Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Nooma Whirlwind Video by Rob Bell -- Review

Rob Bell is one of the many pop-culture "Christian" teachers along with such as Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, and Rick Warren.  Bell produces "Nooma" videos which he sells, apparently to "churches" that would use them as "teaching tools" or perhaps fillers between the typical mega-church intermissions.
In a video released for a July 7-8 2009 only free premiere, called "Whirlwind", Bell is in the video walking down what is apparently an old runway.  In his typical metro-sexual style, Bell then begins to explain the account of Job.  The problem is, Bell leaves out the main premise of the book of Job.  Whereas granted, many Christians think the book of Job is supposed to be a great example of the patient suffering of a believer (hence the phrase, "to have the patience of Job"), Bell misses or distorts the account more than that.
Bell uses his calm, almost effeminate voice to dramatically relate how Job & his friends discussed & debated his situation until finally God comes along & has some "questions of his own". Bell reads Job 38-39, initially failing to actually tell us WHY God is asking Job these questions.  Later, at the conclusion, Bell tells us the purpose & lesson we should gain from the Job account is that we should "be released from trying to understand why things happen as they do" & that this "freedom should open us up to allllll sorts of new perspectives".
Yeah, no priming the relativistic & hyper-individualistic pump there.  Bell & his peers have long been trying to replace historic Christianity with some "new kind of Christian".  I'd like to ask what is wrong with the original kind?  Why all this talk of new & fresh looks?  Have we reduced Christianity to marketing & pay-to-view messages?
The REAL story of Job is about a man who God decided to USE to glorify Himself.  When Job kept complaining about the unfairness in it all, Job's friends urged him to just curse God & be done with it.  Then along came an often not mentioned character in the account -- a young man named Elihu.  Elihu speaks to Job even BEFORE God does & Elihu lays out the truth of the matter:
"But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God." (Job 32:2)
As you can see, the point of the Job account ISN'T about how patient Job had been, nor is it about being released from trying to understand why things happen, & nor DEFINITELY is it about "freedom should open us up to allllll sorts of new perspectives". It is about the very thing that we humans continue to do -- complain that God dares to do things we think are unfair. THAT is the reason God then questions Job. It is a slap down on Job for complaining or as Elihu says, "justifying himself instead of God".
So, Bell's little $12.00+ video so distorts the REAL account of Job that a person viewing the video would come away with the tip-toe fuzzy feeling that God wants them to free themselves...especially from that meanie "dogma/doctrine" stuff wink-wink.  Instead, everyone should keep on their "journey & story". Folks, why anyone listens to these charlatans pretending to be "Christian preachers" is beyond me...except perhaps this verse might explain it:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires (2 Tim 4:3 NASB)
Try to locate the video here

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