Groundhog Day and Easter http://tinyurl.com/3tc6raj Guys quote movies — we know this. In my opinion, one of the most quotable is the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray’s venerable comedic talents have never been on more conspicuous display. There are so many great lines: “This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.” Or how about, “This is pitiful; a thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship... Read more

Chapter 8 Synopsis He ends the book with this quote: “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 love wins.” Summary Review: After reading this book I find that the critiques of Rob Bell are unfounded. He does... Read more

Chapter 7 Synopsis: “Grace and generosity aren’t fair; that’s their very essence…that’s how things work in the father’s world. Profound unfairness. People get what they don’t deserve. Parties are thrown for younger brothers who squander their inheritance.” This is the promise of scriptures – this is the result of the life of Jesus. God does not “send” people to hell, people choose hell. “Hell is our refusal to trust God’s retelling of our story.” Using the story of the prodigal... Read more

Chapter 5 Synopsis: He starts out doing very typical atonement theology. This will not sit well with those who want to make penal substitutionary atonement the lone or controlling metaphor for atonement, but I think he does a fair job of kind beginning to talk about the other word pictures in use in the bible – Relational/adoption: mending relationship, Christus Victor: a battle that’s been one, Economic: redeeming something that was lost. In the conversation about the resurrection, Bell writes... Read more

Chapter 4 Synopsis: This is the chapter where he begins to say things that will make some Christians uncomfortable. But making us feel uncomfortable is not a reason to call him a heretic. His case is made artfully and solidly. He gives evidence that the church fathers, the scriptures, Christians all throughout the past two thousand years have believed that God will somehow have his way in the end. He notes: – Many hold the position that we get this... Read more

Chapter 3 Synopsis: Hell. Ok, after reading this chapter it’s clear that Bell is not giving up on the concept, idea, or reality of hell. He is, however, stubbornly resolved to allow the bible to frame our categories of thought when we talk about hell. He goes through every single reference in the scripture that has the word hell – as well as a good number of those dealing with the theme of judgment and eternal judgment. He consistently refuses... Read more

Chapter 2 Synopsis: We have been taught that heaven is always about somewhere else. But the scriptures do not talk about heaven in this way. Not ever. Heaven is not what we escape to. Bell rightly connects Jesus to the line of prophets before him. They talked about “this age” and “the age to come.” The age to come in the prophets is: 1) diverse; multi-ethic, tradition, sensory, mutli-everything. 2) earthy; wine, crops, eating, feasting. 3) not new; it always... Read more

LOVE WINS by Rob Bell I’ve written these responses to each of the chapters of Rob Bell’s book on facebook, but am beginning to post them here as well. These are merely meant to talk about what Bell actually says, and help to think about it critically. Preface: Jesus’s story is first and foremost about the love of God for every human being. This story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, and for many, “The plot has... Read more

I’m doing a close reading of Stanley Hauerwas’ great book A Peaceable Kingdom. Here’s my favorite passage from today: “Of course, Christians are not just asked to see themselves as sinners. We are to do something about our sin. We are called to be disciples and even to count ourselves as among the righteous. Our call is not a general admonition to be good, but a concrete and definite call to take up the way of life made possible by... Read more

Bonhoeffer as our Christian Guide in the Middle East.by Tim Suttle New Article us up on the Huffington Post Now. Read more