Serious Concerns
Now that I have explained my personal quibbles with his style, I would like to speak to his substance. On the back cover of the book, Rob invites everyone to test his book. That is what I'm doing today. I make no apologies about the following statement: Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis is dangerous, poisonous, and ungodly.* Is there some truth? Yes. Would I ever recommend it to anyone? Never. It is full of doublespeak, man-centered theology, and downright false-teaching.
How's that for shock value?
6 Reasons You Should Not Spend Money on Velvet Elvis**
1. Rob Bell does not take doctrine seriously.
Paul commanded Timothy to keep a close watch on himself and "on the teaching" (i.e. on the doctrine). Salvation hangs in the balance for his hearers (1 Tim 4:16). At the beginning of the book, Bell compares Christianity to a trampoline. The springs that hold the mat up are the various doctrines of the Christian faith. The doctrines, like springs, have to be flexible, and certainly can't "keep people out" (Velvet Elvis, 28). That's the problem with having inflexible doctrines (what Bell calls “bricks”). Unfortunately, Bell is not talking about being legalistic with respect to unessential doctrines: things like whether you can eat meat or do work on Saturdays or celebrate holidays or other that we ought not divide over (Romans 14). The doctrines he gives as examples of springs are the Trinity (Velvet Elvis, 22) and the virgin birth (26). He is referring to "core doctrines" (26), "central to historic, orthodox Christian faith" (22). I would not be wanting to make light of core doctrines when Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 says things like "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (v. 17) and "those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished" (v. 18) and "we are of all people most to be pitied" (v. 19). Had Rob Bell written 1 Corinthians 15 it may have turned out a little bit more like this: "I believe that Christ was resurrected, but even if Christ was not raised we can still love God, live the way of Jesus, and be good Christians. The whole thing certainly can't fall apart with this one spring..." (Velvet Elvis, 26-7). Weak sauce, Mr. Bell. Weak sauce.
"You don't have to know anything about the springs to pursue living 'the way.'" -Velvet Elvis, 34
Translation: You don’t need doctrine to be a growing Christian. This is troublesome.
2. Rob Bell claims that no one can ever tell you what the Bible is really saying.
Bell reports that a person once said to him: "As long as you teach the Bible I have no problem with you." Bell tells us what the person really meant: "As long as you teach my version of the Bible, I'll have no problem with you" (44). Bell is not happy about that. He insists that anyone who teaches the Bible is simply teaching his version of the Bible. Of course, on the very next page Bell begins to explain to us what "Jesus believed about the Scriptures" (45). I penciled in a note there, which says: "You mean your version of what Jesus believed about them?" Does everyone realize that once one claims no one can teach you what the Bible says for itself, every Pastor should be out of a job? Including our friend Rob Bell? Fortunately, we can know what the Bible says and means. The Bible expects you to be able to interpret it correctly. Yes, even the confusing verses! For example, Peter said that:
"[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." -2 Pet 3:16
According to Peter, one should at least be able to manage to not distort the true meaning of hard-to-understand verses. Any distortion that arises is not God's fault, but the fault of the one who distorted it! Wow. Furthermore, Paul commanded Timothy:
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).
Paul says to strive for perfection in the area of interpreting the Bible (“rightly handling the Word of Truth”). And John says:
"The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth - because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever" (2 John 1-2).
John assumes that it is possible to know the truth! And the Word of God is truth (John 17:17)! Will you know it in fullness? No. That would be omniscience. But you can know it accurately and sufficiently. With his quip about whose version of the Bible we're teaching, I'm lead to think that Rob Bell believes no one will ever be able to know for sure that they are interpreting the Bible correctly. Of course, he proceeds to interpret the Bible throughout the rest of the book, so he can't really believe what he is saying. Doublespeak: Misleading. Confusing. Frustrating.
3. Rob Bell uses unnecessarily confusing, unbiblical language.
I cringe when people use phrases like "Jesus called people to live in tune with reality" and "God is the ultimate reality" (21). If Bell were more solid elsewhere and immediately explained what he meant after saying these things, I might not have as much of a problem with it. As the writing stands, however, it means nothing to me. My fear is that people will simply insert meaning into the text that even Rob didn't intend because it is such vague language. Another phrase he uses is "true for us" (58). I think I figured out what he means when he says this, but I don't appreciate his inadvertent softening of the word "true." When you start using phrases like "true for us" you create the idea in people’s heads that truth can be a little bit relative. Then when we proclaim Christ to be "the Truth" (John 14:6), people respond with "well, he's not my truth; he's your truth." All of this makes it utterly difficult to evangelize the lost. But speaking of evangelism…
4. Rob Bell believes that the church should "surrender its desire to convert people" (167).
According to Bell, your purpose as the body of Christ is not to "make disciples" (Matthew 28:19), it is not to "be all things to all men that [we] might save some" (1 Cor 9:22), it is not to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10), it is not to plead with the lost as Peter did on Pentecost (Acts 2:40). Rob Bell would have you think that "silent witnessing" is the way to go. Make the gospel so attractive by your actions that people can't help but join. The Biblical model is both. Let your actions back up your words. That way, when people see your life, the gospel that you are preaching to them will be vindicated. People will interpret your life for what it is, an act of God. The only exception I see to this is when wives have unbelieving husbands (1 Pet 3).
