Love Wins Review

Before I get into my review of Love Wins, I need to preface my remarks with what ought to be a no brainer observation that one would think would be obvious but apparently is not. I read a lot. It’s actually my “job” to read, especially religious books dealing with Biblical, theological, spiritual, and ecclesiastical (church) matters because I want to stay informed. There is rarely a book I’ve read other than the Bible that I agree 100 % with. Reading a Rob Bell or Brian McLaren book doesn’t make me anymore “emergent” than reading Pope Benedict’s latest book makes me Catholic or reading Sports Illustrated makes me a professional athlete or reading the Bible makes Christopher Hitchens (an avowed atheist) a Christian. I say this because I was recently called a “closet Satanist” simply for reading Love Wins. I guarantee you I am not a Satanist and neither is Rob Bell, who I heard two years ago at the National Pastor's Convention in San Diego.

The other very important point I need to make is that when it comes to reviewing a religious book or ministry, I will be extremely cautious in being critical if for no other reason than to avoid what Jesus referred to as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, something so many “concerned” Christians today are neglecting and don’t even seem to care about (to their own detriment). In other words, I want to avoid speaking out against what God may very well be doing and teaching through another pastor or ministry even though we may not see eye to eye on every single issue. After all, no one (in their right mind) can claim to know all the mysteries of God.

I will tell you right off the bat what kind of person will not like Love Wins –

1) If you are a Calvinist or of the persuasion that truly believes that God predestines some people to saved and others to go to hell (most Baptists and those in the Reformed tradition believe this), you are not going to like the book

2) If you’ve already bought into the perceived negativity surrounding the book by others who do their thinking for you, you are not going to like the book

3) If you truly believe that heaven is harps, and floating clouds, and white robes, and the devil is red with horns and carries a pitchfork and lives in a cavern, you are not going to like the book

4) If you haven’t even read the book and therefore cannot think and analyze what’s been written for yourself, you are not going to like the book

5) If you cannot live with some of the great questions and ambiguities that Bell presents throughout the book that come directly from the Bible, you are not going to like the book

6) If you believe you know absolutely everything there is to know about God and the afterlife and are not open to hearing other viewpoints, you are not going to like the book

7) If you’re particularly drawn to those who actually claim to have spent 23 minutes in hell or 90 minutes in heaven, then you’re probably not going to like the book

Those who say that Bell doesn’t believe in heaven or hell or repentance haven’t even read the book for themselves. Bell clearly believes in these concepts and he believes in them (as best as he or any of us can) in ways that the ancient Hebrews and the early Christians would have understood them before Platonic and neo-Platonic dualistic thinking infiltrated the church. Modern Christianity has come to think of heaven and hell that are in many ways foreign to how the Biblical writers themselves would have conceived of them and yet we’ve taken our modern concepts and solidified them as truth. As a first century, homeless Jew, Jesus, along with his contemporaries, would have had a vastly different understanding of heaven and hell than how we wealthy, twenty first century, Westernized Gentiles have come to understand them. Our understanding of heaven and hell unfortunately is more reflective of how Hollywood portrays heaven and hell in movies than how the Bible actually does.

Bell clearly affirms the supremacy and divinity of Christ, which ought to be the focal point of our belief system. Because even Jesus Himself never said we need to believe in perfect doctrines of heaven and hell to be saved, He just said we need to believe in Him! There is obviously some speculation in the book, but there is ALWAYS speculation when dealing with topics like heaven and hell. But the speculations in Love Wins certainly are nothing that hasn’t already been ruminated throughout Church history and they could very well be speculations that you yourself have contemplated.  The speculations in Love Wins do seem to be based on the logical inferences of what we know to be the nature and character of God as revealed in the Bible and ultimately in Christ.

Love Wins is not only a great title but it is a good book that will give you quite a bit to think about. While the book speaks clearly for itself, my recommendation is that you read it in a study group or with a theologically minded pastor or professor who has a good grasp on ancient Hebraic and first century Christian thought. By the way, the line in the book that made me laugh out loud is on page 89 - “Is there paperwork involved?”