Rob Bell: In Modern World, God Is Becoming Irrelevant Like Oldsmobiles

I believe there are other ways, better ways of talking about God, understanding God

More of the same - remaking God in the image of the world. I guess the Bell paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2 would go something like, “I beg you brethren by all that is humanly reasonable to present God’s historic character and person as an obsolete sacrifice, wholly acceptable to man, which is only reasonable, and be not conformed to God, but transform God by the imaginations of your mind, that you may open the way for every man do what is right in his own eyes.”

I’m a big fan of Oldsmobile!

For this man and others in the emerging church movement, it seems as though God is a subjective “force” or concept, rather than a real God who has standards, expects certain things from His children and gave us definitive, special revelation. There is almost something mystical and gnostic of his conception of God. As I saw this silly line, “I believe God is actually ahead of us, calling us, drawing us, and inviting us, pulling us all,” I was reminded of the gnostic, heretical Gospel of Thomas, which had this to say,

Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty (Saying 3)

Anybody who follows this man is a foolish Christian, or perhaps not even that. I have doubts about his faith.

When he worked with Ed Dobson, Dobson said about him, when the church was going to give Bell some preaching responsibilities, that Bell didn’t know the Bible very well, but that he was a good communicator. What a dangerous combo: A good communicator+A biblically/theologically pastor.

…then why does Rod Bell have a job? What’s the point in being a pastor or even a Christian?

It’s said half tongue in cheek, but I’m deadly serious too. Why would anyone want to worship a god that doesn’t demand or require anything, but basically will reconcile all men to himself eventually (which was the basic thesis of Love Wins).

God: “Rob Bell is becoming irrelevant.”

…God has been associated with automobiles…

From the Wall Street Journal, Dec 2008…

And all of the cars mentioned in the WSJ article have been discontinued.