Books & Culture, a journal published by Christianity Today, mocked Bell’s latest work, inventing a fake publishing executive to push the man behind the Gospel of Zimzum.
“He won’t talk about the cross, or sin, or the idea that marriage represents Jesus and his bride or God and Israel. So he’s not a Bible Christian, but really a Christian, then. Our new kind of Christian. Our evogelical,” the piece said.
And Florida pastor Dave Harvey, reviewing “Zimzum” for The Gospel Coalition, a central hub of the Reformed evangelical movement, criticized Bell for quoting the Bible only three times in the book: “If Christianity were outlawed and a mob amassed to burn Christian books, ‘The Zimzum of Love’ would not be at risk.”
Even when he talks about marriage, Bell sounds more like Oprah than a theologian, meshing what sounds both spiritual and evangelical when addressing marriage as an institution.
“All of these things that people think dropped out of the sky by divine edict are actually a reflection of ongoing human evolution and a thousand other factors that have shaped why we as humans have done what we’ve done,” Bell said.
Bell co-authored “Zimzum” with his wife, Kristen, and he said “she’s generally three steps ahead of me” in his evolution.
Now resettled near Los Angeles, the couple no longer belongs to a traditional church. “We have a little tribe of friends,” Bell said. “We have a group that we are journeying with. There’s no building. We’re churching all the time. It’s more of a verb for us.”
He’s still a fan of churches—depending on the context.
“Churches can be places that help people grow and help people connect with others and help people connect with the great issues of our day,” Bell said. “They can also be toxic, black holes of despair. My thinking is, it depends on where you are in your life. One of the most extraordinary things I’ve done since I left Mars Hill is be with people and engage with people who would never step foot in a church.”
He conducts retreats in Laguna Beach and teaches on innovation, communication, creativity, how to read the Bible and how to surf. At the end of the gathering, he serves the Eucharist.
If he could do the “Love Wins” controversy over again, Bell said: “I would’ve had more fun with it. The book doesn’t even begin to go far enough. I let people frame it as though I was way off the reservation.”
Is he a universalist—essentially, someone who believes that everyone will be saved because a loving God would never condemn anyone to hell—as many claimed?
“I have no idea what people mean,” Bell said. “That just seems like stuff church people sit around and think about. Does God love everybody? Yeah.”
Many evangelicals are suspicious of Oprah, leery that she represents what many see as the worst of self-help spirituality. Bell, not surprisingly, disagrees once again.
“She has taught me more about what Jesus has for all of us, and what kind of life Jesus wants us to live, more than almost anybody in my life,” Bell said.
“Is she a Christian? That word has so much baggage, I wouldn’t want to answer for someone. When Jesus talks about the full divine life, you think, this is what he’s talking about.”
