Rob Bell goes after stumbling blocks

Rob
Bell's new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every
Person Who Ever Lived, due out at the end of the month, is being promoted
as "putting Hell on trial" and questioning the notion that a loving
God could commit millions and billions of people to eternal torment. When the
press release and accompanying video were released last week, the Christian
blogosphere exploded, with conservative
Christians of various stripes critiquing Bell and calling him all sorts of
names, none more damning than "universalist."

This isn't a new
topic in American Christianity, and it hasn't been limited to
liberal circles. So it's disappointing (if unsurprising) to see Bell's critics greet his
reconsideration of hell with shock and derision. (John Piper dismissed Bell
with three words: "Farewell, Rob Bell.")

It's frustrating
to see all this controversy over someone raising a question that's been around for ages. I'm glad, however, to see
someone of Bell's stature take it up. As of this writing, Bell has received 338 comments on his Facebook post of this compelling video: