Tag: Love Wins

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, June 21, 2011

georgepwood

“Why Liberal Religious Arguments Fail.” Over at Religion Dispatches, Peter Laarman reflects on what kinds of rhetoric are helping the pro-same-sex-marriage crowd, and concludes that religious argument is not one of them. Instead, personal testimonies are. Every poll and every wise observer points out that gay-affirming folks have not been winning on account of superior arguments, whether arguments from the Bible or theology or science. They aren’t winning on account of their superior debating skills. They’re winning by being present and visible in faith communities: by coming out in ways that clergy and congregations can’t ignore. Gay people are winning … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, June 21, 2011

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The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, May 3, 2011

georgepwood

“Welcome to hell, bin Laden.” So said Gov. Mike Huckabee in the opening statement of his Huckabee Report. It’s a common sentiment, but is it a Christian one? James Martin SJ, asks, “What is a Christian Response to Bin Laden’s Death?”  Jennifer Fulwiler writes about “The Shocking Truth That God Loves [loved?] Bin Laden Too.” Jim Wallis argues that “it is never a Christian response to celebrate the death of any human being, even one so given over to the face of evil.” Joe Carter reminds us that “our relief at his death must be tempered by a Christian view … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The World Wide (Religious) WebLeave a comment

The World Wide (Religious) Web for Wednesday, April 27, 2011

georgepwood

Psychologists discover “a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music. As they hypothesized, the words ‘I’ and ‘me’ appear more frequently along with anger-related words, while there’s been a corresponding decline in ‘we’ and ‘us’ and the expression of positive emotions.” I am personally outraged at popular music’s narcissism and anger. Just kidding! Although I wonder what level of narcissism is present in contemporary worship songs. Al Mohler offers insights about why conservative churches are growing. Sure, evangelical churches are growing and the mainline churches aren’t. But what if the country as a whole is growing at … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Book Reviews18 Comments

Is Rob Bell a Hell-Believing Universalist?

georgepwood

Rob Bell, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2011). $22.99, 224 pages. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love questions and those who love answers. Question-lovers focus on the ambiguity and uncertainty of belief. Reality is bigger and more complex than our theories about it. Consequently, we must be humble in the face of mystery, knowing how much we do not know. Answer-lovers focus on the clarity and certainty of belief. Reality may slip the grasp of theory at the margins, but … Continue reading Is Rob Bell a Hell-Believing Universalist?