Rob Bell Feminine nature of God

In today’s e-mail (Nov. 1, 2008) I received a “Faithvisuals Newsletter”, which had an advertisement in it. The Ad had a video sample of a DVD product, called “Nooma”, from Zondervan. The video was entitled ”She” by Rob Bell. I watched the 2 minute and 24 second video and saw another example of the diluting of Christianity. I have no reason to doubt Rob Bell’s sincerity, but recognized ideas from both Wicca and Judaism mixed into his presentation.

In his presentation, he was telling of the feminine nature of God. That idea is straight from Wicca, who believe in a feminine god. Here is part of the advertisement:

“Synopsis: We often focus on the masculine character of God. But when we omit the feminine, are we missing a very fundamental part of his nature? Maybe understanding a bit more about the feminine would help us to have a more complete image of God.
Description: Nooma is a revolutionary product that is changing the way people experience spirituality – a series of short films on DVD with a 32 page discussion guide. . .”

A very fundamental part of God’s nature is Feminine?? Scripture and verse please! Wicca believe that god’s nature is Feminine, but where in God’s word do you find that a very fundamental part of God’s nature is Feminine?

In the video, after claiming that God has a Feminine nature Rob Bell then states that God is a spirit and is not male or female. Although it is true that the scriptures tell us that God is spirit, it also tells us that God revels Himself to us in the masculine, i.e. heavenly Father, etc.. Judaism also teaches that God is not male or female.

“What is God? In a way, there is no God. Our preception of God usually leads to a misunderstanding that seriously undermines our spiritual development. God is not what we think It is. God is not a thing, a being, a noun. It does not exist, as existence is defined, for It takes up no space and is not bound by time. Jewish mystics often refer to It as Ein Sof, which means Endlessness. . . It should not be called Creator, Almighty, Father, Mother, Infinite, the One, Braham, Buddhamind, Allah, Adonoy, Elohim, El, or Shaddri; and It should never be called He. It is none of these names, and It has no gender.”
from page 65 of “God Is A Verb, kabbalah and the practice of mystical judaism”, by Rabbi David A. Cooper

God has reveled Himself to us in terms that we can understand, in ways that make Him personal to us. Judaism, and some other religions, describe Him as impersonal and not understandable. In Judaism, He has been referred to as Ein Sof and as a process or infinite nothingness.

"The Zohar says, "To create the world, It (Ein Sof, Infinite Nothingness) emanated a secret spark (awareness) from which emerged and radiated all light."" From page 35 of "God Is A Verb" (Kabbalah and the practice of mystical Judaism) by rabbi David A. Coope ISBN#: 1-57322-694-7


“It is difficult to explain what God is, because we know very little of Him. No man, no matter how wise or learned he be, can say exactly what God is.”
from page 60 of “Introduction To Judaism” by Beryl D. Cohon, 3rd printing 1937, Bloch Publishing Company, New York, “The Jewish Book Concern”

Several religions, including Judaism, state the we are god.

“The urge to call out to God is always answered simultaneously as it is spoken, for ultimately there is no difference between the caller and that to which it calls.”
from page 69 of “God Is A Verb, kabbalah and the practice of mystical judaism” by Rabbi David A. Cooper

This is what I see as a next step in the teachings like what was presented on the “Nooma” video. First the nature of God is changed, then god is us, and then there really is no God. Through it all there is not a God that is personal to us or one on whom we can call, or one whom we can relate to. Things changed, a little here and a little there, until the end is far from the truth.

To be fair, Rob Bell, in his own way, may have been trying to make God more personal to us and better understood. But, I think that the result was making God less personal and less understood. I believe that the best way to have a personal relationship with God and have a better understanding of Him, is to talk with Him in prayer and read / study His word.

We don’t need a “revolutionary product that is changing the way people experience spirituality”, what we need is more Bible Study and Prayer.