“The interactions I have are with people who are very kind and very grateful and they say very overwhelming things to me. Somebody who doesn't like what I do or doesn't understand it, then it wasn't for them.” PeopleKindGratefulOverwhelmingInteraction Author:Rob Bell
“What does happen constantly with all kinds of people I meet is they say "I had this encounter with Jesus, can you help me understand it..." The labels, more than ever, simply aren't big enough to contain what the cosmic Christ is up to in the world.” PeopleWorldKindDoeEnoughHelpingBigsHappensJesusChristAll KindsLabelsEncountersHelp MeCosmic Author:Rob Bell
“Being a pastor for 20 years I realized that the labels, agnostic, atheist, believer, everybody's human and everybody wants to know what kind of universe we're living in, and everybody's living according to a story.” KnowsWantYearsHumansKindStoriesUniverseAtheistBelieverI RealizedLabelsPastorAgnostic Author:Rob Bell
“And a lot of times, the religious discussion is almost a masquerade for the real question, is what stories that we tell ourselves and that we tell each other and what convictions and beliefs actually have the capacity to make us the kind of people who together can make the world the kind of world we all want it to be?” PeopleWorldWantKindRealStoriesTogetherBeliefReligiousCapacityConvictionDiscussionMasqueradeReal Questions Author:Rob Bell
“What is God like? Because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message - the center of the Gospel of Jesus - is that God is going to send you to hell, unless you believe in Jesus. And so, what gets, subtlely, sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that; that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good; how could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news.” PeopleNeedsBelieveKindJesusMillionsHellTaughtMessagesNewsCaughtBe GoodPrimariesTrustedRescueGood News Author:Rob Bell
“To say it again, eternal life is less about a kind of time that starts when we die, and more about a quality and vitality of life now in connection to God. Eternal life doesn't start when we die; it starts now. It's not about a life that begins at death; it's about experiencing the kind of life now that can endure and survive even death.” KindLife IsDiesQualityEternalConnectionsEndureVitalityEternal Life Author:Rob Bell
“Do we get what we want? Yes, we get what we want. God is that loving. If we want isolation, despair, and the right to be our own god, God graciously grants us that option. If we insist on using our God-given pwer to make the world in our image, God allows us that freedom; we have the kind of license to do that.that's how love works. It cant be forced, manipulated, or coerced. It always leaves room for the other to decide. God says yes, we can have what we want, because love wins.” IfsWorldWantKindWinningGivenRoomsDespairIsolationWorking ItGrantsLicenseCantGod ImageYes We Can Author:Rob Bell
“I would say that the powerful, revolutionary thing about Jesus' message is that he says, 'What do you do with the people that aren't like you? What do you do with the Other? What do you do with the person that's hardest to love?' . . . That's the measure of a good religion, is - you can love the people who are just like you; that's kind of easy. So what Jesus does is takes the question and talks about fruit. He's interested in what you actually produce. And that's a different discussion. How do we love the people in the world that are least like us?” PeopleWorldKindPersonsDoeDifferentJesusEasyPowerfulProduceLike YouMessagesFruitHardestDiscussionRevolutionary Author:Rob Bell
“For many, 'desire' is a bad word, something we're supposed to 'give up for God.' That kind of thinking can be really destructive because it teaches people to deny their hearts, their true selves.” PeopleThinkingGivingHeartKindSelfDesireTeachGiving UpDenyDestructiveTrue SelfBad Word Author:Rob Bell
