Thursday, May 11, 2006

Brian McLaren’s Inferno 2: are we asking the wrong questions about hell?

For those not familiar with him, Brian McLaren is huge in the emergent church movement. He's always interesting, though he doesn't say things with clarity and his doctrine tends to be weak. He leans towards the concept of universalism which is the belief that all will be saved. He does however raise interesting questions.

Evangelicals are often condemnatory and lacking in the grace department, as McLaren states, "We obsess on “who’s in” and “who’s out.” Jesus, however, seems to be asking the question, “How can the kingdom of God more fully come on earth as it is in heaven, and how should disciples of the kingdom live to enter and welcome the kingdom?” He has a point. While I definetely do not ascribe to universalism, I do believe judgement ultimately resides with God. It is our duty as Christians to stress the love of God and His holiness, understanding that there is right and wrong. This however is rooted in the goodness of God.

Its interesting to read McLaren because of the questions he is asking the post modern church. Alas I wish he would bring more clarity to his doctrinal positions.

In part one of this post, Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo tried to deconstruct the traditional evangelical view of hell. Here, McLaren continues to outline his view as neither universalism nor an exclusivist understanding of hell. And he pushes us to reconsider the questions we pose versus what Jesus really says. Read More.

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