Rob Bell specifically tells people NOT to enter into relationships with the intention of eventually converting someone. You see… that would be having "an agenda. And when there is an agenda, it isn't really love, is it?" (167). Wanting someone to know the true and living God is the best agenda there is! Why did Paul make himself all things to all men? To "save some" (1 Cor 9:22). Why did God send Jesus to the earth that He "loved"? So that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). What did the Son of Man come for? To "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). What was Paul's heart's desire? To see his brethren "saved" (Romans 10:1). The desire to convert people from darkness to light is the most loving desire you could possibly have for a fellow human being. If you can think of a more loving one, let me know. Perhaps Bell is simply reacting to those who treat unbelievers with disdain and mockery rather than love simply because they aren't Christians. I would join him in saying that such an attitude is ungodly. Nevertheless, if this is so he has swung too far in the opposite direction, and it is extremely concerning to me.
5. Rob Bell promotes man-centered theology.
Bell believes that "God has an incredibly high view of people" (134). I would say that the only being God has “an incredibly high view of" is Himself! And He ought to. He's God after all! At one point, Jesus "refused to entrust Himself to [some people]...for He knew what was in a man" (John 2:23-5). Jesus knew that man left to his own devices cannot be trusted. Let's go over what sort of potential we have on our own...
"deceitful above all things" - Jer 17:9
"objects of wrath" - Eph 2:3
"out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" - Matt 15:19
Doesn't that make you feel good about yourself? This is why we need God's grace! The gospel is that we no longer have to live under the power and dominion of these things! We can be forgiven of the guilt laid on us by them, and that freedom comes through the historical, literal, physical death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ who lived and walked and talked and ate 2000 years ago (did I make myself clear?). Trust in the payment of Jesus Christ for your sins. Repent (turn away from) your sins. Commit yourself fully to Christ. All your eggs in one basket. This is the message that saves! We have His promise (Rom 10:9-10).
Some more troubling quotes:
"I have been told that I need to believe in Jesus. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that Jesus believes in me.
I have been told that I need to have faith in God. Which is a good thing. But what I am learning is that God has faith in me" (134).
This is completely man-centered theology. Jesus does not believe in you; He believes in His own ability to accomplish what He desires through you. And it doesn't have to be you, either! You aren't the only one who can accomplish what God desires. If He felt like it, He could rise up vessels from the rocks to carry out His will (Matt 3:9). That is why I can be evermore eternally grateful that God chose me! Wow. God didn't need me, yet he chose to have grace on me. That... is amazing.
6. Rob Bell treats temporal issues as more important than eternal ones.
For example, he says "the gospel is good news, especially for those who don't believe it" (emphasis mine, 166). On the contrary, the Bible states that Jesus is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" (1 Tim 4:10). So Rob Bell thinks the main benefits come to those who don’t believe, while the Bible says that the main benefits are for those who do believe. Why does the Bible take this position? Because while the gospel has practical benefits for all people, as Bell rightly points out, the MAIN benefit is for those who are the recipients of everlasting life, those who are given the privilege of knowing God forever. The primary benefit is NOT having a nicer neighbor, the example he uses on page 166. That is simply a perk. Treating the nice neighbor as more significant than eternal salvation is like treating your dental plan in your new job as more significant than the six figure salary. It just doesn't make sense. In this case, it is the difference between knowing the living God for eternity and spending 20-30 years next to a nicer neighbor. The second is good and a wonderful gift of God that we can rejoice in, but it's not the main benefit, and I can't understand why Bell focuses so much on things like this. He belittles personal forgiveness, reconciliation with God, but the Biblical characters rejoiced over this:
"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation" – Hab. 3:18
Similarly, Bell reveals his tragically flawed perspective with ridiculous statements like "the church has nothing to say to the world until it throws better parties" (170, emphasis mine). What about being the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Tim 3:15)? What about being the medium through which salvation is preached to the world? Can he possibly be serious? I'm afraid so. Bell seems to think that if the world isn't attracted to the church, the church is doing something wrong. He wants the world to think highly of the church. He forgets that it was Paul who said, "We are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life" (2 Cor 2:15-16). We are going to smell like death to those who are perishing. As much as I wish the world would be as excited about serving and submitting to Christ as I am, the fact is that the gospel is a stumbling block. The world hates the message, and sometimes even the messenger. That's why Jesus got crucified. That's why John got exiled. That's why Paul was whipped 5 times, stoned, and finally beheaded. Let’s just say that this sort of angry persecution doesn't result from preaching a warm, fuzzy, come-jump-with-me-on-my-sweet-trampoline message.
Closing Remarks
I don't know how much effect this review will have on the relationships I share with certain dearly loved friends who think highly of Rob Bell, but I cannot sit back and act like it is simply preference that keeps me away from this man. I thought perhaps upon reading the book I would gain a more unbiased and favorable view of Rob Bell, able to decide for myself where He stands rather than going off the "propaganda" of conservative Talk Radio, among other inputs. I was wrong. The more I read, the more deeply I became concerned for anyone who so much as has a favorable view of the book. I did not come away from this book edified. Do not spend money on it. There is no reason to go through this book for the sake of "finding the good in it." If that's how low we're setting our standards, we need to rethink our standards. It's like looking for pennies between the cushions of your couch when you should be going to work and earning steady pay; why waste your time squeezing water out of rocks when you can soak in God’s truth from a much more trustworthy source? Go fill yourself on something spiritually reliable. Like... the Bible.
*If you think I have misinterpreted Rob Bell and/or the Bible in any way, let me know by leaving a comment. Do not hold a grudge and gossip. Don’t be afraid to leave your name. Posting anonymously just makes the poster look like a coward. I respect boldness, even if I think s/he’s wrong. If you don’t think I misinterpreted anything, you can leave a comment too!
**Lest some think that I was not pleased by anything Rob Bell had to say, I did appreciate the first three paragraphs on page 169. Also, I thought his story about his dinner being paid for him was a great picture of the grace of God.
