“To say that God has decided to visit all humanity through only one particular religion is a deeply unsatisfying assertion about God” (Samir Selmanovic, It’s Really All about God, 9). Before we consider this assertion, here are some notable authors who recommended this book: Marcus Borg, Brian McLaren, and Paul Knitter.When we say that God has revealed Himself to humanity through a particular religion, we are making this claim based on Scripture. The Bible either is or is not divinely inspired....

Michael Hardin’s book, from which the following quote is taken, is forwarded by Brian McLaren, who “appreciated Michael’s approach to Scripture” (Michael Hardin, xiii, The Jesus Driven Life). Hardin writes, “Because for Jesus, God is inclusive and reaches out to those whom the religious had consigned to an eternity of being roasted over a devilish fire like marshmallows. Those who consign others to hell will, in the end, get the god they have believed in” (Ibid.,44). Certainly, most conserva...

"He's said to be a Buddhist -- I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith," said Brit Hume. Then he added, "So my message to Tiger would be: Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world" (Brit Hume, This quote is found on many websites). Hume’s comments appear to be a Christian exclusivist view (Jesus is the only way). In response, he was blasted across the media for...

Rob Bell provides a helpful insight into how he views the Scripture: “The ancient sages said the words of the sacred text were black letters on a white page—there’s all that white space, waiting to be filled with our responses and discussions and debates and opinions and longings and desires and wisdom and insights” (Love Wins, x). Here, Bell exalts human opinion and diminishes divine inspiration of the Scriptures. Bell’s low view of Scripture and high view of human opinion (including his) shou...

"The problem, however, is that the phrase 'personal relationship' is found nowhere in Scripture" (Rob Bell, Love Wins, 10). Bell is correct when he says “personal relationship” does not appear in the Bible, but how does this fact support his argument against the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ? His book, Love Wins, contains a lengthy discussion on the nonexistence of hell. What if we responded to Bell that his argument, his discussion, his beliefs, etc. in the book are ...