Religious Studies 102 introduces students to post-biblical theology and religious practice and the contexts in which they appear. Through a consideration of representative figures and issues, students analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments and points of view. In particular, we consider how concepts of the body are incorporated in religious beliefs and practices.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Hell Question
One influential evangelical leader has reexamined the question of who is destined for heaven or hell.
Rob Bells reaction to the question of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell reminded me of Joel Osteen on Larry King. When asked if Muslims and Jews go to heaven Joel Osteen replied ", I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know". He goes on further to say that God takes everything into account and judges peoples heart. Mr.Osteen says he is in no position to judge someone so he will not pass judgment, and tell a group of people they are going to hell or heaven.I think traditionalist have issues with Joel Osteen and Rob Bell because the traditionalist tend to try to scare and convict people to bring them to Christ, while the new age thinkers stress God's love and companionship. When people say that those who don't believe in Christ could still go to heaven, the traditionalist start to worry that people will not join Christianity to save their souls from eternal damnation. The approach of love seems to work better than the approach of conviction. Just like the old adage, you draw more flies with honey than vinegar.
Above is the link for the video discussed in the article. I personally have always been a fan of Rob Bell, but this video touches on a whole new level of controversy. Ashton brings up a very good point when she said that people like Bell and Osteen stress the importance of God's love above anything else. God's love is important in terms of salvation, however he opens a whole new playing field when Bell says that perhaps Christ isn't the sole way to heaven, but rather the condition of the heart. I have a feeling there will be many debates when the book is released in late March between the more traditionalists and the "new thinkers."
I agree with Lauren that I have always been a fan of Rob Bell, I think he is very practical yet is revolutionizing the modern (American) approach to Christianity. His book looks very very controversial, but I think it's a good kind of controversy...i mean as Bell says, Is Ghandi going to Hell? Also...I agree with Ashton about the issues people will have with this, but I would not put Rob Bell and Joel Osteen in the same boat...or same sentence. I think Joel Osteen is just a glorified motivational speaker. Perhaps I'm biased and a little rash, but I live in Houston and 5 mintues away from Osteen's Lakewood Church where he is packing in an insane amount of people every sunday. He has famously said "I don’t want this to sound arrogant, but I believe one day we’re going to have 100,000 a weekend”. You can watch a little about him and his CNN interview here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv8FwssTGCg
Sorry to get off topic, Joel Osteen just really gets under my skin.
This article seems like a modern day version of Joan Chittister. I think the question is, is it better to believe in God without the constraints of the church or is it better to not believe in God at all? I think the way Bell is preaching is a great vessel from the growing population of those who don't go to church to those who do. I don't think religion is a compromise by any means, but I do think the church needs to start somewhere. By generalizing the message and making it easier to relate to, Bell is drawing in a crowd that would otherwise have skipped church on Sunday. How can we say it is wrong that people are coming together to worship GOD?
This whole idea is one I have always had trouble with. I come from an extremely traditional Catholic family background who preach that they only way to get to heaven is by believing in Jesus and following the Gospel. My high school although was extremely liberal, it had students from all different backgrounds and religions and my teachers made conscious effort to teach about different cultures and it was a focus of theirs to teach their students to accept everyone because we are all human despite what we believe in. It has been hard for me to sometimes sit and listen to my family preach their views, not because I do not believe in my faith, but because they sometimes seem so close minded. I think what Bell is doing is reaching out to a younger more open minded population who may not necessarily agree with every single traditional practice that the church encourages. I agree with Claire's point that maybe Bell isn't doing things the traditional way but he is attracting people to God who may have felt unaccepted in the Christian community prior to this. I think renovating the way we approach Christianity and opening our hearts and minds to other people who may believe different things than we do is a good thing, it doesn't mean we have to forget what we believe in.
