What’s the best book you’ve read this year?

Novels – I spent a lot of the year reading Les Miserables, Victor Hugo’s long, in-depth epic set in the days of revolutionary France. His description of how the French lost at Borodino reminded me of Tolstoy’s description of the battle of Borodino, another Napoleonic battle just outside Moscow. Hugo suggested that in addition to the intelligence of the British commanders, the influential factors were a French general who turned up late, leaving Napoleon short-handed, and a sunken road which was not on the maps and which ended up swallowing a whole legion of french cavalry. Besides this, Les Miserables is of course wonderful and uplifting tale of faith, forgiveness, redemption, law and grace. It’s central character is unexpectedly given a second chance and uses the rest of his life making up for his past mistakes and showing the same grace to others that was shown to him.

I elso enjoyed a few more John Grisham novels – the Chamber, the Rainmaker – but the highlight being his debut, the Firm, which is excellently written and which keeps the suspense going all the way through. It’s quite different from the film so is well worth reading.

I would also highly recommend Enduring Love by Ian McEwan – an explosive beginning giving way to a tense tale of obsession – all the characters demonstrate their own obsessive behaviour with the ultimate being against the main character. The movie, which stars Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans, maintains the same degree of tension but changes some of the circumstances to better fit the movie format.

Non-fiction, I’ve enjoyed getting into Donald Miller’s insights into Christian Spirituality. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is about his search for a narrative out of the chaos of his life. I then read his earlier book, Blue Like Jazz: Non-religious thoughts on Christian Spirituality, which is about as accessible an overview of Christian living as you might find (although he comes at it from a different angle to most).

I did read Love Wins, the book that made all the fuss for Rob Bell back in March. I read it in August (but have not blogged about it since I read it!). It’s worth reading, if only to find out what the fuss is about. I think he only really steps outside the bounds to orthodox Christian belief in one chapter, but alludes to it is several others. The trouble with Rob is that he doesn’t like to be pinned down to any precise viewpoint in order to bring the most people into the conversation.

That’s about it. Check out my books tag for what else I’ve been reading this year.

Rob bell on the creative process

Notes from Rob Bell’s talk on the creative process at Greenbelt Festival. Brackets are mine.

Creativity starts with how you see the world
1. God is already present – first assumption. At every time you’re on holy ground learn to observe.
2. Capture the moment remember. Write things down. Take note. Take a photo.
Turn your edit button off until the thing is written/ or out of the brain. Get it out first then edit.
It nay be rubbish but unless you get it out you’ll never know.
3. You make stuff because you have to, they’re in you. (passion and need?). Youdfont have control over how it is received. The reward is not that it is received well but that you were able to create it. (God given creativity accomplished)
4. creativity is exhausting. That’s ok and it is a cost of creativity. Take a break if or when ideas don’t come.

Questions. Creativity doesn’t have to be written or artistic. Could be organisational. (Just following spirit really)

I did then ask a question about church-planting, and, in particular how he planted his church, but he didn’t really expand on the beginnings of his church any more than he did in Velvet Elvis – namely, that he was an associate pastor in another church and a group of them thought there was a need for a church plant. They were offered the use of warehouse building for the rent of $1 a year, and five weeks later they began. Velvet Elvis says that on the first week nearly 1000 people turned up. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t go into more detail on what happened in those 5 weeks.

Donald Miller reviews Love Wins

Christian author Donald Miller has now weighed into the whole Love Wins debate with his own unique review…

I confess I read this book because of all the hoopla on the internet. John Piper hates it, Mark Driscoll wants to say how much he hates it but is tired of launching his enemies onto the New York Times bestsellers list so he talks about it without talking about it. People everywhere are talking about it.

Man, I’m a sucker for controversy so I placed my order.

Read the whole review.

God, That’s Not Fair

Dick Dowsett’s book, God, That’s Not Fair, had been sitting on my shelf, unread, for a number of years and in the wake of the storm in the Christian blogosphere over what Rob Bell wrote in his new book, Love Wins, it seemed like a good point to start reading it. Originally published in 1982, the copy I have is a new edition from 2006 with a new preface by Dowsett. The book makes a case for the necessity of hell argued from scripture and from what we know about the character of God. He also deals with mission, other faiths, suffering etc – anything that we might be tempted to say “God, that’s not fair”. It is a pretty good and accessible read about why the gospel is as it is, and why it is good news.

