When I was in college, there was a Kentucky Bible-thumpin mountain preacher who would say "You are all going to hell in a hand-basket." It was a cute country way of saying, 'stop that sinful foolishness'. I think we were making fun of a preacher or something at the time. Though what my blue grass friend was getting at was the simple ways in which the devil wants to lure us away from God's grace in something as ordinary and simple as a hand-basket (or in my case gossip bordering on detraction).
In my last post about Bell, I tried to show that his thoughts just aren't consonant with the first Christians who had the apostolic preaching still ringing in their ears. It is also not consonant with the dogmatic canon of the Second Council of Constantinople against universalism. Either way, Bell is radically effective.
On the one hand, Bell notices something glaringly off in his theology. In his Evangelical, non-denom emo-emergent Christian brand there is no baptism by fire, desire, sacramental grace, or Magisterium to confirm that the Church has a list of Saints but not Damned. However, the Church does teach that some will be damned because that's what Jesus said. Word. While in the article Bell doesn't want to speculate and feels that those who talk about the afterlife are just doing that because we "don't have video footage", his entire exercise is speculation. Maybe he's close to the conclusion that without an authoritative Church all you get is mere speculation, coffee shop chatter, or at best good opinion.
On the other hand, Bell seems to be laying a trap. "Going to hell in a heaven basket" is an awful thought, but it seems like the right phrase. Bell opens up heaven to not only who St. Paul describes in the Romans 1 that act according to God's law written in their hearts (which the Church affirms) but also to those who St. Paul later describes as "such...will not inherit the Kingdom of God" (Gal 5:21) by their wicked works (which the Church can never affirm).
Bell concludes his interview for the piece by saying, "My generation wanted truth — these are folks who want authenticity. The whole judgmentalism and harshness is something they want to avoid." I guess instead of truth, Bell is going for the most authentic hand-basket. I'm not saying he's in it himself, but just that it looks like he's peddling hand baskets.