This article and video expressing the beliefs of Rob Bell, a Christian evangelical pastor, is one that is extremely controversial in nature and has caused immense uproar throughout the Christian community. The question Bell presents in his video, whether a loving God would send people to hell simply because they are not Christian, is one that I have contemplated for the majority of my life. As a member of the Catholic Church, I have been raised to believe that only those who follow Christ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. However, I agree with Bell in that is belief is very limiting, perpetuating the idea that only a few are worthy to enter the pearly gates. Essentially, this goes against what is taught by the Christian faith, that we are to regard all humanity as our brothers and sisters and that we all are children of God regardless of our differences. Doesn't asserting that all non-Christians are going to hell contradict the concept of unconditional love? Overall, Bell raises an extremely important question that has needed to be addressed for a quite some time. It seems that very few people, Bell being one of them, are willing to question the core values of the Christian faith. This article and video raise important questions regarding the fate of humanity-who is worthy of the ascension into heaven and who is predestined to an afterlife in hell?
Firstly, I love Rob Bell! I'm pretty sure I have seen all of his videos! One of the reasons I enjoy him so much is because of how he tackles the issues that everyone else avoids.
This issue in particular is one that I am very passionate about. When I was 8 years old I brought my best friend to church for the first time. In sunday school we talked about heaven and hell. About five minuites into the conversation, my best friend ran out of the room hysterical. I followed her to the bathroom and asked her what is wrong. She said "My brother is going to hell." She never came back. I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to listen anymore. In my eyes, the teacher was teaching against the Bible. I told my dad (the pastor) what happened, and he gave the Sunday school teacher another job so that it wouldnt happen again. However, though I am a pluralist now, I always blame myself for giving my friend that impression of Christianity. For me, not only is basing religion on fear unacceptable, but in todays modern society it is a deterent. In my previous town, Lynchburg Virginia (Home of the Falwell empire and the destroyer of telitubies) I was told all the time that I was going to hell. Why? Because I am a democrat. Had my father not been so sure of his pluralistic view, I would have just given up the faith then and there. I have since found my own interpretaion, and my goal for my life is to change other's views on what it means to be a Christ follower so that people are no longer turned away by religion. One of my favorite quotes (I actually believe it is from Rob Bell) is "People get religion mixed up with God and end up loosing both".
Sooo...if you guys haven't heard Rob Bell's book is still causing controversy EVERYWHERE especially since it's come out. this article by ABC is super interesting and really shows how things have become so twisted.
Rob Bells reaction to the question of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell reminded me of Joel Osteen on Larry King. When asked if Muslims and Jews go to heaven Joel Osteen replied ", I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know". He goes on further to say that God takes everything into account and judges peoples heart. Mr.Osteen says he is in no position to judge someone so he will not pass judgment, and tell a group of people they are going to hell or heaven.I think traditionalist have issues with Joel Osteen and Rob Bell because the traditionalist tend to try to scare and convict people to bring them to Christ, while the new age thinkers stress God's love and companionship. When people say that those who don't believe in Christ could still go to heaven, the traditionalist start to worry that people will not join Christianity to save their souls from eternal damnation. The approach of love seems to work better than the approach of conviction. Just like the old adage, you draw more flies with honey than vinegar.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivwfqBNICf4
ReplyDeleteAbove is the link for the video discussed in the article. I personally have always been a fan of Rob Bell, but this video touches on a whole new level of controversy. Ashton brings up a very good point when she said that people like Bell and Osteen stress the importance of God's love above anything else. God's love is important in terms of salvation, however he opens a whole new playing field when Bell says that perhaps Christ isn't the sole way to heaven, but rather the condition of the heart. I have a feeling there will be many debates when the book is released in late March between the more traditionalists and the "new thinkers."
I agree with Lauren that I have always been a fan of Rob Bell, I think he is very practical yet is revolutionizing the modern (American) approach to Christianity. His book looks very very controversial, but I think it's a good kind of controversy...i mean as Bell says, Is Ghandi going to Hell? Also...I agree with Ashton about the issues people will have with this, but I would not put Rob Bell and Joel Osteen in the same boat...or same sentence. I think Joel Osteen is just a glorified motivational speaker. Perhaps I'm biased and a little rash, but I live in Houston and 5 mintues away from Osteen's Lakewood Church where he is packing in an insane amount of people every sunday. He has famously said "I don’t want this to sound arrogant, but I believe one day we’re going to have 100,000 a weekend”. You can watch a little about him and his CNN interview here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv8FwssTGCg
Sorry to get off topic, Joel Osteen just really gets under my skin.
