9 thoughts on “Francis Chan: ‘Erasing Hell’ Introductory Video”

  3. everyone who questions the traditional view of hell is not being humble and needs to realize that they are just a lump of clay" however, "i have arrived at the correct view of hell, which is way better than rob bell’s view, so you should buy my book.

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  4. Yeah, I get that as well….but I suppose my respect for Chan as an activist wants to give him the benefit of the doubt, hopes that his call for prayer is genuine and that his book will be an objective and inclusive view rather than just a rehash of ‘accepted’ evangelical dogma….Bell has changed the direction of the conversation and Chan needs to take that fact into account, whether he likes it or not…

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  5. I hear ya. I like him as well. But I’m worried that this is an opportunistic party-line kind of thing. I know who Chan’s affiliated with, and I know the strength of those affiliations. I can see that there’s a "Chan is gonna be *our* Rob Bell" sort of campaign mounting. It’s weird.

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  6. Yeah, I see that from this side of the pond as well….sad really, but not unexpected. To some degree it will be disappointing if Chan buys into being used in that way….I hope he is bigger than that….but it is just another sign of an empty politic. You have got to read Fitch’s book – get it off your Dad…it puts the fuss over ‘Love Wins’ into context…..I wonder if Chan has read it yet?

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  7. The fact that the whole thing was staged and filmed like a Rob Bell parody meant I found it hard to take seriously. I’ve never seen this guy speak before, but from the ‘sitting in a minimalist white room wearing jeans and sneakers’ to the ‘hip but tinkly spiritual background music’ to the way he Just. Wanted. To. Earnestly. Get. His. Point. Across. It made it hard to concentrate on the message, you know?This aside, I honestly struggle with the idea that one person can "just present the facts" from the Bible without drawing any conclusions. We’re talking about a text thousands of years old with multiple authors, written in different historical, social and political contexts. I’d argue it’s impossible to present that without bringing an interpretation to it. In any case, from the video you can tell he’s already imposed his own interpretation on it.His honesty about struggling with difficult Biblical passages is refreshing, but there’s a danger in responding to those in the way he’s responded in this video: by simply saying God knows best and effectively walking away, you risk legitimising injustices here and now.

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  8. David – You’ve nailed it, and I agree with Zach that from that point of view the video is disengenuous and almost manipulatory and controlling…..but I would hope of better from Chan who although aligned with the neo-Reformed has seem to ‘kick against the goad’ and been a bit of a thorn in their side by making them act missionally rather than just talk about it….However, the feigned humility is a bit annoying – but you never know, maybe the book will be a third way – finding an inclusive path between the ‘orthodox’ and the supposed ‘neo-liberal’ post-orthodox views given by Bell in ‘Love Wins’ – walking the thin line between the modern and the post-modern, if you like. Unfortunately, I doubt it. I can’t help but feel that Chan is being set up as the neo-Reformed ‘Rob Bell’ and will just regurgitate the orthodox view on hell but in a trendy and hip format. If that is the case then Chan needs to answer a number of questions in order to get a hearing from a post-modern audience – well articulated by Jeff Cook on Jesus Creed – link below:http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2011/05/25/jeff-cook-to-francis-chan/

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