Regarding hell,  he makes the point that although it may not seem nice to us, it is fair by God’s true and just standards. God is sovereign, sin is worse than we think, but Jesus is better that we think. He frames the book as an imaginary correspondence, question and answer style, between a young Christian away at university, and his home pastor. Dowsett doesn’t attempt to discuss the nature of hell, but makes the point that although we may not like the idea of it, hell is real and Biblical and is consistent with God’s character. What it is like for those there, he doesn’t attempt to discuss. In fact his new preface leaves open the possibility of annihilationism:

When I wrote the first edition, I read passages about lostness, perishing, and the destruction of the ungodly through a grid which assumed all people were immortal. I have had to think again. Is the punishment of Hell unending torment? Or is the punishment relative in length and intensity to the wickedness of the sinner? For the moment I would say that neither position fits comfortably with every scripture.

But that isn’t his point. Dowsett comes from the biblical conviction and that those who do not respond to Jesus in this life are lost and separate from God and which leads, for him, to a missionary zeal for those lost. There is no post-death second chance that we’re told about in scripture. Talking of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in which Jesus mentions the great chasm between them:

Such a comment from Jesus would be pointless unless he had wanted his listeners quite clearly to understand that there was no second chance after death. There is no concept of serving time in Hell before going to Heaven… Those who die in their sins are terribly, irreversibly, lost.

But God is a merciful and compassionate God as well as being a just God. He gives many opportunities to those who are lost to turn to him. In fact “God wants people to be saved”. He passionately wants people to come to him.

So far there have been over 20 centuries in which the Lord has patiently waited in order to give folk the opportunities to become Christians.

Now, we have all heard preachers try to scare the living daylights out of their hearers by giving in-depth descriptions of the terrible tortures that await those who will get there. Time magazine have recently published a photo essay of pictorial depictions of hell throughout history. None of them are nice. To those who object with the doctrine because of the type of evangelism it might promote, he says:

You may object to the very idea of frightening people into the Kingdom the Kingdom, and it is true that fear may not be the best of motives for coming to Christ. But then, whoever has come to Christ with anything but sinful and mixed up motives? Fear is a perfectly valid incentive to respond to Christ. People are in danger. People are lost. They are Hell-bound.

So his response is although it is not ideal to use fear (certainly not the way I want to preach), his response is: if it works, use it. This is not too far away from what Paul was saying about motives for preaching Christ:

Phil 1:18 The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Dowsett’s emphasis is not how the gospel is preached, it is that the gospel is preached. Dowsett comes at the topic making clear the Sovereignty, love and Justice of God and the seriousness of sin. Our reaction to this, Dowsett argues, is to pray and to share the gospel. Since hell is a very real separation from God as a result of sin, there should be an urgency amongst all Christians to help others respond to God’s love and mercy through Jesus. Have we missed opportunities to pray for and chat (naturally) about Jesus to our friends? Then we should repent of the missed chances and pray to be more open to God leading us into those conversations.

Dowsett’s theology is a traditional, reformed and, I would argue, correct interpretation of God’s character and work through Jesus. There is one earthly life for each of us on this broken world which has been damaged and corrupted by the ravages of sin and which often results in injustice pain and suffering for many. However, there is also one enormously loving God who wants us to understand the extent of Christ’s love for us and realise the extent of who he has made us to be. He invites Christians into sharing this urgent message good news with those around us, before it is too late. Love does indeed win. And everyone has the opportunity to accept or reject it.

I would recommend this book for new (or old) Christians who are struggling with the whole concept of how a just and loving God might not save everybody.

Rob Bell – a review from someone who has read the book

The question that has been setting the twittersphere alight over the last few weeks is this: Is Rob Bell a Universalist? It was all started off by a rather uncharitable review of his latest book, Love Wins, by someone who had not read the book. This led to a spate of similar reviews, also by those who had not read it, and a lot of name calling.

Now a review has been written by Tim Challies, and he has actually read the book. Excellent. What does he have to say? Well, the first thing to say is that Tim’s review is not written in a spirit of triumphalism and one-upmanship that characterized so many of the other reviews. However, from what Challies has written it seems that Bell might actually be promoting a universalist position. Christianity Today’s Mark Galli who has also read a pre-publication copy of the book agrees, saying Bell advocates a universalist position and fits into the liberal protestant mould which has evangelism at its heart.

Here’s a relevant quote from Bell’s book that Challies quotes:

As soon as the door is opened to Muslims. Hindus, Buddhists, and Baptists from Cleveland, many Christians become very uneasy, saying that then Jesus doesn’t matter anymore, the cross is irrelevant, it doesn’t matter what you believe, and so forth.

Not true.
Absolutely, unequivocally, unalterably not true.

What Jesus does is declare that he, and he alone, is saving everybody.

And then he leaves the door way, way open. Creating all sorts of possibilities. He is as narrow as himself and as wide as the universe.

…

People come to Jesus in all sorts of ways.

…

Sometimes people use his name;
other times they don’t.

…

Some people have so much baggage with regard to the name “Jesus” that when they encounter the mystery present in all of creation—grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness—the last thing they are inclined to name it is “Jesus.”

