Love Truth Blog

Is Mahatma Gandhi in hell? A while back I watched this YouTube video with Mars Hill Michigan pastor Rob Bell asking this very question. It was a little teaser for his book Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived . It was certainly a provocative piece, and this preacher with rock star status on the liberal lane of the emergent church highway 1 really got the social media pages buzzing with accusations about him slipping into universalism. After reading the book, my take is that Bell really finds the Christian doctrine of saints being resurrected to eternal life and sinners to eternal condemnation to be “misguided and toxic” (vii). He indeed desires readers to examine their concept of heaven and hell with the intent to open doorways into other ways of understanding the doctrine of hell asides eternal conscious punishment, to understand that heaven and hell can be experienced in the present as well as in the future, and to be open to the ideas th...

As I look around the home, it is no surprise to see that I live in a world of technology. I’ve got hot/cold running water, and plumbing. I have a kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, and microwave. I got a living room with a television and DVD players. I got tons of CDs not to mention additional mp3s elsewhere. There’s an electric guitar, an amp, and a multi-effects unit. Even my acoustic guitar has an electric pickup. I’ve got a computer, and a smart phone, and most of my research is done via the Web. One might say I’m a spoiled American, but maybe there’s more to the picture. The real questions to consider are: what ultimately drives technology? The question of what drives people to develop technology is important. We can create new technologies for good because they dignify humans. Conversely, we can create technologies for evil because they dehumanize individuals. Technology created for good can be corrupted, and technology created for evil can be redeemed. Whatever technology is ...

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:13-16). I was meditating on Christ’s teaching on being salt and light. He taught His followers that in this world they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In saying this, He wanted to communicate that to His followers that they had a vital place in this world. Salt is a valuable resource with many different applications. Christ in this instance is focusing upon its use as a flavoring agent. As the salt of the earth, they were to make a difference for t...

I turned on the television on Friday morning to see most news channels covering the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The footage of the crashing waves and aftermath of the destruction is simply unspeakable. It’s a moment that leaves a person at a loss of words to that can even fathom what has been witnessed. We can talk plate tectonics and the physics of liquid but can only offer hollow expression in seeing people trying to salvage what remains of their former lives. Even in the darkness, a light can shine. Many have already have risen to the occasion to offer their solidarity and support to the nation. I am also glad to know that people are offering up prayers to Japan. I do firmly believe it is only in coming before the very presence of God that we can come to grips with such an unspeakable happening. God really does not give the answer to why something like this would happen, He does something better. God sends the Son, who dies upon the cross, atones for sin, and rises a...

Matthew 5:3-10: Blessed are the poor in spirit,        for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn,        for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle,       for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,      for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful,      for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart,      for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers,     for they shall be called sons of God. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount begins with a group of beatitudes, which describe the qualities of heavenly people. To those who have dwelt in the kingdom of darkness, and adapted to its ways, the message of Christ is a radical otherworldly idea. Yet, the Lord wants to communicate that in the heavenly kingdom citizen...

Jesus Christ calls people to enter into a relationship with God the Father through the way He established through the cross and those who enter into that relationship with God by faith, they would graciously receive eternal life. Yet, Jesus is sensible without fear of drawing out the lines that distinguish truth and error, right and wrong, and good and evil. Sayings such as, “He who is not with Me is against Me,” and “He who is not against us is for us,” sets apart the genuine article from the imitations, which is not always easy to detect. When the religious leaders attributed the miracles of Jesus to the power of Beelzebul the power of demons, the Lord found it unreasonable to think that Satan would war against himself. The Lord’s words, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30, NASB), presents readers with the reality that those who would follow the Messiah must also leave the world behind. Those who would call Christ saving w...