This year saw the controversial publication of Rob Bell’s Love Wins.
It received plenty of media attention, including an insightful review by Nick Pollard in EN. Bell’s NOOMA series of videos and lavishly illustrated books have created an enthusiastic following. Even before its release, the book was generating controversy. Was Rob Bell about to endorse the doctrine of universalism: that all people will one day be saved? In the US, the publishers were aware of the sales potential.
They had Bell appearing on various mainstream secular TV and radio shows to promote his ideas. No, he was not a universalist. Yes, he thought God might one day save all people. No, he was not a heretic. Yes, he wanted to emphasise love, hope, inclusiveness and an optimistic Christianity. Was this a great media opportunity for the gospel? Is this the kind of apologetics that our world needs? A Christianity without the hard edges, a gospel for the breakfast TV sofa?
Comedy, free speech and warnings from the past
Hannah Arendt was a Jewish philosopher who grew up in Nazi Germany. Eventually she had to flee to France and, …