…

What we see Jesus doing again and again—in the midst of constant reminders about the seriousness of following him living like him, and trusting him—is widening the scope and expanse of his saving work.

Assuming that Challies representation of Bell’s book is correct, this raises some questions.

1. As Bell is advocating a universalist position, is he therefore saying that there is no need for the cross of Christ? Although one of Tim’s commenters seems to think so, it does not. Bell still claims that Jesus’ sacrifice is required in order for everyone to be saved. There is still only one way to God – through Jesus -  Bell just believes that all people will eventually get to it. When people start saying that it doesn’t matter how people come to God, that is pluralism, not universalism, and only then does the death of Christ becomes irrelevant.

However, I still maintain that Universalism is wrong, but not heretical. It raises questions about why, if everyone is going to be saved, should we bother with evangelism? Why did Jesus give the great commission if he knew everyone was going to believe anyway? It can only be about a better life now, knowing God in the present, as it cannot be about life after death.

Nevertheless, the weight of scripture is against such a position. Only this morning I was reading through 3 chapters of Luke and came to 4 or 5 references to hell being real and people going there. Now, we can have a debate about what that hell is like or why a loving God would allow some to go there, but those are different questions.

2. Can God still speak through someone when we disagree on a couple of points? The answer has to be ‘Yes’. I like Rob Bell and have been greatly helped by some of his teaching. Because I disagree with him on this does it mean that I cannot hear what God is saying through him on anything else? No! When we look carefully there will not be a single other Christian teacher that we agree with on everything. Calvin – great reformer, but I disagree with him on double predestination. Roy Clements wrote some decent books before he ran off with another man.  The books are still good even after his public fall. Steve Chalke still says some good things even though I think he is wrong by denying penal substitution. If we want to agree with our pastor or Christian teacher on everything, we will find ourselves in a church of one. Whomever were are listening to, we need to think and engage with their words and the scriptures and not just accept their words assuming they must be right. We listen with our brains turned on.

3. How do we react when we are right and someone else is wrong? One of the most distasteful parts of this whole debate has been the triumphalism. Many seem to be rejoicing because their view of Rob has been proven right. Others are talking about the ‘tragedy’ of all the people that Rob is going to lead astray, sometimes appearing arrogant and self-righteous in their prayers for others who follow Rob. We must remember that God is Sovereign and in control and that we are not. We may not even be right on everything ourselves. We must humbly examine ourselves, be willing to be wrong on some issues,  and constantly pray that God will keep us close to him, true in our motives and clear in our understanding.

4. Is it essentially different from vast portions of the church throughout history? So, one Christian leader, albeit one with a huge church and a worldwide public ministry, has said something that the reformed orthodox position would disagree with. Shock Horror – has that ever happened before? Of course it has, all throughout history. And the church is still here, and people are still Christians. As i said earlier, we must humble come before God and try to teach his truth ourselves, and we must be willing to have a debate in a spirit of humility, but it isn’t the end of the church. God is in control.

How do we get into heaven?

Following the recent discussions about Rob Bell’s orthodoxy and his view of hell and salvation, it is worth repeating an illustration that Rob once used in one of his sermons on Philippians a couple of years ago. A lot of the discussion is surrounding who is right and who is wrong – what is sound theology and what is heresy. Good theology is important, but here is a warning about getting our priorities right when it comes to faith and doctrine.

The entrance to heaven is not like that. We do not simply recite the right answers to be granted safe passage into the afterlife. Peter is not standing at the pearly gates giving us a pop quiz. It is about how we live and who we live for. Simple head knowledge is not enough.

Some relevant passages which illustrate the believing and doing aspect of faith:

• Matt 7:21-23 – True Disciples
• Matt 25:31-end – The Sheep and the Goats
• Luke 23:39-43 – The penitent thief
• James 2:14-2nd – Faith and Deeds

And while we’re about it, here’s a sermon I preached a year or so ago on that James passage.

• Audio: Faith and Works
• PDF: James 2 Faith and Works

A hell of a storm for Bell

I’ve been away for the weekend and been off the internet and I’ve returned to find Rob Bell mired in the middle of an orthodoxy controversy over an upcoming book on love and grace and hell. Here’s his video.

As you can see from the video, mostly Bell is just asking questions.

Justin Taylor decided to deride his views based on the video and some sample chapters that he has been sent. He hasn’t read the whole book but feels it is necessary to declare what he thinks Bell is going to say as heresy.

Stand Firm took a sarcastic ungracious tone in their response, again declaring Bell a false teacher and heretic without having read the book. Neither of these responses seem to me to be very Christian.

For the record, I prefer Scot McKnight’s response:

I’ve not seen anything like [the storm surrounding this]. And, yes, the quickness of social media have made this such a big issue … today … and in a week it will all be gone. Justin Taylor once generated almost 100 comments by quoting a blurb of mine that was on the back of IVP’s book by Tom Wright on Justification.

