Let me start off by saying that while I appreciate the willingness of people like Rob Bell or Brian McClaren to re-evaluate some of Christianity’s most despicable traditional positions on things like eternal punishment, they are far from orthodox, and I don’t think their positions hold up to interpretive scrutiny. I was discussing Rob Bell’s book Love Wins recently with some nice chaps who happen to be believers, and that discussion prompted me to write a little on the issue of a “2nd chance” after death for belief, which is one of the main ideas Bell puts forward in the book.
The whole idea of a 2nd chance goes like this… You’re someone who has not accepted Jesus for whatever reason in this life and you die. Once you die, you’re face to face with Jesus who says, “Guess what — you were wrong, but you can accept and believe in me now, and I’ll welcome you into heaven.” Faced with Jesus after death, Bell supposes everyone who did not accept him in life will get the glorious opportunity of accepting him in death once they’re faced with the truth. That’s what a merciful god would do right? There’s only one problem with this idea, and it’s not something a Christian is likely to see unless the story is changed a little bit…
Let’s say you’re a Christian (if you happen to be one then you won’t have to pretend as hard), and as happens to everyone — you eventually die. You take a trip down the tunnel with the light, and at the end you are faced with the throne of the Almighty. This supreme and magnificent being looks down upon you and says, “In life you blasphemed Allah by claiming his servant Jesus was his son, and indeed a god himself. There is no god, but me, Allah, and Mohammad is my true prophet. I am merciful, however, and all you have to do is reject this Jesus as your king and god, and I will usher you into eternal paradise.” Would you do it? Would you reject what you had lived your whole life as a lie to embrace the real truth, or would you think this was perhaps one last test to get into heaven? I’m pretty sure the Muslim would think it was a test or deception if the roles were reversed, just like you would likely do in this situation.
While the idea of a 2nd chance after death may seem good on the surface, ultimately it just does not work, at least not for the “true believers” of the varied religious traditions. So, as much as Rob Bell would like to say that ultimately Love Wins in this way, when explored just a bit further, it’s easy to see why love (as described by Bell) actually…loses.
Reblogged this on Gideon Jagged and commented:
On the failure of one Xian apologist