The Commandments in Action
The Ten Commandments get pretty lopsided attention paid to them by most Christians. Churches & individuals tend to emphasize some of the biggies - not committing adultery, not murdering, not having idols. Those are the easy ones to identify (or are they?). Other commandments get a lot less attention paid to them even though there is no hierarchy or prioritizing in Scripture. Commandments like honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy, or to the point, don't bear false witness against your neighbor.
This last one gets overlooked a lot. It seems rather obvious that we shouldn't lie, but there other applications that should be brought out in our polemical culture where people are prone to standing on opposite sides of an issue and screaming at each other, rather than dialoguing about solutions. In an age where people all too often want to be right rather than to be effective, bearing false witness ought to play a leading role in our conversations.
So it is that I've read with interest a series of articles regarding Rob Bell, the popular pastor, speaker, and author who appeared to drop a bombshell on the Christian community a few weeks ago with a promo video for his new book that seems to leave in some doubt Bell's orthodoxy on the issue of hell and who (if anyone) is going there. Conservative pastors lashed out at Bell based on the video teaser, accusing him of universalism, which more or less posits that everybody goes to heaven regardless of what they do or don't believe.
It's a serious heresy accusation. Very serious to be lobbing against a fellow Christian who has produced some interesting and not so interesting books that I've reviewed here (over-reviewed, is perhaps more accurate in some instances!). Others have reacted with more prudence, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. After all, Bell is a very capable and media-savvy person. He knows how to hook people and grab their interest so that he can talk to them further. Why should this video be any different?
I side with those who caution those who are denouncing him that they are breaking the eighth commandment - you will not bear false witness against your neighbor. This doesn't mean simply not telling lies. It also covers the realm of speculative accusations. We are prohibited from saying and believing things about others that are not known to be true.
This can be inconvenient, to be sure. It prevents us not only from jumping to conclusions, but it also makes nipping things in the bud a lot harder. It's very much a grace commandment. It's better to wait and suffer damage than to be premature in our accusations and cause someone else damage.
As Lutherans we take this even farther. The commandment is not simply a prohibition or a restriction on what actions we can't do, it actually enlightens us as to the actions we are to take. We are to put the best construction on everything, even things that make us nervous. We are to lift up and support our neighbor to the best of our ability. That may mean that sometimes our support is shown to be misplaced. It may mean that we may suffer loss or damage because our neighbor took advantage of our respect for this commandment. We aren't guaranteed protection. But we are attempting to protect our neighbor, even at risk to ourselves. Hardly a popular way of thinking these days, but it seems crucial in an age where we shoot first and ask questions later.
Christians are supposed to act and speak differently. I pray that Bell remains faithful to the historic Christian and Biblical faith. I'm inclined to believe he will, while admitting I might be wrong. In either case, waiting a few days to find out for sure before commenting is what we are commanded to do.
Thanks, Paul. I have been following this controversy and have been concerned over the comments that I have seen, particularly on Lutheran blogs that I follow. i will adamantly oppose Bell's views if they turn out to be universalist, but for now I think we should put the best construction on things.
Sure does make me want to read the book (maybe that's the point). I hope it will be available on Kindle.
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I will happily oppose universalism whenever I encounter it. But to assume from a promo trailer that someone has moved into the realm of heresy is a very strong accusation. Bell is very savvy about publicity and media, and I have no doubt that this trailer has accomplished exactly what he wanted it to do. It remains to see whether all the to-do is justified. Either way, books are going to be sold.
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What was it about Sex God that rubbed you the wrong way? I actually appreciated it as a more focused effort, not so expansive as Velvet Elvis and thus less prone to getting in over his head. But it has been a while since I have read Sex God...maybe it is time to revisit.
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I think that the topic is critical and dead on - but I felt like he approached it haphazardly. There was so much more that could and should have been said, and it felt like he wasn't very focused. I thought I had blogged on it, but now I can't find it.
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Greetings, Paul! Lately, I have been in a memoirs kick (it is my favorite genre), so I read Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. It was quite good, bu was not my favorite memoir by any stretch (that will always be reserved for Frederick Buechner's The Sacred Journey). I just started reading Eugene Peterson's new memoir called The Pastor. Verdict is still out on that one. I also just read Eric Metaxas' biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It was excellent and really got at Bonhoeffer's theology and how it evolved and led to his involvement in the conspiracy against Hitler. For a fun read (but not overtly theological), I really enjoyed Endurance by Alfred Lansing, the classic story of Ernest Shackleton's doomed expedition to Antarctica.
Not sure what is next, but maybe Love Wins? I guess it has been released now.
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I've never really developed a taste for memoirs...whether that's driven by lack of exposure or whether the lack of exposure is driven by a lack of interest. This is particularly sad in light of the fact that I was in your class on this topic with Dr. Schmidt back in Sem! I just finished a Eugene Peterson book (Under the Unpredictable Plant) and it had a few good insights, but overall, I don't seem drawn to the pastoral, exhortation-styled books. Probably some emotional cauterization at work that a therapist would have a field day with.
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