This article seems like a modern day version of Joan Chittister. I think the question is, is it better to believe in God without the constraints of the church or is it better to not believe in God at all? I think the way Bell is preaching is a great vessel from the growing population of those who don't go to church to those who do. I don't think religion is a compromise by any means, but I do think the church needs to start somewhere. By generalizing the message and making it easier to relate to, Bell is drawing in a crowd that would otherwise have skipped church on Sunday. How can we say it is wrong that people are coming together to worship GOD?
ReplyDeleteThis whole idea is one I have always had trouble with. I come from an extremely traditional Catholic family background who preach that they only way to get to heaven is by believing in Jesus and following the Gospel. My high school although was extremely liberal, it had students from all different backgrounds and religions and my teachers made conscious effort to teach about different cultures and it was a focus of theirs to teach their students to accept everyone because we are all human despite what we believe in. It has been hard for me to sometimes sit and listen to my family preach their views, not because I do not believe in my faith, but because they sometimes seem so close minded. I think what Bell is doing is reaching out to a younger more open minded population who may not necessarily agree with every single traditional practice that the church encourages. I agree with Claire's point that maybe Bell isn't doing things the traditional way but he is attracting people to God who may have felt unaccepted in the Christian community prior to this. I think renovating the way we approach Christianity and opening our hearts and minds to other people who may believe different things than we do is a good thing, it doesn't mean we have to forget what we believe in.
ReplyDeleteThis article and video expressing the beliefs of Rob Bell, a Christian evangelical pastor, is one that is extremely controversial in nature and has caused immense uproar throughout the Christian community. The question Bell presents in his video, whether a loving God would send people to hell simply because they are not Christian, is one that I have contemplated for the majority of my life. As a member of the Catholic Church, I have been raised to believe that only those who follow Christ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. However, I agree with Bell in that is belief is very limiting, perpetuating the idea that only a few are worthy to enter the pearly gates. Essentially, this goes against what is taught by the Christian faith, that we are to regard all humanity as our brothers and sisters and that we all are children of God regardless of our differences. Doesn't asserting that all non-Christians are going to hell contradict the concept of unconditional love? Overall, Bell raises an extremely important question that has needed to be addressed for a quite some time. It seems that very few people, Bell being one of them, are willing to question the core values of the Christian faith. This article and video raise important questions regarding the fate of humanity-who is worthy of the ascension into heaven and who is predestined to an afterlife in hell?
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I love Rob Bell! I'm pretty sure I have seen all of his videos! One of the reasons I enjoy him so much is because of how he tackles the issues that everyone else avoids.
ReplyDeleteThis issue in particular is one that I am very passionate about. When I was 8 years old I brought my best friend to church for the first time. In sunday school we talked about heaven and hell. About five minuites into the conversation, my best friend ran out of the room hysterical. I followed her to the bathroom and asked her what is wrong. She said "My brother is going to hell." She never came back. I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to listen anymore. In my eyes, the teacher was teaching against the Bible. I told my dad (the pastor) what happened, and he gave the Sunday school teacher another job so that it wouldnt happen again. However, though I am a pluralist now, I always blame myself for giving my friend that impression of Christianity.
For me, not only is basing religion on fear unacceptable, but in todays modern society it is a deterent. In my previous town, Lynchburg Virginia (Home of the Falwell empire and the destroyer of telitubies) I was told all the time that I was going to hell. Why? Because I am a democrat. Had my father not been so sure of his pluralistic view, I would have just given up the faith then and there. I have since found my own interpretaion, and my goal for my life is to change other's views on what it means to be a Christ follower so that people are no longer turned away by religion. One of my favorite quotes (I actually believe it is from Rob Bell) is "People get religion mixed up with God and end up loosing both".
I think this link is a good response to everyone's questions and accusations about bell's book...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.christiantoday.com/article/rob.bell.hell.exists/27765-2.htm
Sooo...if you guys haven't heard Rob Bell's book is still causing controversy EVERYWHERE especially since it's come out. this article by ABC is super interesting and really shows how things have become so twisted.
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/rob-bells-book-love-wins-ignites-hot-debate/story?id=13417436