Rob Bell is a genius.
If I had to name one writer/thinker/pastor that has had the most influence on my adult faith, it's Bell. Each of his books have played a pivotal role in shaping my theology and practice, encouraging me and challenging me beyond myself.
His latest book What We Talk About When We Talk About God (HarperOne 2013) is, so far, no different.
Bell is not only a thinker and theology, but he is good, creative writer. He has a way with words. This week I have been deeply moved by his thoughts on the depths and limits of language...
"So when we talk about God,
we're talking about our brushes with the spirit,If you want to know about more on what the books about, watch this.
our awareness of the reverence humming within us,
our sense of the nearness,
and the farness,
that which we know,
and that which is unknown,
that which we can talk about,
and that which eludes the grasp of our words,
that which is crystal-clear
and that which is more mysterious than ever.
And sometimes language helps,
and sometime language fails....
....For many people in our world, the opposite of faith is doubt. The goal, then, within this understanding, is to eliminate doubt. But faith and doubt are not opposite. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it's alive and well and exploring and searching. Faith and doubt aren't opposites; they are, it turns out, excellent dance partners....
....conviction and humility, like faith and doubt, are not opposites; they're dance partners. It's possible to hold your faith with open hands, living with great conviction and yet at the same time humbly admitting that your knowledge and perspective will always be limited.
Do you believe the exact same things you did in the exact same way you did five years ago? Probably not....
....I believe that this is one of the most urgent questions people are asking at this time about the very nature of faith: Can conviction and humility coexist as the dance partners we need them to be?
I say yes, they can. I have seen it up close, and it's possible. It requires that we pay as much attention to how we are talking as to what we are talking about, and it requires us to leave the paradox as it is, the tension unresolved, holding our convictions with humility." (excerpt from pages 91-95)
