Heretical resurrection?

Resurrection: Rob Bell from The Work of Rob Bell on Vimeo.



After watching this video of Rob Bell speaking about the resurrection, I was reading some of the comments, and there were the ones I was expecting: some discussing style (those who liked the effects and those who didn't, those who liked the music and those who didn't, etc.), some thanking him for posting such a great video, and then there were the comments talking about "heresy." Watch the video and let me know where you see heresy pop up.

Frankly, it kinda ticks me off that people find the need to nit-pick the most important part of the story. Yes, Jesus suffered. Yes, Jesus died on a cross. But, if that was all there was, there would be no story worth reading! Instead, we get to celebrate that our God isn't dead. He rose again. Jesus is alive! That's incredible and amazing. How can that be heretical? The entirety of Christian faith is built solely on the resurrection, without that we're just a bunch of moral loons!

I suppose it boils down to the fact that sometimes I just don't get people. We (Christians) are supposed to test and approve the messages we hear. That's not optional, we can't just believe anything (I mean, read Matthew 7 then through 8 and look at the contrast between the disciples in the storm and the demon possessed men who come up later: the demons believed the disciples didn't have a clue! The demons belief didn't influence their lives however...) but need to believe in the essential truths of the gospel: God loves us, Jesus suffered and died for us, Jesus rose from the dead conquering sin and death forever for those who believe in Him, the Bible tells the story of God and is our authoritative guide for life, God gives us the Holy Spirit as His presence and power to live a life of faith in Him, we are supposed to love others as much as God loves us. Pretty plain and simple, isn't it? Yet we feel the need to assassinate someone based on a question or something they previously said. Are there false teachers out there? You better believe it! Is the above video evidence of a false teacher? I think not...

Comments

  1. ChrisApril 12, 2010 at 11:14 PM

    Hey Matt! I couldn't agree more. I get the feeling that there are people so bogged down in our American Church culture that they can't even recognize the gospel when it's presented in a way that might speak to an un-churched generation. Thus the label of heresy. Rob didn't use all the usual words one might hear in a Sunday service in America. I say praise God for his willingness to be all things to all men that by all means he might save some. Now the hard part. I need to live like I believe that a little more each day.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

He Will Be Called: Mighty God (Part 1)

___________________________________________________________ "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:          Wonderful Counselor                     Mighty God,                              Everlasting Father,                                     Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9.6 (NLT) ___________________________________________________________ As we started last week with Wonderful Counselor, we continue today with Mighty God. Now first, where do you hear the word, "might" (and not as in "I 'might' go to the movies" but as in strength or power)? If you're anything like me the answer comes from two places: church and when talking about the military! We hear things about "military might" and sing about how our God is "mighty to save" but what does it really mean? We don't actually know! When asked, most students stare at me and then som
Read more

Who I am Doesn't Like Who I've Been

Maybe you've been there: your past catches up to your present and you REALLY don't like the conflagration that ensues.  For many on the church, your past catching up to you can be a death sentence for your usefulness in the kingdom of God.  You become the pariah, cast out, looked down on, and really not welcome because of something you've done.  It might not even have any bearing on who you are today, but even its scars are enough to leave you with a very visible scarlet letter... Why do we do this to ourselves?  Last time I checked, Scripture was clear that we were all a load of screw- ups ( Romans 3.23 ) in need of some serious help because we were sick ( Mark 2.17 ).  Truth not withstanding, that's often the appearance and necessity in many churches: we're all good, not a problem to be found.  If we show weakness or worse, sin, we're done and it's all over for us.  That's why Reliant K wrote a song many years ago about the church going down in flam
Read more

Masks...

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in an odd B-movie remake of the body snatchers? It happens to me occasionally, as I'll see myself do something stupid and not stop myself from doing it winding up looking at myself like, "What the heck was that all about?" Better yet, I find myself acting the part when I should really just be me. A pastor used to say it was "Shifting into 'Rev'" and was just part of the job for us as ministers because we couldn't always be the man for the job and sometimes needed to be that man when we couldn't otherwise. However, Casting Crowns hits the nail on the head in their song about churches: we're all too often just perfect plastic people with our perfect plastic steeples when people are hurting and dying without Jesus outside the doors. How can we justify our hypocrisy when we try to hide our brokenness? Why can't we be who Jesus called us to be? Can we effectively minister without our broken, sinful
Read more