Rocks Everywhere?
CHAPTER SIX: THERE ARE ROCKS EVERYWHERE
OUTLINE
After opening the chapter with a few anecdotes about people finding God in strange ways, Bell moves to the story of Moses hitting a rock in the wilderness which produced water. Bell points out that Paul, in 1 Corinthians, argued that the rock was Christ (143-4). Thus, Bell lays the groundwork to find Christ in the lives of unbelievers, using Paul’s citation of the Old Testament as a precedent: “Paul’s interpretation that Christ was present in the Exodus raises the question: Where else has Christ been present? When else? With who else? How else?” (144).
Bell then gives broad and sweeping examples of how every culture, especially 1st century Palestine, realizes that God gives life to the world. Jesus is this life, and thus, God’s incarnation as a human reveals a truth that is bigger than any religion or culture: “The word that gave life to everything and continues to give life to everything . . . had been revealed ‘in its fullness’” (146). Any attempt to take away the universal, life-giving nature of the Word of God, and relegate it a specific culture or religion, even a Christian one, takes away from Christ’s message (151). It is important to note that when Jesus claimed: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . . . what he doesn’t say is how, or when, or in what manner the mechanism functions that gets people to God through him. He doesn’t even state that those coming to the Father through him will even know that they are coming exclusively through him. He simply claims that whatever God is doing in the world to know and redeem and love and restore the world is happening through him” (154). Thus, Jesus’ message is exclusive, but also inclusive in that “there is only one mountain, but it has many paths. This inclusivity assumes that as long as your heart is fine or your actions measure up, you’ll be okay” (155).
Therefore, what is unique about Christianity is that when it is right, it names the universal mystery for what it actually is: “[Christ] is the flesh-and-blood exposure of an eternal reality. He is the sacred power present in every dimension of creation” (157-8).
SUMMARY: In conclusion, Bell ties this inclusive doctrine back to heaven and hell. First, he asserts that we shouldn’t be surprised when people outside of Christianity experience God. They may name Jesus differently, but this shouldn’t offend those of us who know the mystery a little bit better (158-9). Second, no culture or religion can ever claim to have exclusive access to Jesus (159). Finally, Bell thinks that we should all be wary of making judgments about “people’s eternal destinies” (160).
RESPONSE: I think this chapter is dead on. Of course, I can think of about 10 verses that seem to contradict Bells inclusive message in this chapter, but I think they can be wrestled with fairly enough to support an inclusive view of salvation.
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One Philosophy Student's Attempt at Theology 