Note: See also Part 1 of this chapter-by-chapter review of “Love Wins.” Chapter Two of Rob Bell’s new book is about Heaven, and it is a much longer chapter than chapter one (pp. 21-62).  And almost from the outset, we have a category mistake.  Rob is right that there is not a lot of discussion in the NT about ‘dying and going to heaven’.  It is a mistake however to equate heaven with everlasting life, which does indeed begin here… Read more

Whether you agree with Rob Bell or not on the subject of whether Love Wins in the end in every case,   it seems undeniable to me that “what the world needs now,  is love sweet love….”   as Dionne Warwick used to sing.    Here is a moving worldwide tribute to the Beatles’ classic song. Read more

Those of you who have been paying attention to my blog for a while will know that I have liked a good deal of what I have heard, and read, and seen from Rob Bell.  Even my 60 something Sunday school class members loved his Nooma videos and their wonderful creativity.   Rob Bell is a poet and a pastor and a sometime musician, and his writing reflects this.  At times, he is also a keen analyst and presenter and preacher… Read more

As  some of you will already know, not only is there lots of money in the video game industry, there are lots of subsidiary industries that now depend on it— one of which is the music industry.  Original compositions are being composed to accompany this video game or that video game,  and my alert  Xbox son  the computer  dude sent me the following sample of some of the music at the PAX convention in Boston this past week which he… Read more

As  most of you know,  my wife and I are writing a series of seven Christian thrillers,  and a new review of the second Art West adventure,  Roman Numerals  has just appeared, giving the book four stars.   Here is the review… Roman numerals is the second Art West adventure from Ben and Ann Witherington. Ben is a prolific and widely respected biblical scholar who has written widely in new testament history, exegesis and theology. Ann is his biology-professor wife. And… Read more

According to scientific studies, in an average day, a person will have no less than 3,000 thoughts.   Think of that for a moment.   One wonders in an age of short attention spans if this number is increasing.   3,000 thoughts.   If it is even partially true that as a person thinks, so they are,  we must be a lot of different things.    One also wonders how many of these 3,000 thoughts occur in dreams.    One of the things that happens to… Read more

It is fair to say that Matthew McConaughhey has made his fair share of weak chick flicks.   This is definitely not one of them.  This movie is slick, involves a good courtroom drama, and has various twists and turns.  One could say that this is the best drama Matthew has ever done, and he is rightly getting some recognition for his acting in this film.   The film as well has an excellent supporting cast.   One could have wished… Read more

One of the things Rob Bell’s book Love Wins seems to suggest is that there may be a get out of jail free card for those who go to Hell (not necessarily in a handbasket).   He argues this case on the basis of the great love of God for all human beings,  but at the same time he argues that love woos, rather than makes an offer one can’t refuse.  In other words, there is some internal  incoherence to that… Read more

Here is an assortment of shots from my time at Truro Church in Fairfax Va.   The silver tree is actually next to the National Gallery in D.C. but I couldn’t get it into the last post.   The shot of Civil War soldiers is of Mosby’s Raiders at the Fairfax Courthouse barely a block from Truro Church.  If you look at the main sanctuary picture below and just to the right of it you will see  the William Gunnell house where,… Read more

One of my brightest former students who now pastors in Wisconsin  Facebooked me (that really ought not to be a verb any more than ‘friend’ is a verb)  asking about Matthew 10.28.   Doesn’t this text, he asked, favor the view of eternal torment?   The text literally reads “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the psuchen. Fear rather the one who is able to destroy  (apolesai) both body and psuchen in Gehenna.”    Here we… Read more