THE BOTTOM LINE IRONY AWARD - ROB BELL'S ATTEMPT TO EXPOSE FALSE TEACHERS
This would be laughable if it wasn't true. Rob Bell recently preached a self serving message to his congregation called "Beware of Dogs" in which he slams biblically sound discernment ministries for questioning his heretical teachings. Well, the gloves are now off and it's time to call a spade a shovel.
Maybe the net is closing in Rob but why are you so surprised when sincere Christians call you to task for your hermeneutical hack jobs and disgusting manipulation of Scripture you continually do. There are people out there who love God's Word and love the purity of the blood bought once for all delivered Gospel and won't sit by and let you continually preach humanism and try and disguise it as Christianity. By all means sell your wares in a New Age bookstore or on Oprah but stop calling it Christianity. Sure you use the Bible and that is the problem. You USE the Bible to redefine its plain meaning into a postmodern haze.
The following youtube video/audio is a critique of the "Beware of Dogs" message. Warning - it is three hours long so bunker down with supplies if you want to hear it through. Normally I wouldn't post something so lengthy but I beleive this is actually a very helpful experience for many of us who try to practice biblical discernment in a marketplace full of ideas. Chris Rosebrough, who hosts the podcast, is not everybody's cup of tea but he does an excellent job of cutting through the emergent smokescreens to decipher what Rob Bell is actually teaching and how he cleverly twists biblical texts to say something other than their plain meaning.
Some of the staggering things to "emerge" from this critique include:
1.Rob Bell likes to try and lend credibility to himself by quoting Greek and Hebrew words much in the same way as the certificate of authenticity I have on my five dollar Rolex.
2.Rob Bell marvels as to why any Christian would be critical of a conference that tries to unite Christianity with different religions.
3.Rob Bell thinks that when people from other religions love him it is an endorsement of his message.
4.Rob Bell seems to approach Scripture willing to explore all interpretive options except for the one that leaps off the page and slaps you in the face.
5.The whole premise for the "Beware of Dogs" message, taken from Philippians 3, has absolutely nothing to do with what Philippians 3 is all about.
6.When Rob Bell talks about no place on earth he'd rather be he is not talking about the true fellowship of believers. He is talking about hanging out with buddhist monks, muslim nuns, universalists, hindus and people from other false religions.
A Note for Erica - Rob Bell's Cyber Bodyguard
There is a woman out there called Erica who seems to think her calling in life is to defend Rob Bell from all the people out there who practice biblical discenment. I like to think of her as Rob Bell's cyber bodyguard. I don't know what she looks like but I imagine she gets around in a dark suit with dark glasses, has an earpiece with a wire running under her collar, and talks into her watch.
Erica has posted a lot of times on this blog. Initially, I appreciated Erica's warm tone and engaged in friendly dialogue. But in time some themes "emerged" that shortened my patience. I noticed her name appearing and defending Rob Bell on other places where he was criticised. I noticed that her interest seemed to be confined to Rob Bell and that she seemed to have little interest in discussing the purity of the Gospel or reasoning from Scripture (no Erica, quoting bible verses out of context does not qualify as reasoning from Scripture). She started to sound like a scratched record and would not even consider the many biblical objections brought forward by people who questioned her. When I started to cut to the chase Erica's husband wrote in calling me a jerk. Read earlier posts concerning Rob Bell and you'll see our "conversation".
So Erica, if you're out there and want to post. Say things that are biblically supportable and in context. Also show a willingness to reason from Scripture rather than just defending Rob Bell for the sake of defending him.
A La Carte (November 21)
1 hour ago