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Much has been said about heaven
much has been written about Hell
far less has been written about love

I have read much, but far from all. But more important I have read the book. And everything else Rob Bell has ever published.

it is simple

It is not an academic work
He does not claim to scholarly work himself through these subjects
And I am fine with that. There are countless amounts of academic work on these topics.Did I like the book? I will get to that.

As always when I read I change. My beliefs change. When I converse the same thing, I change.

Christians who read Rob Bell are of course full of generosity towards him and very open minded. They wrestle with what he has to say before they open there mouth. They walk a mile in his shoes before they talk. They show love and extent grace despite coming to different conclusions than mister Bell. They help him in the task of breaking down walls and showing those close and those far away how much Christians really love and serve each other. And how Jesus is the most important thing in everything we are and everything we say and do.

The last paragraph is unfortunately not true.
This is not how Christians are known to engage in differences, and once again this has proven to be true. Christians can’t handle disagreeing in a loving and respectful manner.

dogma
theory
theology

is more important than

love
family
friendship
relationship
tribe

I want to ask; is Rob Bell a Christian?

Is he in or out? On much I have read he is out.

Is what we believe about heaven and Hell an essential?

Well now to the theology represented in the book.

Rob Bell has taken much of his thinking and theology from the Eastern Church. Here the view of salvation, Heaven, Hell, God, man is very different than Western Christianity represented by all reformed Christianity and what most western Christians view as true and biblical.

Eastern theology is very much influenced by

The disciple of Jesus

John the apostle

his disciple Polycarp and Polycarp’s disciple

Ireneus

He was a pastor and father

Life is important, relationship is important. Salvation is understood in a therapeutically way. Not in a judicial system.

God is first and foremost

A Father

A Mother

A Sheppard who guides his people through history

Punishment is seen as a process of growth and healing rather than being cut off and punished as in the judicial understanding of punishment: you get what you deserve!

Western thinking has a long love affair with theologians who were judges and lawyers. One of the first and most influential is Tertullian.

He was a lawyer.

For him God is first and foremost a judge. Jesus place in history is explained by a court room and in a courtroom. He took my punishment on him and all the other language we use to explain who God is and Jesus is.

The bible is first and foremost a book of law.

And then Calvin of course

A lawyer

a soldier

The same.

When the Judge and the father clashes in Christianity the Judge always wins. Calvin always wins. He was a soldier. He fought for what was true. He kills for what is true in his eyes. Calvin won.

Maybe there are other ways of explaining Jesus and God?

Maybe they are also found in the bible? Maybe they also go way back in the Christian tradition?

Maybe they are forgotten?

Maybe Calvin was wrong on some issues?

Maybe Bell is wrong on some issues?

But what really matters in the end?

love?

Jesus?

So, after all the fuss and accusation, what does Rob Bell actually say about heaven and hell? Interestingly, he locates them in the same place. Using the story of the prodigal son, he notes that the older brother was invited to and is pretty much at the party. But his resentment made him seethe with anger at the festivities. He couldn’t enjoy the taste of heaven, because he’d grown up with a twisted view of duty, of work, of his family and friends. He didn’t know how to love, because he hadn’t put his selfish self to death.

To paraphrase and precis his whole argument:

If you don’t die to self, then heaven will be hell.

The rest of the book? Well it’s a great read. He simplifies difficult concepts brilliantly. I recommend it. I support the thinking behind it. It is truly Christian, It is soundly biblical and I hope many will read it and find a renewed hope, faith and love. And maybe find and see a repainted picture of Jesus.

Let me end with Rob Bells conclusion.

Love is what God is,
love is why Jesus came,
and love is why he continues to come,
year after year to person after person.

love is what I want to leave you with.
May you experience this vast,
expansive, infinite, indestructible love
that has been yours all along.
May you discover that this love is as wide
as the sky and as small as the cracks in
your heart no one else knows about.
And may you know,
deep in your bones,
that loves wins.

Read more about the forgotten Christianity in my post: The lost Christianity

A.J. Jacobs homepage.

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the history of “Jul”

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The celebration of God becoming human is celebrated in what the English world calls Christmas. Here in Scandinavia we don’t call it Christmas, we call it “Jul”. Jul has originally nothing to do with Christ.

Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas.

Christianity transformed and put new meaning into old religion all over the known world. Examples of this is how the church did this is how the word advent is turned into a christian holiday. Augustus introduced the advent of Augustus to celebrate the fact that he was the son of God 17 years before the birth of Jesus. (Read more about it here)

Christianity had a hard time

Here in Scandinavia the church never were able to remove the word Yule or Jul as we say today from what we called the birth of Jesus. Originally it has nothing to do with Christianity.

The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian (Julian) calendar was adopted.

Some historians claim that the celebration is connected to the Wild Hunt or was influenced by Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival. The term “Yule” is still used in the Nordic Countries and to a lesser extent in English speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christians and by some Neopagans.

Merry Christ mass

Have a good mass, a mass where Christ is celebrated. Where the fact that God became man is a story we now all can be a part of. Have a blessed Christ mass or a “god Jul” as we say here in Scandinavia.

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I am on my way to Oslo to participate in a few lectures in my ongoing studies. In preparation for this weekend I have been reading about John Wesley’s social ethics which include his very strong opposition of war. I am sitting here on the web and juggling blogs, facebook and the whole nine yards of being connected. This reminds me of how we(I) are fast becoming less attentive. We’re finding it easy to forget. The web distracts and fragments. We have things to do. Before long, conflict will creep up on us, but we will have forgotten why. That again reminded me of a beautiful little poem by an unknown author of war and forgetfulness;

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child,
For the world is forgetting again.

Author unknown

oh and a quote by Wesley;

“There is still a more horrid reproach to the Christian name, yea, to the name of man, to all reason and humanity; there is a war in the world!”

 

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“Positive thinking Christianity” is often referred to as prosperity theology (also known as prosperity doctrine, the health and wealth gospel, or the prosperity gospel)It is a religious belief found among “tens of millions” of Christians primarily in the United States but also here in Europe, centered on the notion that God provides material prosperity for those he favors. It has been defined by the belief that “Jesus blesses believers with riches” or more specifically as the teaching that “believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the ‘sowing of seeds’ through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.

I see this thinking and teaching also influencing all parts of Christianity to different degrees. The belief that belief or should we say “positive thinking”  itself is a powerful tool in either manipulating-influencing God or people in a good or bad way to achieve personal gain or good. The belief in Utopia, the belief in the unrealistic or unseen. I believe in the mystical,in dimensions beyond our senses and in the supernatural but it is always in the context of  reality or as Barbara emphasizes the need for realism.

Have a look and tell me what you think;

Thanks Gunilla for this:)

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Click here to view the embedded video.