Justin may be right about what Rob believes, but if he is wrong then he owes Rob Bell a huge apology. I want to wait to see what Rob Bell says, read it for myself, and see what I think of it. Rob is tapping into what I think is the biggest issue facing evangelicalism today, and this fury shows that it just might be that big of an issue.

The publicity approach of HarperOne worked perfectly. They got huge publicity for a book. They intended to provoke — and they did it well. I think it is wiser to wait to see the real thing than to rely on publicity’s provocations. Justin bit, and so did many of his readers.

Words like ‘heresy…’ and ‘false teacher’ are flying around the blogs and the comments.

One thing to think about is this ‘what exactly is heresy?’ and ‘when is a difference of opinion merely a difference of interpretation within Christian orthodxy, or when it is taking us outside of it?’ What do we do when we have a difference of interpretation like that? Do we need to shout until everyone thinks we’re right?

Is universalism heresy – When I originally wrote this post I would have said  ‘yes’ as it is very clear from scripture that not everyone is saved. However I would now say that although I think universalism is wrong, it is not heresy, as it is a belief that all are saved through the work of Jesus. Pluralism on the other hand, is as there is no reliance on the work of Jesus. Any means will do.

Is annihilation heresy? I would argue no as scripture can and has been read either way. I vary from day to day on which interpretation of hell i think is right. One thing I don’t vary on is that hell is real. (Ultimately, if you get the judgment of God in its right and huge perspective, i don’t think it matters)

Christianity Today have summarised the debate.

UPDATE: If you’ve read the above you may have worked out what I was trying to day. Jason Boyatt has said it much better.

Anger and Calling

For the second time in a week I have been asked questions like ‘What makes you angry?’ and ‘What stirs you up?’. Well, I’m not by nature an angry person but there are occasions when I see something and think that ‘it isn’t supposed to be like this!’ injustice and unfairness, for example.

And for the second time in a week I have been challenged to ask how our anger links to a sense of calling, that is, if it is a righteous anger.

On Friday I was on the London Underground on a Friday during working hours, which is a rare experience for me. On a crowded train (seriously, I couldn’t get on the first one), alongside thoughts of  ‘I’m glad I don’t have to do this every day’ I looked around and saw that no-one was talking to each other. Everyone was in their own private world thinking their own private thoughts or listening to iPods. No-one was making eye contact with anyone else.

On the one hand I know that this is a very British thing, being private and reserved animals we don’t talk to people we don’t know on public transport. On the other hand I was struck that it isn’t supposed to be like this. It was a community (or to be more accurate, a lack of community) which did not echo the characteristics of the God of relationship. I wasn’t angry, but struck that something was wrong. I wonder if that by staying private we are complicit in the gradual downward spiral of dysfunctional communities.

How does this link to calling or vocation? The thinking is that if we are outraged by homelessness we should be involved in homeless ministries. This is where our energy can go into and we can gain a sense of fulfillment. Our anger or passion could point towards where we should spend our time.

In which case, I guess, it is not surprising that I have found myself in a ministry that aims to draw people together and towards God.

Prayer garments and healing

In Numbers 15, God instructs Moses and the people to put tassels on the corner of their garments.

Numbers 9:37-41: The LORD said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’ “

The point of the tassels was to look at and have something physical to remember the commands of God by – to be constantly reminded to live as God made them to live.

In Malachi, one of the Old Testament prophets, there is a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah

4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

Interestingly, the word for ‘wings’ is the same Hebrew word that was used for the corners of the garments.

So Jesus arrives, and people are saying that he is starting to fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament. There is a crowd gathered round him. Jesus is on his way to raise to life the daughter of a local ruler, when a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up behind him and touched Jesus’ cloak. Instantly she was healed (Matt 9).

Oh yes, as a Jewish man who observed the OT law, Jesus would have been wearing the prayer shawl – the garment with the tassels. The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

Some points from the links:

• She belived he would be the Messiah
• She knew the scriptures and acted upon them, to her reward
• The use of a physical garment as a reminder (and sign) of God’s commands acted as a sign to her as well as a reminder to the person wearing it.
• The Old Testament really fits together well

Thanks to Rob Bell for this!

Weekly Links

I thought I’d start posting the links to stuff around the net I’ve enjoyed this week.

First, a funny moment from a spelling bee:

A good article from Christianity Today on looking at the qualities in a candidate rather than political position – How to Pick a President.

Tim Keller writes on what is the Gospel.

From the UK’s TV series ‘The Apprentice’, BBC News looks at interview techniques.

An excellent sermon on the Trinity by Rob Bell can be downloaded here.

John Sentamu criticizes ‘rampant consumerism’.

And I can’t wait for this: Lord, Save Us from your followers: