This article comes from the front page of the Religion section of the Saturday, October 11th edition of the Grand Rapids Press. Those of us who live in West Michigan or who are college-age or high-school-age Christians have probably heard of Rob Bell and his previous books, Velvet Elvis and Sex God. Anybody who subscribes to Worldview Weekend or follows trends within American Protestantism may have heard the name of Rob Bell in association with the Emergent Church. Your youth group may have used one of his NOOMA videos.
(For a good critique of the videos go to http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=1358)
Whatever your background, this is a guy to watch--he represents one of the major strains of American Christianity (strain could be replaced with perversion, a denigration I will justify), one characterized by post-modernism, anachronism, and a social gospel message. I do not make these accusations without a basis: I have read Velvet Elvis, seen a NOOMA video or two, and examined articles, like the one above. To Bell's credit, he wants Christians to remember to help the downtrodden, to live out their faith with love of others instead of complacently caring only for oneself ("Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27 NAS) Yet Bell has become stained by the world, as this article shows, and he does not even see it.
I have not included all of the article for the reader, because there is too much to talk about in the first page alone (anyone who wants me to post the rest can leave a comment, and I will do so). Anyone that has read or heard Bell before immediately sees him going back to a favorite setting--the historical, Jewish one. Yet his history is flawed and his emphasis upon Jesus as a Jew overlooks Jesus as a messiah. Jesus' most important identity was not as a Jew as much as it was being the Son of God and wholly man concurrently.
The first false analogy is the comparison of U.S. occupation to Roman occupation. The U.S. occupation of Iraq has lasted 5 years; the Romans held influence in Judea since Pompey Magnus, a contemporary of Julius Caesar. The United States will not be in Iraq forever--the elections may quicken our departure. Judea was under Byzantine rule until it was take by the Muslims in the mid-600s. The nature of U.S. vs. Roman rule over the territories has some merit, as both superpowers hold or held the final say force-wise and both have utilized more-or-less indirect means of governance and the co-opting of local elites.
What is most important to notice is the first underlined section: "[Jesus] was killed by the superpower of his day." Jesus was killed by the Romans in the same sense that the executioner, not Henry VIII, killed Anne Boleyn, or that a knife, not Jason Voorhees, killed scores of wayward teens. Pontius Pilate found no fault with Jesus and would have let him go, had he not pandered to a thronging crowd of Jews stirred up by their religious leaders. Moreover, that this event should be seen as Bell as a "killing" is interesting. If one credits Bell with subtlety, he is trying to insinuate that America today is effectively executing Christianity (through complacency, which is true in many regards) as the Romans crucified its namesake. Yet if Christ had not been killed in fulfillment of prophesy, Christianity would be pointless--there would be no redemption for sinners.
While we could accuse Pilate of cowing to a crowd (a decision which was necessary for humanity's salvation), other Romans in the New Testament are usually seen as positive figures. There is the Centurion whose son is healed; Cornelius, also a centurion, was the first Gentile convert; there was a Roman guard at the crucifixion who was convinced that Jesus was divine; Paul was a Roman citizen. In fact, if there is one group that causes Paul more trouble than any other, it is the Jews.
At this point I should probably state I am not an anti-Semite. In fact, I have been to Israel, support its existence as a state, and have deep sympathy for the plight of the Jews throughout history (and the current hatred they endure even in the UN general assembly). But the gospel was offered first to the Jews, to be rejected by many, and then to the Gentiles. Bell's fascination with Jesus the Jew and Jewish historical texts provides an exaggerated context that contradicts the core of Jesus' message.
Herein lies the second, truly egregious aspect of the false analogy regarding American/Roman occupation. Bell goes on to say that "For a growing number of people in our world, it appears that many Christians support some of the very things Jesus came to set people free from." Guess what Reverend Bell, Jesus did not come to free people from Caesar but from their sinful existence. Many Jews would have preferred the former. If He had actually sought to free them from Roman rule, Pilate would have definitely found him guilty, Simon the Zealot would assuredly have featured more prominently in the gospels (instead of tax collector Roman collaborators, like Matthew), and he may not have been crucified. In fact, Barabas, the prisoner freed in place of Jesus, was thought by some scholars to have been involved in attempts to oust the Romans. Given his favorable reception by the mob, Jesus would assuredly have been set free. One who says "render unto Caesar" and who is without sin clearly means "render unto Caesar."
Historical and Biblical reality fall victim to Bell's obsession for redemption in all things: the environment, government, gender relations, social conditions. While these things can be admirable (and yes, Christians should care for the "orphans and widows" of the world), Jesus came explicitly for the redemption of eternal souls with their Creator. Bell's post-modernist conclusions eliminate the Biblical message in favor of one created in the past decade or so, one which clearly does not belong in any historical context earlier than the 1990s, no matter how hard Bell tries to fabricate one.
Thus a man with the title of Reverend has missed the point of Christianity.
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