In the past few weeks the Evangelical world has been abuzz about Pastor Rob Bell's book LoveWins: A Book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. It began when his new publisher posted the most controversial quote from the book that it could find, challenging the "traditional" views of heaven and hell that most Christians teach.
A firestorm of tweets and blogs hit the internet denouncing Bell as a Universalist (someone who believes that everyone will go to heaven) and a heretic (someone who turns away from the "right" teaching of the church). Last week, as his book was released, Rob made the rounds on the morning news shows to be interviewed and he even did an hour-long streaming internet interview. Each TV interview began with a tease that claimed he was now saying there was no such place as hell.
Full disclosure: I like Rob Bell. I've been to his church. I attended his preaching conference two years ago. I use some of his Nooma videos in classes that I teach. This week I purchased Love Wins and have read just over half of it so far. I wasn't planning on buying it right away but so many people in my congregation have asked me about it that I thought I had better read it so I could speak from my own perspective.
My comment today isn't about Pastor Bell or his book. It's about the way the larger Christian Church has responded to it; especially the Evangelicals.
It occurred to me this morning that the Evangelical church has caught up with us Lutherans. Correct theology and the tenacious debate around it is becoming the primary concern of church leadership.Theology is the strength of the Lutheran church. It's what we're known for. Here is what I can tell you about theology.
1. Theology is simply thinking about God. So most people are theologians in that sense. But those who have spent years studying theology have built up jargon, catch phrases and other forms of shorthand that separate the academics from those who casually reflect on the nature of the Divine. Two tiers are created. An amateur and a professional rank are created. The professional ranks are populated by clergy, professional academics and some others in church leadership. The amateur ranks are made up of everyone else who thinks about God and God's participation in the world.
In this case what I am observing is an uproar within the professional ranks. It's mostly clergy and professional academics who are upset by the whole thing. What I am seeing among the amateur ranks is an interest in the conversation. Yes it can be upsetting to people to have long-held thoughts and beliefs challenged. But I am also seeing and hearing from people that these are the very kinds of questions that they have. The traditional ways of describing life and faith are no longer connecting with our experience and we need to figure out how to change the way we talk and think about God and Life without compromising the central message of the faith.
2. Within the professional ranks a game appears that I call competitive theology. I was first introduced to it in seminary. It is the subtle and not so subtle oneupmanship between classmates that are vying for attention from professors. What begins, I believe, as a true exchange of ideas becomes a competition whose goal is to win a debate, not to inform or to be informed by the conversation. When winning a debate is the goal, then labeling your opponent becomes the way you paint them into a corner. Defending yourself from accusations of heresy is a very different thing than debating the merits of your thoughts. Labeling and accusing are attempts to shut down the conversation, not move it forward.
Competitive theology is addictive in the same way that winning anything is addictive. It's one of the primary reasons I stopped going to theological conferences put on by my denomination. I too easily get sucked into the drama of the competition and I lose my perspective of love for the other. What begins as a journey together ends as a race, and if the other person (or group of thinkers) doesn't have what it takes to get to the end, well, it's their own fault. That is not the kind of person I want to be.
3. No one goes to heaven because of good theology. We all say this. We all believe this. We act as if the opposite were true.
If we really believe that eternal life is a gift of God's grace (wherever and whenever it is found to be) then why do we get so upset about bad theology? If we claim (and we do) that I cannot come to Christ by my own will or understanding, then why is it so important that I get my theology right? Is bad theology an unforgivable sin? My experience is that it is not. Any theology, even bad theology, can be redeemed by God. In fact if it weren't for some of the bad theology in my past I wouldn't be where I am today. God uses all of that to lead me to new life and new understanding.
Theology is a conversation to be joined, not an answer to be found. We need to get back to the conversation.
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