Questioning the Existence of Hell: An Analysis of Pastor Rob Bells Views - Essay Example

Questioning the Existence of Hell: An Analysis of Pastor Rob Bell’s Views Religion is a form of devotion and commitment regarding faith, thus there should be a balance between the act of conforming to faith or letting the faith conform to the needs of the people. The paper is aimed to study and analyze the perspective of Pastor Rob Bell regarding the concept of hell, one who is trying to have faith conform to his views. The article under study was written by Jon Meacham which presented the views of Pastor Bell that question the existence of hell which was published in the April Issue of Time Magazine. Pastor Rob Bell is considered a person of modern and critical beliefs thus he fells the need to criticize and to correct different Christian traditions and beliefs based on his own perspectives. He stirred the Evangelical community by questioning the existence of hell (Meacham par. 1). In the Christian ethos, hell is translated as the concept, or even a place, wherein the unbelieving would be punished eternally. It is described as the lake of fire wherein those who are not found in the book of life will be thrown (The New Jerusalem Bible Rev. 20:14-15). Being in the book of life means, finding and believing in Jesus as the Saviour. For the Christians, salvation means completely believing in the life and teaching of God. If one does not accept got, it is also considered as another ground to be in hell. Hell is a concept in the Christian religion that describes punishment. Critical Analysis of Rob Bell’s View The divided view regarding one of the concepts of Christian religion which is the concept of damnation and hell is the main fuel of the view of Rob Bell. According to him, there is a problem in the concept of hell because it questions the intention of the all knowing God and His goodness in allowing people to be damned in hell. Rob Bell’s Mars Hill has significant number of followers thus his influence can be felt by the church. With his act of questioning the view of the concept of hell, the church described his actions as an inside attack that undermines the authority of the church (Meacham par.7). The intention of Bell to achieve and to promote truth in the Christian belief can be commended but the manner by which he acted upon the said intention can be considered as the main point that can be argued upon. There are different issues that can be pointed out in the action of Bell that can be questioned. The first point is the publishing of the book that expressed Bell’s questions on the Christian dogma. The book entitled Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived discussed and even questioned the view of the Christian church regarding salvation, death, eternal life, and even heaven and hell. The questionable point in Bell’s action is the fact that he is considered as a disciple of Christian faith which can be perceived by the large number of the followers who listen to his sermons every week. He did not declare separation from the church but by questioning one of the concepts considered as included as a foundation of the Christian religion can be considered as an act of disloyalty. This can be considered as the main reason why the church had expressed that it is an attack from the inside. It is understandable that Bell has the intention of improving the Christian religion to achieve growth in the modern era. In the process, there should be proper methods to accomplish such feat without undermining the main belief of the people. There is logic in the points and views that he is presenting. But faith is not logical. The word faith is even related to the term trust. The Christian belief is far from perfect but still there no such thing that is perfect in the world. Bell’s intention is noble but the manner by which he acted upon his views is far from noble. In the book he expressed that “every person who ever lived could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be.” The statement mirrors doubt - which can either be self doubt or the doubt in religion. Another possible reason for such expression is sarcasm. But based on Rob Bell’s teachings, he cannot be judged as a malicious or sarcastic person. He is charismatic and helpful. Thus, the criticisms that he had presented can be considered as a mistake on his side or a misunderstanding between him and the church. The irony in the situation is that unlike Martin Luther who expressed his disagreement in the belief of the Catholic faith and advocated reformation, Bell is still a strong believer of the faith. On a personal view, such criticisms should be expressed in a private religious gathering where he can propose his personal perspective. Although this can be considered as a non-traditional manner, it can be considered feasible since he has significant numbers of followers that strongly support his beliefs. The main point is that Bell should have at least tried to present his views to the church first and not to the public as a sign of respect. Another point presented by Bell is that the roots of the concept of hell can only be traced in the early part of the Christian history. His explanation that the different components of the concept such as the fire and the sufferings can be explained by the traditions during the said time is an attempt to present that the concept of hell is not included in the teachings of Jesus or for that matter the teachings of God (Meacham “What…” par.7). This may be true but the manner by which Christian belief leans on the concept of heaven and hell as the defining guide the religion is the reason why the church is antagonistic towards Bell’s view. The said concepts serve as the main guideline that expresses the manner by which the believers should leave. Bell’s intention can be considered to be for the good of the Christian people, since he wanted to clear the doubt that hell can lead the question on the goodness of the all knowing God. But he does not need to do this, since there is also a concept of free will which is complementary to the concept of God’s foreknowledge on the fate of every human being in the world. In the second chapter of Wall’s book Hell, The Logic of Damnation, he discussed the concept of hell and the view on divine foreknowledge. According to his explanation the relationship of these concepts is complex in terms of interaction. The presence of the concept of hell according to the view is that there are people who are created who are bound to be damned in hell. This leads to the question on the goodness of God and His intentions of allowing evil to exit (Walls 109). But according to Walls, God’s goodness and the decisions he is making is not conditional. Thus, this means that God did not make hell or heaven so that man can choose either one of the two. The two concepts are present for every people to achieve religious maturity, that whenever he or she is happy and contented, the choice made is heaven. On the other hand, wrong deeds can be translated to the choice of hell. It is a simple logic once the perspective is free from critical judgement. God intended people to view heaven and hell as guiding concepts in leading their life. The goodness of God cannot be questioned since it is still human beings who are making the choice. The real presence of a heaven or a hell cannot be the main issue but the choices people make (Walls 109). Bell wanted to eliminate the concept of hell to remove the doubt on the goodness of God. But by doing so he is showing his the weakness of his faith. This can be attributed to the fact that the concept of hell cannot define one’s faith in the goodness of God but the choices that he makes and the life that he leads. Instead of focusing on the flaws of Christian religion, Bell should focus on the ways he can make the faith flourish. The seed of doubt in the concepts of faith is not the way to gain trust from the followers but a sign of weakness of faith. One simple explanation for the concept of heaven and hell had been given by Aquinas. He said that the main logic that can explain the two concepts is the symmetry (Seymour 44). This is possible since every concept in any field of knowledge is viewed and analyzed through two opposing sides. Common examples are good and evil, left and right, male perspective and female perspective, right and wrong, antagonistic and protagonistic, critical and supportive. No religion is perfect but faithful men had lived and died through the course of history that had been inspirational to other people. Religion is not even the issue. Specific concepts, e.g. hell, are not the issues in faith. It is the faith itself that every individual possess that is being put to test every step of the way. Conclusion Pastor Rob Bell wanted Christian religion to develop and to grow so that more people would accept the faith. But by doing so, he had expressed views that undermined the religion he strongly believe and continuously fight for. By questioning the presence of hell, Bell had shown the weak point of his religious belief. By being part of Christian faith, he cannot make actions that publicly question the faith. Being a Christian leader himself he cannot contribute to the undermining of the faith of the people. In conclusion, faith should be devotion people believed in. It should not be viewed with logic. Although it is wrong to believe blindly, every person’s faith in inevitably the most important part of the equation, since it is a person’s own stand that continuously being tested every single moment of his existence. Religion is an act of faith that had been founded through the course of history of a group people. Faith does not conform to the needs and the individual views of people. Works Cited Meacham, Jon. “Pastor Rob Bell: What if Hell Doesn’t Exist?” Time 25 April 2011: Cover. Seymour, Charles Steven. A Theodicy of Hell. Springer, 2000. The New Jerusalem Bible. Susan Jones, gen. ed. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Walls, Jerry. Hell, The Logic of Damnation. University of Notre Dame Press, 1992. Read More