Time Magazine called Rob Bell, "The hipper-than-thou-pastor" which immediately raised the question for me: "How can I get that label?" Perhaps I could wear hipster glasses like Pastor Bell? Or more probably I need a complete personality transplant so that I, too, can be a "hipper-than-thou" pastor? (Those of you who know me, stop snickering!)

So what did I think of the book?

First, Rob Bell is not saying anything about eternity in this book that hasn't been said by mainline and liberal pastors for a few centuries. The issues in the book have been thoroughly explored, discussed, and responded to seemingly forever. For those the least bit familiar with theological conversations over the past couple of hundred years, you might be tempted to yawn and say: "So what's all the fuss about?"

This is one of those "man bites dog" stories that the media loves. The hype isn't so much about what Rob Bell is saying in Love Wins! (it's all been said before); rather, it is more about who is saying it. Rob Bell is identified with the evangelical wing of the church and the media loves "controversy in the evangelical community."

The good news about Love Wins! is that Rob Bell is getting everyone, inside and outside the church, to talk about eternity and, in particular, to talk about hell. That's an amazing accomplishment in a celebrity-obsessed culture whose major interest recently was in learning who designed Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet. Breaking through the wall-to-wall 21st century clutter to get people thinking and talking about heaven and hell is quite an achievement.

Bell is a good writer. He has some memorable phrases such as "exclusivity on the other side of inclusivity," and "There's heaven now, somewhere else. There's heaven here, sometime else. And then there's Jesus' invitation to heaven here and now, in this moment, in this place."

His style is congenial to young adults and those deeply affected by post-modernity, who prefer questions and dialogue to answers and assertions. Bell asks lots of questions in Love Wins! - a lot of questions! I counted 92 questions in the first chapter alone.

So, is there reason for concern? Why has Love Wins! generated so much criticism?

Perhaps it is because Bell is very selective in his survey of church history. He quotes a few theologians to support the position that he drives towards throughout the book which is everyone, or nearly everyone (Bell is ambiguous here) will be saved in the end - hence the title Love Wins! He suggests that everyone may have a second, or third, or twentieth, or millionth chance to be saved post-death, or that perhaps everyone is serving the hidden Christ even though they thought they were serving Buddha, or Krishna, or no god at all throughout their lives. Bell suggests these as possibilities, but he doesn't mention, not even in a footnote, that the overwhelming majority of Christian theologians have historically rejected these possibilities.

Bell is also very selective in his use of scripture, and, even then, shapes his interpretation in a predetermined read. I could cite many examples, but just to illustrate, he quotes a universalistic-sounding passage, Romans 5:18: "Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all..."  However, Bell fails to quote the immediately preceding verse, Romans 5:17, which defines "the all" in verse 18: "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" It's only those who receive God's grace who experience justification and life.

The problem with the selective use of scripture and church history is that one almost always ends up echoing the "spirit of the age." For 21st century Americans, tolerance, inclusivity, and pluralism are our ideological preferences (it could be otherwise; we could prefer fascism, patriarchy, or slavery). Because of his selective reading of scripture, Bell ends up sounding like a cheerleader for culture, and not as a prophet who, with sufficient distance, offers a shattering critique of culture. Only the Word of God coming from another world provides a Voice that is not a mere echo of culture. Rob Bell doesn't speak with that Voice in Love Wins! He clothes his views in religious language, but he really ends up saying what every progressive person in America has been saying for decades.

Moreover, Bell assumes his conclusion. Love - of a certain type, without judgment, without ferocity, without vengeance - wins! And hell is mostly or entirely empty. But how does he know that? Why is Bell's definition of love better than mine, or yours, or anyone else's?

Indeed, how do we know that God loves us anyway? Looking at the world, it is not intuitively obvious that God is love, at least not for child soldiers in the Congo or their victims. It's not obvious that God is love for those being trafficked as children, or beaten by a family member, or tortured by a brutal government. How do we know God is love? We know because in the words of the children's song, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."

I know and believe in the love of Jesus because the Bible tells me so. But I know and believe that God's love is of a certain type, jealous, holy, capable of wrath and vengeance (Romans 12:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10), because the Bible tells me so. And I know and believe in hell where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth" for the same reason - because Jesus tells me about it in the Bible, and not because it is intuitively obvious.

Finally, Rob Bell's approach to God's judgment cuts the nerve that drives world missions and evangelism. If you really think that apart from hearing and believing the gospel, there is a very good chance that people will nevertheless be ultimately saved, will you still sign up to take this message to uncomfortable places and people? Really? Why leave families, friends, careers, churches and homes if, in the end, everyone will ultimately enjoy the presence of God forever? Indeed, why make anyone uncomfortable (them and you) by challenging someone's beliefs, if salvation is not at stake? Why preach the gospel at all?

For the Apostle Paul the answer was obvious:  "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible...I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the gospel, so that I might share its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:19; 22:23)

This book will have enormous appeal to those "in recovery" from very strict conservative evangelical and fundamentalist churches and families. But whatever the many strengths of Rob Bell's book, its ultimate failing is that no one who believes Bell's message will ever exert themselves in the gospel's service like the Apostle Paul did. Such people are apparently not needed in 21st century, if after all, in the end, Love Wins!