What the hell?

Over the summer, I read Rob Bell's Love Wins and Francis Chan's Erasing Hell.  I read these books solely due to the controversy surrounding them and my desire to be a part of the conversation.

Starting a conversation is what I feel Rob Bell was trying to accomplish with his book.  I do believe, if he could ever find time, Rob Bell would be willing to sit down with me and have an open discussion about our thoughts on hell.  I do not think Francis Chan would enjoy such a thing at all.  In fact, I think while Rob Bell was trying to encourage thought and initiate discussion, Francis Chan was attempting to shut it down and argued many times that it is too dangerous to have questions about the eternal fate of humanity.  While reading the beginning chapters of Erasing Hell (throughout which Francis Chan makes several remarks explicitly referring to Rob Bell, even sometimes by name), I remember telling a friend it was as if Rob Bell was saying, "Hey, guys, can we talk about this?"  And Francis Chan was covering his ears saying, "La, la, la, I'm not listening.  I'm not listening!"

So here are just a few of my thoughts on Love Wins, Erasing Hell, and eternity:

1. Love Wins is not a book about hell.  I like that Rob Bell took the focus of the Gospel off of a line drawn in the sand with heaven on this side and hell on the other and put the focus instead on a loving God who sent his son Jesus to redeem us and reconcile all of creation back to Him.  When I have a line in the sand view of the Gospel, I also have a line in the sand view of people, i.e. I judge them.  Sharing the message of Christ does not mean getting people on my side of the line; it means loving people on a soul level and sharing with them a message of redemption and reconciliation.
2. There are verses and concepts in the Bible that I struggle with, but I am going to follow Rob Bell's example of bringing my questions into a discussion with my community.  When an idea or passage of Scripture makes me uncomfortable, I will not consider it dangerous to examine my discomfort and possibly even question some things I have for so long believed.  Actually, it is more dangerous to stifle such a thing than to encourage it. 
3. I welcome discussion on the matter, but as far as knowing for sure the fate of my soul after I die... I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.  Walking in relationship with Jesus, I trust God with my tomorrow even if I have no way of knowing what tomorrow looks like.  I will trust God with eternity in the same way.  I can plan, study, anticipate, prepare, speculate, discuss, etc. (which I do think are all beneficial), but I will not know what the other side of death looks like until I see it for myself.

Many times controversy sparks the best conversation.  As I have watched pieces of this discussion unfold, I only wish individuals could participate without condemning others along the way.