Most of the time.....

Monday, April 11, 2011

Rob Bell Review

Rob Bell came to campus a few days ago to debate with a professor and answer questions about his new book, Love Wins.

I was expecting to leave the session disliking the guy, but I didnt dislike everything about him. The few things he does say are good, I couldnt find a reason to shout "Blasphemy!" or throw a tomato... Instead, I found that I disagreed with all the things he didnt say.

If you've read reviews of his new book or any of his previous books, you know what I mean. He is all about "relationships, love, grace, forgiveness, and 'come as you are'" Christianity. And while these things are good and true, they leave out a huge portion of the gospel: wrath, justice, holiness, righteousness, etc.

I felt really nerdy going to the discussion Friday morning. My friends and I got up early to wait outside the doors 30 minutes before the doors were even opened. I couldnt decide if that made me extra holy or just ultra dorky... I was just glad no one shouted "Hallelujah" or "Amen" during his speech...

One of my friends compared the guy to a politician. He answers the questions he wants to answer, but runs in circles around questions that dont make him look good. For instance, the seminary professor asked him why he said that the word "forever" was used by the New Testament writers to mean: when talking to someone for 5 hours feels like 5 minutes, rather than the literal sense of eternity. So naturally, Blomberg and the other NT specialists came to bat against Rob's weak use of his Greek... Rob didnt exactly answer that question...

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Goodness is no protection from Pain

I read this in a book and thought it was really good...

"If life teaches us that core truth, our faith confirms it. Jesus was as good as good gets, and still he suffered pain--all kinds of pain--not only physical pain but also spiritual and emotional pain. By facing into it instead of running away from it, he showed us a new way to live, but few of us have followed. In spite of everything he said and did, most of us still cling to our own version of the truth: namely, that if we are very, very good, God wont let anything bad happen to us. We will be protected. We will be spared. It is a great perversion of the gospel, but it is also very human." --Barbara Brown Taylor

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Moore Funny

So turns out that I have a really funny professor who goes by the name of Reggie Moore. He's this big black guy with the most contagious laugh. He laughs at everything and then the entire class catches it.

He went on to make a comment about how Colorado people need to calm down because the winters here are more mild than in Kansas, then proceeded to ask who all was from Kansas. When I said I was from Salina, he exclaimed, "THATS MY HOMETOWN! Did you go to Central?" I felt like we really bonded....

I dont think I've laughed that much in one class period....