N.T. Wright Weighs in On Hell and Rob Bell
May 25, 2011 8 Comments
Josh Graves mentioned this link. The video there is only a few minutes long and he doesn’t really give a ton of answers but he does help frame the discussion a little (something Wright is always exceptional at). He does say he is not a universalist but wonders why people in America are so obsessed with hell. He says he gets that question from people over here all the time but rarely back in England. Sorry that I can’t embed this video.
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Kingdom Living 
Ouch, the little dig that America has caused hell for so many by the bombs we dropped.” Really??? His statement irritated me. I’m not saying he is wrong, but it is an unnecessary and hypocritical jab. The truth is all countries create hell for others. We all make hell for others; especially when we do not live in the light & love of Jesus. However the point he and Rob Bell make that God is best defined by His love rather than His wrath is one we must hope to understand and appreciate.
By the way, I do think Hell is mentioned here more here in the USA because there are more Christian believers here than just about anywhere else. Again I might not agree with everything that NT Wright or Rob Bell says, but I do think it their message of God’s love best describes Him is an important one that we need to hear..
It is nice to be able to have these discussions without getting into politics. Now, if he is talking about how those actions represent something within the culture that he finds problematic that is another story that is worth considering.
Vic, to be fair to Wright he said “your nation AND MINE”. It wasn’t a dig at the USA. He included the UK. He was not hypocritical at all.
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Matt,
You may be interested in reading Trevin Wax’s response to N.T. Wright at http://trevinwax.com/2011/05/24/n-t-wright-on-rob-bell-and-the-reality-of-hell/. I found his first point somewhat fascinating. He indicates that in places where the Bible is read regularly, people tend to ask more questions about hell since they are reading so frequently about the final judgment. Maybe it’s a healthy reflection on America that so many Americans are concerned about hell.
Quite a good assessment there Terry.
Perhaps there are more evangelicals and fundamentalists in the USA (as a proportion of Christians in each country) and hell is an issue that evangelicals and fundamentalists areconcerned about?