Male/Female.  Republican/Democrat.  Smoker/Non-smoker.  Christian/Non-Christian.  Catholic/Protestant.  Calvinist/Arminian.

There are so many dualities that we often feel like we have to categorize ourselves into.  I wonder if it’s because choosing between two options is, well, simple.  If you don’t want women to have abortions, well then you must be a Republican.   If you really care about taking care of poor people or the environment, well then you must be a Democrat.

The thing is that there are deeper ways of thinking that don’t get stuck in certain types of either/or dualities.  You can be a pro-life person that votes democrat, and you can be a pro-environment person that votes republican.  You can love some things that John Calvin taught and not be a Calvinist.  You can have problems with the traditional views taught about hell and not be a Universalist.  Mature, thinking adults should eventually outgrow a lot of dualities like this.  But we often don’t because it’s simply easier to stay with the pack.  Then at some point, it all just gets jumbled together as pack rule.

To be honest, I’m a bit sick at heart right now because I just read a bunch of online blather about this Rob Bell “controversy” or whatever you wish to call it.  If you don’t know about it, well consider yourself lucky.  I really didn’t want to jump into the middle of the cesspool that is Christians being mean to others about their beliefs… But I did feel like I wanted to say a couple things.

First, I don’t think Rob is saying anything that he hasn’t said before.  As I watched the video, he didn’t actually say much at all…  He mostly just asks provocative and controversial questions.  I’ve listened to and read a lot of Rob, and I’ve actually heard him speak for hours on this very subject of hell.   And here’s the deal…

Rob’s theology is broad and deep.  It does not fit into neat categories like fundamentalist/universalist.  Rob certainly has never preached “it doesn’t matter how you live, because we all get to go to Heaven in the end anyway.”  And I really doubt that this book would hint at anything that is about all paths being equal because we all end up in Heaven anyway.  That would be universalism.  Rob’s theology is simply much bigger and richer than a silly cartoonish version of a god who sends people to be tortured for all time because they don’t answer the correct questions on their dogma quiz.

So, yes, I’m sure Rob’s book is going to upset some people that hold so tenaciously to those sorts of things that allow them to continue to live in their religious ivory towers and cowardly send mean tweets into cyberspace.  People that are considered spiritual leaders by lots of people… People that should be ashamed of themselves, but won’t be because they are too sure of their idols.

Read the book.  Then discuss the ideas in the book if you like.  Don’t be so mean, it’s embarrassing.