All,” clearly rejecting the exclusive Good News of the Christian gospel.
The interview segments provide no opportunity for Bell to elaborate on what he means by “we’re going to be fine,” for example. I believe Bell’s universalism (that all will eventually be saved) may well stand behind his comment, but I don’t know. One could argue that Bell has “sold out” the gospel, refusing to speak clearly of Jesus to the one influential woman who needs to bow to the Lordship of Christ. (to be continued)
Rob Bell on Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey (Part 1)
Here are a couple of notes I took on the questions Oprah asked Rob and the answers he gave:
Oprah: Your definition of God? Bell: “like a song you hear in another room.” (very poetic answer, I thought).
Oprah: The difference between religion and spirituality? Bell: “Religion is people don’t want to go to hell; spirituality is people who’ve been to hell already.”
Oprah: Prayer to me is _______ Bell: “the one word ‘yes.’ I’m open. What’s next?”
Oprah: What’s one lesson that’s been the hardest for you to learn? Bell: “That’s there’s nothing to prove! All we have to do is enjoy.”
Oprah: What do you think happens when we die? Bell: “There’s a ton of [greeting] all these people. Meeting my grandpa [is more exciting to me] than meeting God.”
Oprah: What do you know for sure? Bell: “That you can say yes to this moment & experience a joy that can’t be put into words.”
Oprah: The world needs _____ Bell: “All of us to wake up.”
Bell: “I believe that we’re going to be fine.”
Oprah: God is ________ Bell: “Love. Stick to that one.”
Oprah: My favorite thing to do on Sunday morning ________ Bell: “Going surfing with his 13 year old.”
Your thoughts on this short video? (I’ll give my thoughts in a day or two)
A Recent Interview on “For Christ and Culture” on Rob Bell . . .
My friend Dr. David Henderson of Criswell College interviewed me recently on 
Rob Bell and his recent book “What We Talk about When We Talk about God.”
Please give this 28 minute interview a listen — and let me know what you think. Thanks!
Ten Reasons I Wish I Were ROB BELL (Part 2)
In our previous blog, we expressed our wish to be Rob Bell. 
I suggested the first five reasons and they were:
Reason #1- I could move to California and take up surfing.
Reason #2- I would know that whatever I wrote would become an instant bestseller.
Reason #3: I want to be thought of as one of the 1000 most influential people in the world.
Reason #4: I want to tell stories that people read and say, “Wow. I never thought of the hypostatic union or dispensational premillennialism like that! Man, that anecdote really helps!”
Reason #5: I want to have important people like John Piper tweet about me.
In this second part, five more reasons occur to me:
Reason #6- I would make videos that would be used by youth groups around the world to stir 
theological discussion and cause senior pastors to invest in Tums in trying to 
answer the questions which are raised. Bell’s video series “Nooma” has some really good stuff. It also has some not-so-good stuff (I think of the video “Bullhorn” which presciently raises some issues dealt with in his book years later called Love Wins). Because I’ve written a lot about eternal lostness, if I were able to produce some videos, they might well be called the DOOMA videos.
Reason #7- I would like to have the great freedom of asking all kinds of theological questions, feeling no 
obligation to answer any of them! “I’m just asking questions” isn’t really a defense, because the way a question is asked, the circumstances under which it is asked, the tone of asking — none of these are strictly neutral. Let’s not forget that the serpent in the garden was a master questioner: “Did God really say?” There’s a really good blog about Bell’s way of presenting his theology by Alastair Roberts found here. Roberts compares Bell’s approach to advertising’s efforts to produce a feeling or an experience, rather than set forth an argument.
Reason #8- I want to have Christians picket my meetings. I would be thrilled if someone told me, “There are Christians outside passing out tracts, calling you a heretic!” In my present ministry, I’m lucky if anyone remembers what I preached on. Sometimes even I forget!
Reason #9- I want people to hold seminars and workshops and post blogs challenging my teaching. So far, only my mother-in-law has read my Ph.D. dissertation (“The Pneumatology of John Nelson Darby 1800-1882”), my children have read one or 
two of my books (one because DocTALK was required in the class she took), and my wife has said, “Good thing we’re not counting on your royalties for our retirement!” Just once I’d like to see someone, somewhere host a conference on “The Theology of Larry Dixon.” [It would be my luck to find out that they were really talking about the NASCAR drag racer Larry Dixon – see photo]
Reason #10- The last reason I wish I were Rob Bell is I would have the opportunity to re-examine my own teaching and listen to Evangelical leaders who are saying that I have abandoned the gospel and need to get back to what was my first love — teaching the Bible. I truly believe that Bell’s gospel is toxic, that he has moved away from the Scriptures on the doctrine of eternal lostness, and that his newest book sounds like he might be moving into a kind of panentheism. Bell has also recently come out in no uncertain terms in favor of same-sex marriages. He says,
Seriously, I pray for Rob Bell that he would come back to the full authority of the Scriptures, that he would use the platform he has to preach the true Good News about Jesus, and that he would humble himself before the Lord and seek godly counsel. May we all do the same.
Dr. Larry Dixon
larrydixon.wordpress.com 