Tim Challies reflecting on Christian leaders who slide into gross moral or theological failure:
Did it begin with becoming a professional Christian instead of a man who communed with God day-by-day? Did it begin with allowing doubt to become a virtue and belief to become a liability? Did it begin with a desire to read the wrong books, to listen to the wrong preachers? Somehow, over months and years, he drifted away from the truth, he began to believe and then teach the lies. And then he followed those lies and celebrated them and destroyed his ministry.
Clearly we need to ‘watch our lives and doctrine closely.’ However, this article would have done better to engage with Bell’s arguments rather than resort to personal attack and innuendo. It is not fair to compare him to an adulterer or to assert that he no longer ‘communes with God’ because he holds a different theological position. We watch our doctrine closely through engaging, thinking and praying – not personal attacks on others.
Laura,
Good comment on this article as it stands. There’s some history there though, which you might not be aware of.
Challies has commented on Bell and engaged deeply with his arguments plenty of times. It’s not a personal attack, it’s a carefully considered opinion that this particular teacher is not one who has sound doctrine.
Did it begin with being human? Surely that was the beginning and primary cause, not different theological views.