Love Wins: A review by a guy who actually read the book
So, I read this book. My Grandmother always told me “Never judge a book by its cover or what other people say about it.” As a result I went and bought my own copy and finished it within a few days.
Please note, I am a large fan of Rob Bell. My sermons reflect his style, I wear the same kind of glasses (when not wearing my contacts) I have read everything he has written and I went to his Preaching conference in 2009. I have studied more about his Theology than any other author. I don’t agree with all of it, but I have never found a theologian where I agree with everything they say. That being said I liked the book but…
So in this book Rob Bell claims a few things.
- There is heaven
- There is hell
- God is love
- God loves enough to give you the freedom to choose heaven or hell.
- We will be surprised who is where.
- Heaven can be seen all around you, so can hell.
- God does not force a decision on you.
- Heaven is not a Christians final resting place, the new city in Rev. 21 is.
Those are the points I agree with. He stated all of these things with amazing clarity and a knowledge of scriptures that is astounding. One thing I really enjoyed is when he describes the consequences of these views and of the dissenting options.
There was one point I disagreed with, the book states that it is possible to get out of hell after you die. While Rob says this is very unlikely people would do this he seems to think it is possible. I disagree with it but I agree with what Rob Bell said about his own statement, “Anything about what happens after we die is speculation.” He also says that “We will be very surprised by who is in and who is out.”
There was one site that truly made me stop and rethink my entire preaching and life as a disciple, Rob Bell said:
“Those who are most concerned with who is and is not going to hell are the least concerned with the hell surrounding us. While those concerned with the hell around us are least concerned with who is going to hell.”
Whether or not you liked this book that quote, alone, should make you pause and think about your priorities as a Christian. Are you concerned with keeping people out of hell or keeping hell from existing in this world now.
In the end, don’t just the book. Go borrow or buy a copy and read it for yourself and come to your own conclusions.
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I am about half way through the book myself and have found nothing worthy of all the craziness surrounding the book. I have a pretty good idea where the book is headed and am pretty sure I will come down were you do BT. My complaint about the book is that I don’t find it as engaging as some of his other books and it is taking me longer to get through it. I am not sure if its the subject matter or if I am distracted by other things, but I have not found Love Wins as compelling of a read as Bell’s other stuff.
I enjoyed reading this. The 8 points you mention…very helpful to know, right off the bat.
I’ve been curious about the book that stirred such controversy even before ppl were reading it.
Ppl get scared if someone claims the the usual rules aren’t what they have imagined or co-opted with.
Lots of things are indeed speculative.
However, plenty gets cleared up for us, deep in the heart, when we know, experience, and enact redemption, because a God who is omni-benevolent has given us mercy. God has made the way back to himself. In so many ways we are saved from ourselves.
[...] today. This sermons series is born out of some things I have been reading recently. Including Love Wins. by Rob Bell and Insurrection by Peter Rollins. Feel Free to read the notes and leave a comment [...]