ELCA Lutheran Synod Promotes Rob Bell, Who Denies Hell

5/11/2020

(The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)

Rob Bell once served as pastor for an evangelical church but became controversial when he denied the existence of Hell. He has appeared on Oprah's network. Lutherans believe in eternal punishment because this is the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 25:46) and also of the Lutheran Confessions, which Lutheran pastors pledge to uphold. But the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America continues to go down the road of denying Hell with this promotion on the Minneapolis Area Synod's website:

"An evening with Rob Bell and Peter Rollins. Hear inspiration, challenge, hope, and promise from two of the best tellers of good news in the world" (to be held August 17th). (See here)

ELCA head Bishop Elizabeth Eaton was asked by a Chicago newspaper "Does Hell exist?" Her response: " It may, but i think its empty." This past summer the ELCA in convention passed an interreligious resolution saying that we don't know what God thinks of non-Christian religions. One delegate tried to make an amendment, saying that we do know what God thinks because John 14:6 says Jesus is the only way of salvation. He was voted down by 97 percent.

During my first year in college, I tried not to believe in Hell. That year I re-read the New Testament and every time Hell was mentioned, I wrote it down. I came to believe that we cannot be faithful to the words of Christ and the New Testament and deny the existence of Hell.

If you attend a church where the pastor does not believe in Hell, I encourage you to find a church--and a denomination--which does.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock

1 Comment

Didaskalos link

5/11/2020 09:53:16 am

The universalism-preaching ELCA flacks for universalism-preaching Rob Bell because he twists and ignores Scripture (and Martin Luther) as blatantly and dishonestly as the ELCA does.

Gene Veith notes in "Luther and the universalism debate"
about Bell's book *Love Wins* that "Bell enlisted Martin Luther in his cause, quoting a letter from 1522 in which he said that no one could doubt that God could save someone after death.

. . . "Westminster Theological Seminary Professor Carl Trueman dug out what Luther actually said (with Bell’s book's truncated quotation of Luther in ALL CAPS):

'If God were to save anyone without faith, he would be acting contrary to his own words and would give himself the lie; yes, he would deny himself. And that is impossible for, as St. Paul declares, God cannot deny himself. It is as impossible for God to save without faith as it is impossible for divine truth to lie. That is clear, obvious, and easily understood, no matter how reluctant the old wineskin is to hold this wine–yes, is unable to hold and contain it.

[Luther continued] 'It would be quite a different question whether God can impart faith to some in the hour of death or after death so that these people could be saved through faith. WHO WOULD DOUBT GOD'S ABILITY TO DO THAT? No one, however, can prove that he does do this. For all that we read is that he has already raised people from the dead and thus granted them faith. But whether he gives faith or not, it is impossible for anyone to be saved without faith. Otherwise every sermon, the gospel, and faith would be vain, false, and deceptive, since the entire gospel makes faith necessary.'(Works, 43, ed. and trans. G. Wienke and H. T. Lehmann [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968], 53-54; WA 10.ii, 324.25-325.11)

[Veith continued] "Talk about taking something out of context! Bell takes a sentence out of Luther while ignoring what he says about it! And ignoring Luther’s conclusion, that, yes, faith in Christ is necessary for salvation."
-- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2011/03/luther-and-the-universalism-debate/

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ELCA Lutheran Synod Promotes Rob Bell, Who Denies Hell

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