People have been saying Rob Bell is a heretic for a long time. Just Google his name and ‘heretic’ to find out what they’ve been saying. So this latest spat (here) over an upcoming book just fits into the historical context that surrounds the guy. He has consistently said things that aren’t quite in line with the dominant conservative Christian culture and because of it he’s taken a few hits by his many detractors.

Now I have to confess that not only have I not read his latest book (how could I, it’s not published yet) but I haven’t read any book of his (sorry, Rob). I have thoroughly enjoyed the Nooma series though – and I’ve probably seen a majority of those.

Based on the above some would say that I don’t know enough about Bell to say whether he is or isn’t a heretic. True. The thing is even if I had done my PhD on his theology and knew his work inside out, I still wouldn’t brand the guy a heretic. Why? Because the term carries with it such nasty undertones. It shouts, ‘I know better than you’. It growls, ‘I have a better handle on the truth than you’. In earlier times it picked up a stone, or a hammer and nails, or struck a match, to silence the accused once and for all.

Ok so we don’t kill ‘the other’ any longer. But why is it that there are still those who try and dominate the thinking of others? Why are there still people who will try and silence those who differ? Where in your theology does it allow you to become so damned superior that you can write someone off by calling them a ‘heretic’?

In case you hadn’t noticed there’s a new reformation in church today; a reformation that says the old imperial ways of thinking have to go; a reformation where the swarm beats the hierarchy; a reformation that acknowledges that the truth is so big no one person, church, or movement can have a handle on it. Of course, it isn’t easy to give up the vestiges of power – which after all lies at the heart of one person wanting to tell another what to think. But it’s a very liberating thing to do – for both sides.

The one good thing in this story is that Rob Bell is so cool he probably doesn’t give two hoots what you think of him. At least, I hope so. Because if he does, he must be feeling pretty down by now.