Rob Bell Debate

Interesting discussion of Rob Bell http://www.dennyburk.com/?p=948

 I have little patience for the creativity of the “emerging” movement, or the “mainline” movement for that matter. So here is my indulgent rant…

The heretical impulse is hard to overcome in sinful man. And the Christian “Chicken Littles” continue their cry: “The church is dying, the church is dying!” So from John Spong to Bill Hybels to Rob Bell, the church and its message is recreated and repackaged to be palatable to modern man. “If the church doesn’t change, then it will die!” Of course the underlying assumption is that the problem is with the catholic faith. The catholic faith responds that the problem resides in the depravity and idolatry of modern man. The problem is not with the church, its confession of faith, its liturgy, its sacraments, etc. The problem is our own arrogance and hubris accompanied with our narcissistic consumerism. Bell, Spong, Hybels, and company are short-sighted and will soon fade away. True catholic faith is directed toward the eschaton, now present in Word and Sacrament and yet future at Christ’s Second Advent, and will not be swayed by the weak-mindedness of such pundits. But many will be swayed by their pious and impious emoting because we have been taught to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Ichabod on the North American “church”.