Rob Bell, Emergent Error

Much has been written about the Emergent church movement and its strong ties to postmodern thinking. One of the chief proponents of the movement was a target of Mark Driscoll's speech at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in September. Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill and creator of the popular Nooma videos, has begun to draw significant attention for the postmodern underpinnings of his beliefs.

Rob Bell's Beliefs

1. Rabbinical Authority - Rob Bell believes that listening to the early rabbis is key to unlocking the message of Scripture. As Mark Driscoll points out, however, it is highly questionable whether men who do not love, adore, revere, respect and cling to Jesus would possess God's hermeneutic principles. If their method of interpreting the Scripture did not open their eyes and hearts to Christ, then who would want to follow in their footsteps?

2. Brian McClaren's Influence - McClaren is the leading spokesman for all things Emergent. He denies eternal hell, posits that one can be a good and justified Buddhist who reveres Jesus, enjoys the works of heretics like John Dominic Crossan (Jesus Seminar) and Tillich, and he has sanctioned a five year moratorium on discussing whether homosexuality is sinful. McClaren has often filled Rob Bell's pulpit at Mars Hill.

3. Trajectory Hermeneutics - Rob Bell believes that Scripture contains the kernel of ideas that evolve into their full form over time. This type of trajectory hermeneutics has been used to defend homosexuality (not yet by Rob). Homosexual apologists believe that the principles of love and equality in the Bible lead to the trajectory of total acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle. This type of methodology will produce a multitude of errors and can be used to rationalize and defend almost any sinful behavior.

4. Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell's groundbreaking postmodern work argues that certain doctrines like the virgin birth are discardable. While Rob personally believes in the virgin birth, he questions what Christians really gain from the doctrine of Mary's Holy Spirit inspired pregnancy. Bell asks where we would be if DNA evidence concluded that Jesus had not been born of a virgin. In the paraphrased words of Mark Driscoll, 'How can we believe the extravagant claims of a son of a lying whore?' Without the virgin birth, the entire story changes. Rob further goes on to state that theology is flexible like a trampoline and that it can easily be molded to fit the times. Unfortunately, Rob forgets that even trampolines have to have a solid foundation.

While Rob Bell has not moved to full blown heresy, his ideas will inevitably lead others there. History has taught us that successive generations attempt to live more in tune with the ideas that have been passed to them. There are tremendous dangers in having the wrong perspective of the world, much less God's word.