Domenic, Rob Bell and our God of radical grace

In reading Rob Bell's "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived," my memory takes me back to a class in 2004 where we were exploring the Trinity. The teacher, Domenic, shared something with us that has intrigued me for nearly seven years.

"I'm a word guy," I told the teacher during our Friday night setting. "So, when we say the 'Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son,' what are we saying?"

Domenic paused before saying, "This is going to take about 30 minutes, but we're going to do this."

(Truth is, we spent nearly three hours talking about what follows.)

He first drew a circle that was comprised of three synergistic arrows representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Domenic used this to describe the Divine Dance of perichoresis, explaining that what the Father experienced, the Son experienced; what the Son experienced, the Holy Spirit experienced; what the Holy Spirit experienced, the Father experienced; what the Father experienced, the Son experienced; and ad infinitum.

At some point, it came to me: "So, when we as Spirit-indwelt believers share the Christian cliche, 'God knows what you are going through,' it's a greater truth than we can ever know. Because the Spirit lives within us, what we experience the Spirit experiences; what the Spirit experiences, the Father experiences; what the Father experiences, the Son experiences ... ad infinitum."

God Withdraws Within God's Self

Domenic went on to say that since God was all there was at the point of Creation, God had to withdrew within God's self to make a space to create Creation. It was a space of nihl, of nothingness, until God rolled up his sleeves, so to speak, and went to work making heavens, earth, light, waters, dry land, vegetation, stars, creatures and humankind.

And when God was done, God looked upon Creation and said, "It is good."

So good, that God at some point decided to become part of Creation in the form of Jesus Christ, who lived, ministered, suffered, died and was resurrected so that all of humankind would be reconciled to God. While explaining this, Domenic draws another circle to represent the incarnation, the reconciliation, and the resurrection.

That is the essence of God's story.

Domenic then draws two more circles, one larger than the other.

Pointing to the larger of the two circles, he makes lots of little chalk dots representing "those who believed" and are now partying for all time. Domenic then shades in the smaller circle, representing the "nihl," the nothingness of separation from God, which is said to contain all those who did not believe -- and, thus, are not at the party.

Thus far, he indicates, the succession of circle represents Christian orthodoxy.

"Now, this is just Domenic," he said, making the clear departure from what is considered the orthodox understanding of the Trinity and the part that Jesus Christ plays in the redemption of the world. "This is what some of us are thinking."


"How can a God who withdrew within God's self to make a space for Creation, a God who loved Creation so much that God interjected God's self to experience this Creation -- living, suffering, dying, then rising again -- how can this God be happy knowing that there is a part of Creation that is beyond redemption?" he asked, pointing to the nihl.

And so, Domenic said, "What if the invitation continues? What if one by one, the invitation is given to join the party, and one by one the nihl is emptied -- not to escape the fires of hell, but to fulfill the prophecy that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

Wow.

What a thought.

The Reckless, Furious Love of God

I was captured by the possibilities -- and I still am. Now, I'm not saying I totally buy this line of theology, but I remain captured and have shared it many times on napkins in restaurants.

Why?

Because I have long proclaimed that the reckless, furious love of God knows no bounds, and that it manifests itself in an ever-expanding circle of grace -- a circle big enough to hold every human being that has ever lived, and ever will.

Now, this is not universalism, for an acceptance of what Jesus Christ has done is involved in the equation.

Having finished Rob Bell's book, I'm not ready to classify it as universalism, either. It seems Bell is saying, "Look, people can choose hell on this earth and certainly choose hell in the hereafter. But God leaves room for their choice."

Certainly, in Domenic's scenario the same could be said: People could choose to stay in the nihl.

But I'm betting a God filled with mercy, compassion, and reckless love, flanked by a Savior who offers a ginormous bowl filled with grace would not make it easy for them.

Grace and peace ...