A friend surprised me this evening with some very negative comments about someone I have heretofore had only high regard for, namely, Rob Bell. I’ve seen several of his “NOOMA” videos and found them to be inspirational, moving, grounded and theologically sound. Granted, I have not read his books, but I intend to very soon. In fact, I may see if the electronic version is available for my nook before I shut down tonight.

I did read an excerpt of one of Bell’s books (I think it was “Velvet Elvis”) in the context of a critique, and the critic berated Bell for raising the question of “what if” we learned that the virgin birth never happened? It sounds like a ludicrous question and is certainly the sort to invite prompt and harsh backlash, but from what I can tell (and again, this is without having read all of the book), I think Bell was trying to get the reader to dig down to the core of their faith and find out if the God they know and trust is enough, period. If you were told that everything you were raised to believe was wrong, would God still be enough for you? Would your faith survive such a test? Sure, it’s a crazy question, but Bell isn’t saying that he disbelieves the virgin birth (quite the contrary, if you read the narrative theology statement of Mars Hill church, where he pastors); he’s trying to make the reader think about concepts that they’ve always taken for granted. The book was published by Zondervan, for goodness’ sake.

Perhaps it is his closely-shaved head and funky glasses that makes people uncomfortable with this young, hip pastor/author. *Gasp – I wear jeans to church, and I’m a woman … maybe I’m a heretic, too! He reminds me of David Crowder, who is passionate about missions and doesn’t seem to give a rip what anyone thinks. On a side note, I imagine that C.S. Lewis took heat for writing fantasy back in the day … He dared to share gospel concepts through fiction, but I digress.

Truth isn’t something to be afraid of. One of the reasons why I believe Baylor has been so successful, to date – and is poised to become even more so – at being both a high-activity research university and firmly committed to its Christian roots is because Truth is not the enemy. In fact, I think that questions can strengthen our faith, in the long run. Asking questions ultimately leads people to seek God, and God is Truth.

I once had a dumb question (ok, not just once, but I’ll only tell you the one story here). Since we’re on the subject, I remember grappling with the question of the virgin birth back in high school. I even asked my mom if it were possible for there to be another immaculate conception. I vividly recall the horrified look on her face … I think she wondered if I was talking in code to tell her that I was pregnant! (She does read my blog, so I hope she doesn’t disown me for sharing this story.)

Of course, I was most certainly NOT pregnant; I was just trying to come to terms with what seemed to be a very far-fetched and difficult to understand topic. Did I believe then that Jesus was born of a virgin? Yes. Do I still believe it? Yes. Was I a heretic to ask questions? I sure hope not. My God is big enough to handle even my craziest questions.