Rob Bell clearly denies the Virgin Birth - he says so! In his book Velvet Elvis (pg 26), he writes:

"What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archaeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if as you study the origin of the word virgin, you discover that the word virgin in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word virgin could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being "born of a virgin" also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?"

What do we do with this? Are the things Bell says here true? Did you know that there were religious cults around the time of Jesus whose gods had virgin births? Is Bell right about "virgin" coming from the book of Isaiah, and it having several possible meanings? Has your pastor ever mentioned these things as possibilities, even if he thinks they're wrong? Is Bell right that being "born of a virgin" could refer to a woman who became pregnant the first time she had sex?

Or is he making an entirely different point?

Would it shake your faith if it was conclusively proved that Jesus wasn't born of a virgin (in the way we understand it)? Would it shake our faith? Would it change any of our practices? Would it allow us to assault the doctrine of the incarnation? Could we still claim that Jesus was God?

Will your faith crumble when challenged? Is your faith based on the doctrine, or is it rooted in John 17:3, where Jesus says that eternal life is to know God?

Whatever the answers to this, it is clear that Bell is a heretic who is saying we shouldn't be worried if there was no such thing as the virgin birth, as Tim Cantrell points out in his Today magazine article.

Commenting on the outrage at Mars Hill Bible Church a very candid Bell informed the congregation on how "reporters can use little sections of anything to twist what I say" and how those who haven't read the book have no basis of argument.

That's odd - how can this be twisting what Bell is saying? It's a straight-forward, clear-cut case of heresy. Case closed.

Hang on...

just one second...

Directly after his heretical paragraph on the virgin birth, Bell writes,

What if [the Virgin Birth, as a fundamental Christian doctrine] was seriously questioned?

Could a person [stay a Christian]? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian?

Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live?

Or does the whole thing fall apart?

I affirm the historic Christian faith, which includes the virgin birth and the Trinity and the inspiration of the Bible and much more. I'm a part of it, and I want to pass it on to the next generation. I believe that God created everything and that Jesus is Lord and that God has plans to restore everything.

But if the whole faith falls apart when we reexamine and rethink one [belief], then it wasn't that strong in the first place, was it?

This is because a brick is fixed in size. It can't flex or change size, because if it does, then it can't fit into the wall. What happens then is that the wall becomes the sum total of the beliefs, and God becomes as big as the wall. But God is bigger than any wall. God is bigger than any religion. God is bigger than any worldview. God is bigger than the Christian faith.

The point he is making is that a rigid, unquestioning faith will crumble when challenged. He's not denying the Virgin Birth and is, in fact, making an entirely different point.

Technorati Tags: emerging church, Tim Cantrell, criticism, Rob Bell, Today Magazine

 

--x--
This post is a part of a series of responses to an article in the August 2007 edition of Today Magazine written by Tim Cantrell (available online). The full series is:
Emergent or Divergent?
Part 2: When is misquoting someone and ignoring context ok?
Part 3: Tea break (and why I won't throw vegetables at Tim)
Part 4: Truth, Scripture and Clarity
Part 5: Rob Bell and denying the Virgin Birth
Part 6: Emergent, Emergent Village and the emerging church conversation
Part 7: Clarity vs Mystery

Just spent the last hour or so following what has been written in response to Cantrell's article, and the lack of response to this post contextualising Bells comments about the Virgin birth speaks volumes - that some of the critique levelled at the emergent movement is at best poorly researched, at worst dishonest.

reply to this comment

Posted by: Rowan 11 Sep, 2007 - 00:03:41

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:15-23

Rob Bell should be judged by his fruit and the man produces good fruit. Both past and present hold dramatic examples of men who held firmly to the virgin birth and the Trinity but their fruit was bad. I believe truth is very important to Rob Bell or he wouldn’t be teaching the things he teaches today. I think Rob Bell affirms a virgin birth and the Trinity. But I sincerely doubt Rob Bell could have a man like Michael Servitus burned alive at the stake because he did not affirm the Trinity or infant baptism. I am quite certain that Rob Bell and many, many others would agree with God who declared Abraham righteous despite the fact he most certainly did not have the ’springs’ or ‘table legs’ of the virgin birth or the Trinity.

Jesus and his disciples uprooted and shook the very faith foundations of an ENTIRE nation that at one time was declared the people of God, because their faith had become in the foundations their God had given them instead of the God who had given them the foundations. And when we begin to go down that road we become capable of the most evil of name calling, ill advised perceptions and yes, we even become capable of killing the Son of God. Matthew 25:31-46.

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Posted by: watch 26 Feb, 2010 - 10:24:46

I Think if Pastor Bell doubts the virgin birth he doubts Christianity either Jesus is the son of God or a liar. No other choices!

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